Amsterdam protest against LGBT violence tonight

Following the fire in a student apartment building in Amsterdam-West on Friday, a demonstration against anti-LGBTQ+ violence will be held on Thursday. The protest is a statement of support for the residents of the apartment building on Krelis Louwenstraat, where it is suspected that a rainbow flag was set on fire.

Initiator Carlo van Munster hopes that at least a thousand people will attend. The action will start at 17:00 on Mercatorplein, from where the demonstrators will walk to the apartment building. Van Munster wants to hang a huge rainbow flag from the roof as a statement.

The fire broke out on the eighth floor early Friday morning. The building had to be evacuated and four people were injured. Police are considering arson that appeared to target rainbow flags in the building. There were similar incidents before. Amsterdam mayor Femke Halsema announced that extra detectives were assigned to the case.

On Wednesday, the fire department visited the apartment building again for an inspection, following continued concerns from residents about safety. Student housing provider DUWO advised residents to hang rainbow flags behind their own windows. No longer hanging them in public space must prevent a new fire being set in the building.