Some cities ask farmers to hang Dutch flags right way up on Remembrance Day

Most municipalities consider it unnecessary to specifically ask people to hang the Dutch flag the right way up for May 4 and 5. There are hardly any upside-down flags left, they say. But a few dozen municipalities are calling on protesters to hang the flag so that the red stripe is on top for both Remembrance Day on Thursday and Liberation Day on Friday.

Protesters against the government, for example, regarding the nitrogen policy or coronavirus measures, have often hung the Dutch flag upside down in recent years, with the blue stripe at the top. Last month, relatives of soldiers asked for the flags to be turned right-side-up for the commemoration. The call got support from, among others, Caroline van der Plas of the BoerBurgerBeweging (BBB). Bart Kemp of farmers’ protest group Agractie also called for the flag to be turned the right way up or temporarily removed, as did agricultural organization ZLTO.

The ANP surveyed over 300 of the 342 Dutch municipalities, asking how they’ll deal with upside-down flags around May 4 and 5. By noon on Wednesday, about 170 municipalities had responded. About half of those said that a specific call is unnecessary. Over 60 municipalities asked people to temporarily straighten their inverted flags.

Just over ten municipalities have deliberately decided against issuing a call. One of them is Valkenburg aan de Geul. The Limburg municipality said: “It is not up to the government to interfere with the content of the message in this way or to censor freedom of expression. Expressions within certain limits are allowed.”

The municipality of Oss said: “The Oss mayor has no strong opinion on this. For the time being, the municipality is not doing anything against or for reversed flags on May 4 and 5.”

Etten-Leur in Noord-Brabant won’t make a call. “If there are some residents who currently have the flag upside down, we trust the respect they will show after the nationwide call to properly display the flag on May 4 and 5.”

Apeldoorn won’t call “to remove inverted flags because of May 3 and 5.” Ruchpen said that “freedom of expression is respected.” Pijnacker-Nootdorp thinks “that it is not up to us as a municipality to make such calls. Inverted flags on private property are not prohibited.”

Alphen aan den Rijn did call for upside-down flags to be adjusted or removed. “In several places, our flag is upside down in protest or discontent. The right to protest and express your opinion is a fundamental right in our country, where, fortunately, we have the freedom to express ourselves and protest. But let’s also be respectful to each other,” said Mayor Liesbeth Spies.

The Groningen municipality of Westerkwatier also made an appeal. “We live in a country where freedom of expression and demonstration is a great asset. On May 4, we commemorate the victims who fell for our freedom, and on May 5, we celebrate our liberation. It hurts many people precisely on those days if our Dutch flag can be seen hanging upside down. A feeling that I share,” said Mayor Ard van der Tuuk in a statement on Monday.

The municipality of Simpelveld will remove upturned flags from public spaces. The municipalities of Moerdijk, Reusel-De Mierden and Dongen (Noord-Brabant), Hattem, Oost Gelre and Epe (Gelderland), Haaksbergen (Overijssel), Hollands Kroon (Noord-Holland), and IJsselstein (Utrecht) also support the call.