New nationalist party FvD expelled two party members because they tried to seize power, Thierry Baudet's party said in a statement. The members involved are ex-senator Robert De Haze Winkelman and Betty Jo Wevers, both former members of ruling party VVD, ANP reports.
Racism
Feb 5 '18 13:40
Thierry Baudet, leader of nationalist party FvD, pressed charges of defamation and slander against Deputy Prime Minister Kasja Ollongren after she accused him of involving race in the political debate last week.
Jan 30 '18 11:20
The Amsterdam factions of left-wing parties PvdA and SP decided not to participate in the annual anti-racism demonstration in March. According to the parties, the purpose of this day is being overshadowed. Animal party PvdD also withdrew from the demonstration. And GroenLinks is considering withdrawing, according to Elsevier.
Jan 25 '18 13:00
Dutch broadcaster NOS recently decided to stop using the Dutch word "blank" to describe white or Caucasian people, instead opting to call them "wit" or white in English. This decision resulted in an uproar on social media, and even parliamentary questions posed by right-wing populist party PVV.
Colloquially, the word “blanke” is an adjective that goes beyond “white” to give a connotation of “purity” or “untainted”.
Jan 15 '18 10:15
Dutch supermarket chain Albert Heijn is facing criticism about client profiles that new employees have to learn. The profiles include a black woman with a child to represent clients who buy cheaper products, and a white man as a "Premium client". The Netherlands Institute for Human Rights and a number of anti-discrimination organizations call the profiles stigmatizing and stereotypical, NOS reports.
Jan 9 '18 07:45
The leader of the Utrecht faction of anti-Islam party PVV surprised many by suggesting he hoped that a prominent mosque in the city would go up in flames. The comments brought immediate condemnation from politicians of several parties in the area.
Henk van Deún represented the PVV during a political talk radio show on a local channel. He was joined by the leader of Turkish and multicultural party Denk, Mahmut Sungur, who commented that he wanted to see the city's Ulu Mosque be recognized as a proud local landmark.
Dec 21 '17 08:56
FvD leader, and 2017's Dutch politician of the year, Thierry Baudet raised eyebrows by meeting with American racist and nationalist Jared Taylor. Baudet and Taylor spoke for hours in the Amsterdams hotel in October, De Correspondent reported on Wednesday. Baudet acknowledged this meeting, saying that he wanted to delve into the ideas of the far-right American 'alt-right' movement, ANP reports.
Dec 20 '17 11:10
Politician Sylvana Simons is calling on advertisers to boycott RTL7 football show Voetbal Inside. In a Facebook post the Bij1 party leader calls the show homophobic, sexist and racist, NU.nl reports.
Dec 14 '17 12:40
Verene Shepherd, a professor at the University of the West Indies and a former UN expert on people of African descent, still gets hate mail from the Netherlands four years after she criticized blackface Sinterklaas character Zwarte Piet. At one point she received up to 80 emails per day, riddled with hateful and racist remarks, the Jamaican professor revealed while giving a speech at a human rights conference in Jamaica on Sunday, Afro Magazine reports.
Dec 13 '17 16:00
An email sent by a broker informing a Dutch-Moroccan couple that a home in Ter Aar they were interested in renting can only be rented by people of Dutch origin, again sparked a racism debate in the Netherlands.
The couple went to look at the home in the Zuid-Holland town and decided they were interested, so they sent in all the documents the broker asked for. "The owner has chosen to only rent to people of Dutch descent. I am sorry to have to report this to you", read the email they received in response. One of the applicants posted a screenshot of the email on Facebook.
Dec 6 '17 08:33
Dutch party clothing retailer Feestkleding 365 decided to drop all signs of blackface from its Zwarte Piet costumes, the company announced in a press release on Tuesday. The decision was made based on racist comments the retailer received on an opinion poll about whether or not to keep the costume in its current form. Feestkleding 365 also decided to donate the revenue made by selling these costumes to charity.
Dec 5 '17 09:09
Gert-Jaap van Ulzen, board member of the VVD in Leeuwarden, resigned from the party following posts he made on Twitter calling anti-Zwarte Piet activists "negro fascists". Faction secretary Joel Heiner confirmed to Omrp Fryslan that Van Ulzen decided to withdraw from the VVD Leeuwarden board after "good consultation" with the other board members.
Nov 30 '17 14:40
Forum voor Democratie parliamentarian Theo Hiddema raised eyebrows in the lower house of Dutch parliament on Thursday when he used the Dutch word 'neger', which roughly translates to 'negro', during a debate on the Ministry of Justice and Security, the Telegraaf reports.
According to Hiddema, the "proud, high-spirited negro" does not benefit at all from a law against insulting a group of people. He thinks a ban on inciting violence is all that's needed.
The D66 objected and insisted that Hiddema stops using the slur.
Nov 30 '17 09:28
On Saturday there will be a demonstration against racism and Zwarte Piet in Dokkum. The police will escort the protesters to the Friesland town, to make sure their way isn't block as it was when they were heading to an approved protest at Sinterklaas' national arrival almost two weeks ago, NOS reports.
The demonstration on Saturday is an initiative of Zwarte Piet is Rascisme, Stop Blackface, Free Your Mind, Doorbraak and Progressive Groningen, according to the broadcaster. The protest is scheduled for between 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m.
Nov 28 '17 08:24
On Monday the court in Utrecht sentenced a man from Lelystad to 40 hours of community service, 20 of which conditionally suspended, for posting discriminatory comments on a Facebook post by activist group Kick Out Zwarte Piet, RTL Nieuws reports.
After the national arrival of Sinterklaas in Meppel in 2015, the man wrote under the Kick Out Zwarte Piet post: "Just let them work as slave again then they can't complain anymore it's what they want to work out lazy sweat nigger that's what you are born for", according to the broadcaster.
Nov 24 '17 16:10
A primary school in the Utrecht district of Zuilen called the police after a group of activists protesting for the preservation of Zwarte Piet in his traditional blackface appearance, stormed into the school on Thursday, ANP reports.
Around 10 protesters dressed up as Zwarte Piet charged into the primary school De Cirkel's schoolyard and classrooms and started handing out perpernoten and stickers shortly before the end of the school day.
Nov 23 '17 09:02
Dutch newspaper AD and a number of Dutch celebrities are calling for a 'Sinterklaas truce'. The newspaper wants to make a deal - no debating about the form of the Sinterklaas party or the appearance of Zwarte Piet as long as Sinterklaas is in the Netherlands - and a number of well known Dutch expressed similar sentiments in the newspaper.
Nov 21 '17 08:13
A last-minute demonstration ban implemented for the national Sinterklaas arrival in Dokkum this past Saturday had to do with information that protesters planned to use heavy fireworks, Mayor Marga Waanders of Dongeradeel - which covers Dokkum - said in a statement. The statement did not say whether it was pro-Zwarte Piet or anti-Zwarte Piet protesters who had fireworks, AD reports.
"Based on this information, the triangle [police, Prosecutor and mayor] was advised to ban the demonstration, because the safety of all people could no longer be guaranteed", Waanders said.
Nov 20 '17 16:00
Over 36 thousand euros was raised in under two days in an action launched to cover any possible fines imposed on people who blocked the A7 highway to stop three buses carrying Kick Out Zwarte Piet protesters from reaching Dokkum on Saturday.
Nov 20 '17 07:39
People protesting for keeping Zwarte Piet in blackface makeup, also have to comply with the law, State Secretary Raymond Knops of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations said in WNL on Sunday. He was referring to a group of people blocking anti-Zwarte Piet protesters from reaching the Sinterklaas parade in Dokkum on Saturday, where they had permission to protest against racism.
"I understand the emotions on this subject, but I cannot approve of people stopping everything on a highway," Knops said. "Everyone must abide by the law, including these people."
Nov 18 '17 14:58
Buses filled with Zwarte Piet protestors were stopped by a group of about 35 white people stationed on the A7 highway outside Heerenveen, Friesland on Saturday. The protesters were on their way to the official Sinterklaas arrival in Dokkum about 50 kilometers away, where they had approval from city officials to march against the character.
Nov 15 '17 14:00
Dokkum is getting ready for Sinterklaas' national arrival on Saturday, including putting up decorations and preparing for an anti-Zwarte Piet protest. The municipality of Dongeradeel, which includes Dokkum, gave Kick Out Zwarte Piet permission to protest, but is still working out the exact conditions and arrangements, a spokesperson said to Het Parool.
Kick Out Zwarte Piet announced their protest on Facebook. The protest will be preceded by a "March for Civilization", according to the group.
Nov 15 '17 11:20
Blackface Zwarte Piet will disappear from Rotterdam's Sinterklaas celebrations. Snic, the organization of the Sinterklaas Parade in the city, discussed the controversial character and how to modernize the children's party with Platform Rutu, which represents various African communities in Rotterdam. They decided to remove any reference to black or other possibly offensive stereotypes, including the word 'Zwarte' from Piet's name, RTV Rijnmond reports.
Nov 6 '17 08:13
A firefighter in the Amsterdam-Amstelland fire department was suspended for making racist comments to a colleague, a spokesperson for the fire department confirmed to the Telegraaf on Sunday.
The suspended firefighter is employed as a commander in the fire department. The spokesperson could give no further information about the firefighter or the investigation against him.
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