Uit:
Daily Amsterdamned #2 d.d. 16 juni 1997
[speciale gratis dagkrant
vanwege de Eurotop]
EUROPHILE'S
EURO-FILE
Sunday 15th june
1997
The Euro-Legalize
drugs Streetparty at the Amsterdam Central Station draws a large crowd.
An old lady wants legalization, to combat criminality and to take the
markets away from the Euro-drug mobsters. Large amounts in bulk of present
currencies to be changed in crisp new Euro - bills will undoubtedly
be from criminal proceedings. Driving out bad money from the European
monetary circulation will be a giant step forward.
Meanwhile, lenient
but smart Dutch drug-laws are scoring high marks in Europe and the rest
of the planet. Monsieur Jospin seems to be the latest convert. No word
yet from Downingstreet. He too seems young enough to have inhaled....
Salsa-night at
the Beursplein (Amsterdam stock-exchange square). Cosmopolitan multicultural
Amsterdam's Latin Swing for you! International visitors expecting to
find only shy farmers, wooden shoes, tulips and windmills in these outer
fringes of the continent are flabbergasted at the levels of sophistication
and the fairylike qualities, already noted by Proust, of these famed
Amsterdam festive evenings. Sonja and I danced a merengue or two and
then hurried to Mayor Schelto Patijn's reception at the Nieuwe Kerk.
Unfortunately we
couldn't make it earlier to the reception. We also missed the gay-rights
demo. Fortunately as we enter the Nieuwe Kerk, famed lesbian city -
council member for the social democrats Ms. Annemarie Grewel is just
leaving. Annemarie flashes a warm and friendly smile. We also greet
Mrs. Helen Burleson - Esajas. Gorgeous Helen is my favourite candidate
to be the new mayor in Amsterdam Zuid Oost - The Bijlmer. The Black
Voice is not heard enough in Europe. She has the talent, the credentials
and the experience.
Tight security in these surroundings but the smuggled Daily Amsterdamneds are not detected. I am a lucky man. Now everyone can read about the anti-fascist, anti-racist, anti-poverty, feminist and liberating struggle that goes on in Amsterdam. I brief Alderman Jaap van der Aa who is the Coordinator for Minority Affairs on the latest developments concerning inter-ethnic relations in the Bijlmer. This city is blessed with some wise decision-makers.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
A SEED ACTIVIST GATHERING IN THE SILO
Already for almost
a week a big group of international environmental activists from all
over Europe is gathered in the Silo squat at the Westerdoksdijk to work
on an extensive program of workshops, action trainings, music and action
planning. About 200 people are staying in the cellar of the Silo, normally
used as Rollerdisco in the weekends. Now the room is filled with sleeping
bags, coaches, chairs, a bar room, and the mobile kitchen of Rampenplan
and its particular smells. This is the ASEED EU activist gathering (Action
for Solidarity, Equality Envirnment and Development), coming to your
town, showing a great blend of Northern, Southern, Eastern and Western
activists.
Lots of action
networking. Where else do you find so many activists from everywhere
out of Europe together? Actions are planned for the days of the actual
summit, like monday on the EMU and on biotech. These are busy days for
the ASEED crowd. Same day in the afternoon will see an action with red
and yellow cards for the European leaders. Groups are busy doing their
secret action planning. An international group of activists called Sustainable
Europe Tour (indeed, SET) is staying there and doing street theatre
and concerts. Last days have shown a quite empty Silo cellar at times,
because the activists did want to go and see the European Marches and
the Legalise Streetparty; several activists came back with amazed stories
and some beatings they got too. Stories for the ecobar, while drinking
a nice ecological drink.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
POLICE HIJACKS TRAIN WITH ITALIAN DEMONSTRATORS
As if the train
was hijacked. Only the roles had been swapped radically. The police
fenced in a train on the Central Station in Amsterdam on Saturday. Hundredandthirtyone
of the passengers, demonstrators coming from Milan, were not allowed
to leave the train. They were hostages for hours on the Central Station.
But why?
As the police explained,
these people had destroyed two compartments of the train. What they
destroyed however, never became clear. Luca, from radio Sherwood in
Padova, later told the big demonstration on the Damsquare stage: "Once
in the train on our way to Holland, we refused at each border to show
our documents. We presented ourselves as sans-papier, not citizens
of states, but members of humanity. We also refused to pay the train.
Seen the fact that we were going to demonstrate against disoccupation
and for work, it's obvious that we couldn't afford to pay for this trip."
He declared that the Italians wouldn't leave Amsterdam before their
companions were released.
Small groups of demonstrators went from the Dam to the Central Station to see if anything could be done. Various of them who tried to reach the train on the stations were blocked of by the police, which kept them busy for hours late Friday afternoon. The police acted according to reports pretty violent. In the meantime the organizers of the big demonstration, the Platform for a Different Europe, negociated with the police and the mayor about releasing the hostages. It soon became clear that the Platform tended to believe everything the authorities said. Frases like "If the Italians damaged the train, I agree with their arrest" were heard from Platform-organizers who were asked for an act of support for the Italians.
At the beginning
of the evening the 131 Italians from the train were handcuffed with
plastic strips (the ones that get more tied as soon as you move.) They
were shoved into public transport busses and moved to the Bijlmerbajes,
the biggest jail of Amsterdam. The police started taking bringing them
in, taking photographs and fingerprints, but at 20.00 hrs, according
to police-sources, the decision was taken to put them on a train back
to Italy.
They were transported
to Sloterdijk-trainstation (outside the city) and rejoined with their
fellow Italians. But the story didn't end there. The first train was
seen on a side track in Maarn, near the city of Utrecht from 23.35 hrs
until about 2.00. The second train still had not left Amsterdam at 2.30
hrs (!) In Arnhem the train was stopped by the Italians themselves because
they wanted food and drinks, according to some reports. Another version
claims the train had to wait until the border station in Emmerich (Germany)
was staffed again.
At 6.30 the train
was still in Arnhem, according to the official newsservice ANP. Early
this morning they were transferred to an other train. The first train
passed Karlsruhe at three in the afternoon, the second train one hour
behind them, after a few hours of delay in Mannheim. The police got
onto the train and proceeded to a massive identification taking names
and pictures of the people on the train. Nobody was allowed to get out.
The train was blinded, the windows taped with some kind of plastic,
what does this remind us of? And yes, the people did get some water
and something to eat.
At 20.00 hrs Saturday
evening the train passed the Italian border. The arrival in Lugano can
be a problem, rumour has it that foreign authorities (Dutch? German?)
want to have everybody arrested by the Italians. Italian papers today
mentioned negotiations with the Italian government. Unclear though is
who is negotiating. As it seems, from a phonecall with someone in the
first train, the Italian government don't want them to be arrested.
Then who does? The arrival of the train (if there won't be more unforessen
stops) is expected for 22.00 at the Milano Lambrate station. No news
is available about the press conference there.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Streetrave against the 'War on Drugs'
Thousands of ravers, crusties, gabbers and punks partied and demonstrated against the 'War on Drugs'. A group called 'Legalize!' organized om Saturdaynight a huge party with more than a hundred dj's and twelve soundsystems. Later, on Sundayafternoon, some 2000 demonstrators joined a streetrave throught the streets of Amsterdam. Despite police-provocations the streetrave ended peacefully.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Mass arrests in Amsterdam
Last night police
arrested about 350 demonstrators in the inner city of Amsterdam. They
were being accused of article 140, wich means they are supposed to be
a member of a criminal organisation.
Eyewitnesses declared
that the group of people, who had gathered to go to a solidarity-demonstration
for arrested people, were surrounded by large groups of riotpolice around
nine o'clock in the evening. One by one they were arrested and handcuffed.
Report came in that some of the demonstrators were beaten up bij the
police, after they were handcuffed. Press was not allowed to film this
brutal police-action in the area of the Royal Palace.
Later at night riotpolice surrounded the activist center Vrankrijk in de Spuistraat again. People who tried to leave the building were arrested. The police took away all the cars in the street, which could mean they are planning to invade the building early in the morning.