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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.

Al Peterson

 
 

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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.  
 

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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.  
 

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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.

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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.

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