Additional National Remembrance measures should also serve as a deterrent

NOS News•today, 5:57 PM

Tightening the measures at the National Remembrance Day on Dam Square in Amsterdam is no guarantee that there will be no disturbances, but it will hopefully lead to people refraining from protesting. This is what Jan Coumans, vice-chairman of the National Committee 4 and 5 May, says.

Earlier this month, the mayor of Amsterdam and the police decided that the number of permitted attendees would be halved from 20,000 to 10,000. Visitors will also be searched upon arrival.

Taking flags, T-shirts and other expressions that can be used to demonstrate is prohibited. This morning it was announced that visitors must register online. The majority of the tickets have now been reserved.

“Society is quite tense, partly due to the conflict in the Gaza Strip. You see that many people are concerned with this and want to express themselves,” says Coumans. “Only: on Dam Square that would actually be something that seriously endangers the safety of those present.”

The committee is particularly concerned that a situation could arise that would cause the public to panic. “We had the so-called Dam shouter in 2010,” says Coumans.

During the National Remembrance Day that year, a man disrupted the two minutes of silence, after which panic broke out and dozens of attendees were injured. “You really want to avoid those kinds of situations. Then the dignity is no longer there.”

The committee has no concrete indications that there are plans to disrupt the commemoration, says Coumans. But if people do plan to do so, he hopes they will consult themselves. “I hope that those who decided for themselves to come to a protest will now reflect. That people with these kinds of ideas decide: not tonight.”

The police say that there are signals and calls on social media that indicate that the National Commemoration could be disrupted. But the police mainly cite the “increased social tension and a great willingness to protest” as reasons to be prepared for disruptions to the ceremony.

The terrorism threat analysis is comparable to previous years, but according to the police and the National Coordinator for Counterterrorism and Security (NCTV), the chance of spontaneous protests is greater. The police say they do not check people who register in advance and do not screen them for safety risks.

The reservation requirement also prevents people from all parts of the country from traveling to Amsterdam for good reason, says Coumans. If people are no longer able to secure a reservation, there are still commemorations elsewhere in Amsterdam and the country for which reservations are not required.