The Hague’s Mayor Jozias van Aartsen will make the executive decision to ban a new anti-IS (formerly ISIS) protest in the Schilderswijk planned for next month, in an effort to stem the possibility of violent clashes erupting between supporters and opposers of IS in the city. According to sources for the Algemeen Dagblad, the Mayor says that the chance of riots at the demonstration is too high.
Van Aartsen has returned from his vacation in France to find a heavy to-do list waiting at City Hall. Tonight, city government members will have an emergency meeting to speak about how to tackle the tensions in the city. The Mayor’s decision to disallow these protesters from walking through the Schilderswijk will come tonight, the AD writes.
In June, there were two separate occasions in which demonstrators openly showed support for the radicalized islamic terrorist organization IS. A protest against IS last Sunday got out of hand to the extent that demonstrators and IS-sympathizers clashed.
Yesterday, PVV-leader Geert Wilders called on everyone against IS and against the manner in which The Hague is turning into “a small Caliphate”, to gather on the 20th of September to take part in a march. He hopes to gather thousands of people, who will show the Schilderswijk “that it is about Dutch territory.” Youths in the neighborhood say they will also march, in protest.
The threat of even more clashes, instability and dissent amongst the residents of his city have turned Mayor Van Aartsen against the idea. It may be that the demonstrators will have to move to the Malieveld.