Read us here statement and call to an independent investigation into the excessive police action on 17 October.
Following the police action during the Residential Revolt on October 17, 2021, many demonstrators have shared their story with us. As an organization we have tried to gain insight into the course of the day and the actions of the police. The statements span different times of the day and come from protesters who were in front, center and back of the march.
Residential Rebellion deplores the absurd, reprehensible and violent police action that has emotionally and physically affected many protesters. Right of residence and right to demonstrate are under serious pressure in the Netherlands. Cops, silent officers and riot police used heavy violence during the demonstration, and groups of protesters were profiled and excluded before and during the demonstration. This is also clearly reflected in the statements that protesters have shared with us.
We are now trying to provide aftercare to the victims whose rights have been violated and our condolences to the protesters who have suffered physical or emotional harm. We hope that people will not be deterred from exercising their right to demonstrate in the future. Unfortunately, we find that this is now the case. A number of protesters indicate in their statement that they will no longer walk along next time. With this black book, we want the personal suffering inflicted on protesters to be seen and recognized and that this police brutality is not swept under the rug.
We expect that the government will learn lessons from this for the future and that administrators will take responsibility for the consequences of this police action. On November 2, we also have a statement published in which we demand independent external investigations into the excessive and violent police action during the demonstration.
Before you start reading, we would like to warn you. Many of the stories tell in detail about serious police brutality and can therefore be experienced as shocking. To protect the privacy of all protesters, their statements have been anonymized. Do you want to download this document, then click here.
If you have any questions about these stories and our statement, we can be reached via [email protected].
The #WOON OPSTAND is a broad coalition of (residential) struggle movements, action groups and organizations that work together to radically change housing policy and has formulated 9 concrete requirements for this. The Woonopstand is supported by more than 160 organisations. For more information, go to woonopstand.nl.
