It was a test showed Edwin Wagensveld, the initiator of the first Pegida demonstration in Netherlands, know. A test to see if Pegida in the Netherlands would catch on, whether there would be enough support and whether a successful picture could be put down, as it worked with the Pegida demonstrations in Germany. Teaches an analysis of the first Pegida demonstration: Test Failed.
It has become an almost predictable response. When there arises successful rightwing extremist group in the near abroad which opposes Muslim immigration and there is a Dutch group that wants to drop a Dutch copy of it. In the recent past, this was done with SIO (Stop Islamisation of Europe) dat eind 2007 several months had a Dutch branch. And then with the successful English Defence League (EDL), of which more than once a Dutch copy was created as Dutch Defense League and as many times in a short time disappeared. Following the successful demonstrations in Dresden and other German cities could therefore not fail. Eind 2014 was Pegida Netherlands Founded. And another. Both on the Internet with great ambitions.
But those ambitions was initially little of it until the German Dutchman Edwin Wagensveld in contact with one of these initiatives came. And he went with other German Pegida activists went to support this Pegida to let the German initiative in his motherland countries. After a long preparation finally came 11 oktober 2015 the day had to pay all its investments.
Pegida Netherlands would show themselves to the world in the center of Utrecht with a high turnout of angry and concerned citizens in an orderly fashion would share their dismay with the world on issues such as immigration and radical Islam. As hoped Wagensveld.
But – the handful of existing angry and concerned citizens are verexcuseerd - which failed miserably. To begin with, there was no question of a desired high turnout. Most estimates are around 200 to 250 participants, a small group on the large empty Vredenburg Utrecht. Their was also a substantial part of Wagensveld traveled from Germany. This resulted in a somewhat painful picture at the start of the demonstration where almost exclusively German flags and Lander were visible and the public in German welcome was met by Pegida-founder Lutz Bachmann.
The handful of angry and concerned citizens got further obscured by a large number of present football hooligans. That's a new development. Dutch soccer hooligans have in recent years in the Netherlands rarely in large numbers endorsing far-right initiatives, in contrast to, for example, Germany or England. However, what these hooligans contributed to this first Pegida demonstration was mostly a lot of unrest and violence. The group showed no moment interested in the message of the demonstration and speeches. They were continually aggressive and violent towards opponents of Pegida emerging in the neighborhood, as in the video above shows.
Thus they made, The pleas of the organization ignoring, for a violent profile of this first demonstration. After the police anti-fascist opponents of Pegida had drifted too got this group of hooligans in its entirety at, the small group of protesters left behind them.
What then remained, next to the German participants and the small group of angry and concerned citizens, were mostly activists of various extreme right and neo-Nazi activist groups and some veteran right-wing extremists. A small anthology. The rightwing extremist group Post was present with the President Robert Schaap and action leader Florens van der Kooi, some activists and even a few Flemish activists. Identitair Opposition was represented by organizer Floris Groeneveld and a some other activist. Moreover Identitair Resistance activist Femke den Hoed was involved this day in organizing the demonstration Pegida.
From the neo-Nazi side were activists like Barry Kluft and Owen Koenekoop (activist nazi NVU) present. In particular, Kluft was a risk factor in this demonstration. He is a multiple offender and battered last year during a similar meeting a fellow protester because it was carrying an Israeli flag. Kluft dropped again this time out in force and marched with the hooligan group in attempting to engage in combat with opponents. Further, the fanatical extreme right-wing activist and Anders Breivik fan Ben van der Kooi present with some friends. And to complete this brief survey also turned up three veterans from the Centre Democrats Janmaat on: CD party ideologue Alfred Vierling and former Utrecht councilors Martin de Regt and John Morren.
The extreme right-wing activists were otherwise fine recognize their radical ideas in the speech Raffie Chohan, founder of Pegida Netherlands. In her speech she said to hate Muslims and to despise. But she then did an unusual step by seeking biological explanations for her ideas about Muslims. Unusual, biological theories because the domain normally be convinced neo-Nazis. Muslims have as Chohan "limited social skills, limited learning ability and inability to meet the requirements of the labor market satisfy”. Deze shortcomings be according to her causes by "Massive inbreeding of Islamic culture "which" virtually irreversible damage to the Muslims, including great harm to the Muslims intelligence and mental health. "It is therefore not surprising that the Prosecution announced a day after the protest to investigate whether these expressions are punishable. The Pegida protesters responded Chohan's speech by loudly the slogan 'No jihad in our street’ to intone.
Pegida Netherlands may then in turn word of right-wing extremism and neo-Nazis, in practice, none of it. At no time Pegida distanced themselves from the numerous existing right-wing extremists and neo-Nazis. Chohan had very extreme about Muslims and serves as these radical target. It would appear that Pegida wants nothing to do with neo-Nazis, because it is bad for their image. But really stay away from them, which is sometimes too much to ask.
Overall, this first test for Pegida-Netherlands brought so disappointing turnout of interested above all in violent hooligans and a predictable and hardened group right-wing extremists and neo-Nazis. Opgeleukt with a busload of Germans and, well hidden, the few angry and concerned citizens that was hoped for. Of the latter group there is a next time again?
