The Rally for Free Speech in Amsterdam, Part One

Back during the summer a variety of anti-jihad activist groups from across Western Europe came together in a series of meetings to form an international umbrella organization known as the European Freedom Initiative (EFI).

The initiative came about when a number of Dutch free-speech advocates were inspired by the successful grassroots activism of the English Defence League (EDL). The resumption of the “hate speech” trial against the PVV leader Geert Wilders added urgency to their mission, so they founded their own anti-Islamization organization and named it the Dutch Defence League (DDL). The EDL provided inspiration for like-minded people in other countries as well, including a German Defence League (GDL) and a French Defence League (LDF — unlike the Germans and the Dutch, the French named their organization in their own language, rather than English).

The DDL met with their colleagues across the Channel and, after consulting with German and French groups, formed what became EFI. The new organization immediately began planning for a free-speech demonstration in Amsterdam on October 30. The date was chosen to coincide with what was then expected to be the announcement of the verdict in the Geert Wilders trial. Since then, of course, Mr. Wilders has successfully challenged the makeup of the judicial panel trying his case, based on the blatant bias of at least one of the judges and an apparent attempt to influence a major witness for the defense ahead of the trial.

Despite Mr. Wilders’ distancing himself from their efforts, EFI decided to go ahead with the demonstration. Geert Wilders was not the sole focus of the event: the rally was about free speech for all Europeans, especially those like Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff, who face prosecution for speaking the truth about Islam.

The Amsterdam police threw up every possible roadblock to try to discourage the rally and inhibit attendance. The original plan was to hold the demonstration at Museumplein in downtown Amsterdam, which would have been a very public venue. At the last minute the police forced the organizers to relocate the event — ostensibly for their own safety — to Generatorstraat, in the middle of nowhere in the docklands of West Amsterdam. This not only made sure that fewer people would attend, it trapped the participants at a location which could only be reached by a single railway stop, and where they would be very vulnerable to attack by violent leftists.

The Dutch press took a great interest in the upcoming rally, and were especially preoccupied with the EDL. The false portrayal of the English Defence League by the British media — as violent racists who pick fights with Muslims — had spread to the Continent, and the Dutch papers and TV networks featured lurid reports about the “hooligans” of the EDL in the days leading up to the demo.

The publicity served to mobilize the “anti-fascists” — violent anarchist groups, generally known as AFA or Antifa — to converge on Generatorstraat with the avowed intention of preventing the EDL from participating in the rally on October 30.

When Saturday afternoon arrived, the leadership of the EDL showed up at Generatorstraat in a rented minivan. For inexplicable reasons the Amsterdam police did nothing to hold back an Antifa mob from crowding the van. The “anti-fascists” — many of whom were Moroccans — forced the van to drive slowly among them while they smashed in the windshield and the windows.

The Dutch police informed the passengers in the van that they must proceed on foot, and offered them no escort for the three-hundred yard gauntlet they were forced to run to get to the field where the demo was held. Fortunately, a detachment of British police had been detailed to follow them to Amsterdam and keep an eye on them. The British cops beckoned the EDL people to take refuge in their vehicle, and drove them the rest of the way to the venue.

When the EDL members arrived at the field, they were only able to stay for a short while. The British police, still looking out for the well-being of their fellow countrymen, advised them to leave as soon as possible, since they could no longer guarantee their safety. The order of speeches was then interrupted so that Tommy Robinson, the most prominent of the leaders of the English Defence League, could give a brief speech. Then he and the rest of the EDL were whisked away under close guard and returned to England.

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Despite the forced change of venue and dereliction of duty by the Amsterdam police, the rally for free speech was an enormous success. The willingness of the police to withdraw their protection seemed only to be directed at the EDL; the riot police were out in force at the demo itself, allowing the speakers to address the audience unmolested.

Although media interest waned after Tommy Robinson’s departure, enough of the cameras and reporters remained to provide coverage for the rest of the speakers. Among the those were Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff, Gandalf (“The Younger”, a French activist who founded the Alliance to Stop Sharia), the German journalist Michael Mannheimer, and the English author Paul Weston.

More detailed reports of what happened to the EDL that day may be found here and here.

Part Two will feature videos and texts of some of the speeches, including the electrifying speech by Paul Weston that went viral on the internet in four languages within 48 hours of the event.