King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands have honoured the war dead on the National Remembrance of the Dead yesterday evening. They were the first to place a wreath by the National Monument.
They were joined by Prime Minister Schoof, the Mayor of Amsterdam, Femke Halsema, and a crowd of 16,000 people.
At 8 o’clock, two minutes of silence were held nationwide. During these two minutes, all public transport was halted as well. The commemorations went ahead largely without incidents. Shortly after the two-minute silence, two people were arrested who were yelling “Free Palestine!” A total of six people were arrested on or around Dam Square.
People did not have to sign up this year for the commemorations on Dam Square but there was extra security.
The Mayor of Amsterdam held a speech in which she said, “‘Never again’ is not a political slogan that applies sometimes and sometimes not, to some people, to some people, not to some people, to some peoples, and not to some peoples. Mothers and children are dying from bombings that maim others for life and traumatise families, people are going hungry, and cities and villages are being reduced to ruins. And we are watching.”
The Remembrance of the Dead commemorates all civilians and members of the armed forces of the Kingdom of the Netherlands who have died in wars or peacekeeping missions since the beginning of World War Two.
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