Amsterdam as 'n anti-apartheidstad

Abstract

Daar is 'n noue verbintenis tussen Amsterdam as 'n anti-apartheidstad en Ed van Thijn, wat van 1983 tot 1994 die burgemeester daarvan was. Amsterdam is in 1986 uitgeroep tot anti-apartheidstad - die eerste stad van dié aard in Nederland. Groot anti-apartheidsdemonstrasies is oor die jare heen in Amsterdam gehou. In 1988, byvoorbeeld, het 50 000 Amsterdammers 'n massabetoging bygewoon. Amsterdamse universiteite het eredoktorsgrade aan ds. C.F. Beyers Naudé en Govan Mbeki as gebaar van solidariteit toegeken. Belangrike konferensies vir Suid-Afrikaanse kunstenaars in ballingskap is in Amsterdam gehou, byvoorbeeld "De kulturele stem van het verzet" (1982) en "Culture in Another South Africa" (1987). Dié konferensies het gestaan in die teken van solidariteit met die ANC. Die ANC het ook in 1989 'n eie kantoor in Amsterdam gevestig. Nelson Mandela se vrylating in 1990 is met uitbundige vreugde in Amsterdam gevier. Mandela is beide in 1990 en 1999 soos Å? held in die stad ontvang. Daar was Å? noue band tussen Mandela en Amsterdam as Å? anti-apartheidstad, omdat hy die verpersoonliking van die stryd teen apartheid was.

There is a close link between Amsterdam as an anti-apartheid city and Ed van Thijn, who was its mayor from 1983 to 1994. Amsterdam was declared an anti-apartheid city in 1986 - the first city of this nature in the Netherlands. Large anti-apartheid demonstrations were held over the years in Amsterdam. In 1988, for example, there was a mass demonstration of 50 000 people of Amsterdam. Reverend C.F. Beyers Naudé and Govan Mbeki received honorary doctorates from Amsterdam universities as a gesture of solidarity. Important conferences for South African artists in exile were held in Amsterdam, for example "The cultural voice of the struggle" (1982) and "Culture in Another South Africa" (1987). These conferences were organised in solidarity with the ANC. The ANC also opened an office in Amsterdam in 1989. Nelson Mandela's release from prison in 1990 was greeted with much jubilation in Amsterdam. Mandela was received as a hero in the city in both 1990 and 1999. There was a close link between Mandela and Amsterdam as an anti-apartheid city, as Mandela was the personification of the struggle against apartheid.