SINT MAARTEN/THE NETHERLANDS – (Brandon Hartley) Some 15,000 people took to the streets of central Amsterdam for a demonstration and march against racism and fascism on Saturday afternoon.

The demonstrators gathered on Dam Square in the centre of the city to listen to music and speeches before walking through the streets of Amsterdam to the Museumplein.

This year the annual protest also addressed the rising threat of fascism around the globe, with many attendees expressing concerns about the current Trump administration in the United States.

“Far-right nationalism has a clear agenda: a society in which discrimination is normalised and people are judged on their origin, LGBTQI+, disability, religion, or skin colour,” the committee said in a press statement.

“History has taught us that an authoritarian regime ultimately affects everyone who deviates from its ‘truth’. We cannot allow this.”

Several members of the crowd carried anti Donald Trump signs and one was promoting a petition to prevent him from attending the upcoming Nato summit in The Hague in June.

Other signs ranged from “nobody’s free until everyone’s free” and one directed toward Elon Musk that read “you can take your fascism to Mars.”

Editor Sonja Aalbers (49) told the Parool that World War II began as things are going now. “I am worried about developments in the Netherlands and the whole world,” she said.

“People are being marginalised, based on who they are and where they come from. Asylum seekers are being blamed for the housing crisis, and if you say that often enough, people will start believing it.”

Former teacher Pauline Bardoul (61), told the Parool it was the first time she had been on such a big demonstration. “I had to do something now,” she said. “I oppose discrimination and racism and want to see a fair democracy… but things are not going well. I am worried and those worries are only getting bigger.” (Brandon Hartley)

(DutchNews)