The organization of the Jordaan Festival wanted to block the Homomonument again by putting a stage and tents right in front of the granite structure at the water and seriously risks being awarded for least respectful organization of Amsterdam... This could be distilled from the drawings in their application for an event license. Last year the gay community responded with outrage when they saw the new layout of the festival which is held at the Homomonument on the Westermarkt.

The three-day festival had the nerve to build a huge stage right in front of the water triangle of the monument completely blocking the entrance. It also seemed to be built on top of it (closer inspection learned that it was built over it, actually not touching the granite). It’s still a complete mystery how the organization was ever allowed to do this, although the intimidating and pushy attitude of the organizers is infamous in the Jordaan.

...

Several parties tried to influence the proceedings but it seems that the Jordaan Festival aimed to make things even worse this year, putting gates everywhere and yet again, blocking the monument totally. In the beginning of July however, a special meeting was arranged where the local council, police, neighbors, neighboring businesses as well as COC and GALA were present.

Together with the organization of the Jordaan Festival they came to the agreement that the water triangle will remain accessible throughout the process. There will also be a square mediator present to make sure the businesses on the square are treated fairly and with consideration. On top of that the festival will only consist of two days.

AMSTERDAM–For years, W.B. Kranendonk was a lone ranger in Dutch politics – the editor of an orthodox Christian newspaper in a nation that has legalized prostitution, euthanasia, abortion and same-sex marriage and allows the personal use of marijuana.

Today, with an orthodox Christian political party in the government for the first time, and with immigration anxieties fuelling a national search for identity, the country that has been the world's most socially liberal political laboratory is rethinking its anything-goes policies.

And suddenly, Kranendonk no longer seems so alone.

"People in high political circles are saying it can't be good to have a society so liberal that everything is allowed," said Kranendonk, editor of Reformist Daily and an increasingly influential voice in the shifting mainstream of Dutch public opinion. "People are saying we should have values; people are asking for more and more rules in society.'"

In cities across the Netherlands, mayors and town councils are closing down shops where marijuana is sold, rolled and smoked. Municipalities are shuttering the brothels where prostitutes have been allowed to ply their trade legally. Parliament is considering a ban on the sale of hallucinogenic "magic mushrooms."

Orthodox Christian members of parliament have introduced a bill that would allow civil officials with moral objections to refuse to perform gay marriages. And Dutch authorities are trying to curtail the activities of an abortion rights group that assists women in neighbouring countries where abortions are illegal.

The effort to rein in the Netherlands's famed social liberties is not limited to the small, newly empowered Christian Union party, which holds two of the 16 ministries in the coalition government formed this year. Increasingly, politicians from the more centre-left Labour party are among the most outspoken proponents of closing some brothels and marijuana shops – known here as "coffee shops.''

"Has the Netherlands changed? Yes," said Frank de Wolf, a Labour party member of Amsterdam city council. "There is not only a different mood among our people and politicians, but there are different problems now.''

Dutch gay group seeks to ban convicted gay bashers from Amsterdam’s gayest areas

The Netherlands’ leading gay organization, COC, has suggested that convicted gay bashers be slapped with a court order prohibiting them from entering Amsterdam’s gayest areas, such as the bar district on Reguliersdwarsstraat.

Police have received 10 reports of gay bashings this year.

Although the Netherlands is arguably the gay-friendliest nation on the planet, a few subgroups of the population — including, notably, immigrant Moroccan youths — have been known to stage gay bashing outings.

COC originally stood for Cultuur en Ontspannings-Centrum (Culture and Leisure Center) but the organization now is known solely by its former initials.

COC, has suggested that convicted gay bashers be slapped with a court order prohibiting them from entering Amsterdam’s gayest areas

Just what is such a court order supposed to accomplish where the laws against attacking people in the streets failed?

AMSTERDAM (Reuters Life!) - Amsterdam's gay boat parade, which each year attracts hundreds of thousands of spectators, will be joined by a boat of heterosexual people this year in a protest against rising intolerance in the Netherlands.

The organiser of the "hetero boat", Coos Peterse, said on Friday it's inclusion was a reaction to a growing number of attacks against homosexuals in the Netherlands.

...

"What always bothered me is that the public reaction wasn't that strong. I would expect a much stronger outcry," Peterse, 25, said.

"Since I wasn't hearing it, I thought maybe it was a good idea to make a statement, to celebrate with them that you're free in Holland to live to your own preference."

Violence against homosexuals in Amsterdam seems to be on the increase. There are no hard figures but the number of reports is certainly rising. The perpetrators are mainly youths with a Moroccan background. But Arab homosexuals are also increasingly likely to be victims, says author, expert on gay issues and authority on the Amsterdam Arab gay scene, Rauf Moussad.

...

The homosexual interest group COC is also sounding the alarm. It says that "old-fashioned queer-bashing" is back. The Amsterdam police have also observed an increase in the number of reports of violence against homosexuals. In the first half of this year a special phone line received 17 reported cases, a higher figure than for the whole of 2006. It is possible that the number of reports has also increased as awareness of the phone line has grown, but Elly Lust of the Amsterdam police thinks there is more to it than this alone: "For a long time Amsterdam has been the 'gay capital of the world', but now that seems to be changing. And of course, it's something we don't want to happen."

A growing number of homosexual men in the Netherlands feel unsafe on the streets as a result of the increasing violence against gays. During the yearly Gay Pride weekend in Amsterdam several gay men were beaten up. In The Hague the blows struck home, too. However, a countermovement is in the making. Instead of being beaten up without doing anything about it, several gays are following a self-defence course.

One of the motivated students is Theo Gommel, who comments:

"When it comes to the crunch and I find myself in a situation where I have to fight, I won't run. I will fight. Through this course I want to learn how to."

Almost half (42%) of homosexuals in the Netherlands feel less safe on the streets than they did a year ago and of these 38% claim to have been confronted by anti-gay sentiments, according to a new survey published on Tuesday.

Verbal insults account for 64% of anti-gay incidents, while 12% result in physical abuse, the survey indicates. It also found that homosexuals in Amsterdam are more fearful than in other parts of the country.

Amsterdam's special homosexual police unit is set to don frocks, leather and rubber gear in the fight against homophobic attacks, it has been revealed.

Lesbian officers will be sent undercover to infiltrate anti-gay gangs and gay activists are calling for judges to ban known gay-bashers from gay areas and pick-up spots.

The plans are part of a concerted effort by the authorities to retain Amsterdam's image as the gay capital of the world following a spate of homophobic attacks and widespread concern in the gay community of increased violence.