Banners and protest signs in the public gallery are now no longer allowed at municipal meetings in Oss. Mayor Wobine Buijs decided this because council members have difficulty with it. Just before the start of Thursday’s meeting, protests could still be seen in the room.
Buijs has consulted with the parties in the council. According to her, this showed that council members have difficulty with clearly visible protests in the stands. They find it very difficult to make a free choice. Even though a banner falls under freedom of expression, it is no longer allowed in the council chamber.
Protests were also visible at the start of Thursday evening’s meeting. This time from activists who wanted to stop the wind turbine plans in the Lithse polder. They had hung a banner and protest signs in the public gallery, but they had to put them away immediately.
Been a problem for some time
In the past, banners were regularly seen in the stands of the council chamber when topics were discussed that caused a lot of unrest among residents. Examples are demolition plans of housing associations in various neighborhoods. “Is Mooiland completely drunk? They want to demolish our palaces!!!”, it said, for example.
But protests were also held in the public gallery on other topics, such as the reception of refugees. By banning banners and protest signs, the council hopes to put an end to similar, fierce expressions during the meeting.
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