The college of mayors and aldermen in Hoogeveen wants to get rid of statements at the town hall. As far as the college is concerned, there will be no more new flags after the green #trotsopdeboer flag will be removed soon.
Suddenly a green flag flew over the town hall in Hoogeveen this summer, to support the farmers. At the request of CDA councilor Bert Otten, who is also a farmer, the flag was raised. “As a college, we want to show that we support peaceful protests that are intended to convince the cabinet to adjust the nitrogen plans.”
The #trotsopdeboer flag is seen by the council as a neutral flag, answers B and W to questions from GroenLinks.
Position and new policy
GroenLinks sees it differently and asked the municipal council why it was not discussed with the municipal council. Because, says the party of party chairman Harrie van der Meer, there are enough residents of the municipality who are ‘green and yellow annoyed by the actions taken’, referring for example to highway blockades with tractors.
But consultation about supporting farmers was not necessary in Hoogeveen, according to the mayor and aldermen. “The Board is responsible for the implementation of the flag protocol. On previous occasions regarding the hoisting of flags, the College has also acted in this way and has not informed the Council in advance.”
Discussion leads to change
The ‘neutral flag’ received praise and criticism and the flag is not that neutral, the college admits. “We realize that we are taking a position with this. This also applies to previous decisions about the hanging of, for example, the rainbow flag and the Ukrainian flag. The discussion that sometimes arises about the use of flags is reason for the Executive Board to adopt the flag protocol after the summer. to adjust.”
Mayor Loohuis indicates what that protocol should look like as far as he is concerned. “The mayor’s approach is that there is only room at the town hall for the Dutch, Drenthe and European flag, unless official foreign delegations are visiting,” he answers to the GroenLinks questions. “Part of the protocol will therefore be that we do not hang flags that show support, the town hall is neutral. All other possible expressions take place in a different place than the town hall.”
The new protocol will be drawn up in consultation with the council, first the municipality will remove the inverted flags from municipal properties in the coming weeks. With the end of that protest, the green support flag above the town hall will also disappear.
rainbow flag
So it seems that the peasant flags, the Ukrainian bicolor and Cascaderun flag in the carillon tower will soon be over. And the rainbow flag would also not return to the town hall in Loohuis’s intention.
In 2016, a majority of the city council voted in favor of a motion in which the municipality named itself rainbow municipality. Only the Municipal Interests was against it at the time. Part of the motion is that the municipality stands for ‘a tolerant society in which everyone is treated equally, and therefore to raise the rainbow flag on the town hall on the Coming-Outday (11 October) and Purple Friday (second Friday of December)’.
GroenLinks wants ‘clear dividing line’ in flag policy
GroenLinks party chairman Van der Meer does not want to anticipate the protocol that the council will present, but says he will take a critical look at the policy surrounding the rainbow flag. “For me, there is a difference between a flag that shows that you are an inclusive municipality and a protest flag. We must determine a clear dividing line in this. Hanging the rainbow flag twice a year is a council decision, that is a point of attention. .”
A spokesperson said on behalf of Loohuis that the flag can simply be hoisted next Coming-Outday, because the new flag protocol is not yet in force. “It could be that it will then be hoisted in front of the town hall.”