Joop from Hoogeveen had hung five banners last night in memory of Pim Fortuyn: one in the center of Hoogeveen, two above the A28 and two above the A37, but to his dismay they were removed this morning.
Today it is exactly twenty years ago that the politician was shot dead by Volkert van der Graaf at the Media Park in Hilversum. A good moment to draw attention to this, thought Joop, who prefers not to disclose his last name. “I did that together with others at the time just after he died,” he looks back.
The Fortuyn supporter also went to the farewell moment at the time, where he walked along the bier with thousands of others and was invited on the spot for the politician’s funeral. “So a day later I was in church, next to Herman Heinsbroek (later LPF Minister of Economic Affairs, ed.). I was quite emotional. What I thought was very special was that Pim’s brother Marten gave me his rose.”
He was a fanatic supporter of the flamboyant politician. “I just thought that man was great. He dared to say what many other people thought and to name things. A man with his charisma is only born once every fifty years.”
In recent weeks, the Hoogevener watched the TV series broadcast on NPO1 about the politician with great pleasure and he decided to have banners printed again. He hung one at ‘t Kruis, the oval at the beginning of Hoofdstraat, and the four others along both highways near Hoogeveen. “One on both sides of the De Koppeling viaduct near the hospital and two on the Alteveer viaduct.”
The banners said in large yellow letters never forget next to the image of Fortuyn, with ’06-05-2002 – 06-05-2022′ below. “It’s unbelievable how many responses I’ve received. I’ve had a few hundred apps from people who thought it was a good action and who think it’s a shame that it’s no longer there. Many people in the center also took pictures of the banner there,” he continues.
But around noon he discovered that boas from the municipality were removing the banners. According to de Hoogevener, both the cloths in the center and the banners along the highway have been removed. “I don’t understand. This is a matter of freedom of expression, isn’t it? And I also think it’s very inappropriate on his death anniversary. You don’t do that!”
According to the municipality of Hoogeveen, enforcers only removed the canvas in the center, the municipality was not aware of the other canvases. Joop plans to pick up the banners again from the enforcement officers.
“The banner in the center has been removed at the request of entrepreneurs in the street,” said a spokesman for the municipality. In addition, for safety reasons, it is not desirable to have a banner hanging in this area. “And it also has to do with permits. If you want to hang a banner, even if it is from the Jumbo, you have to apply for a permit and that did not happen here.”
The last name of Joop is known to the editors.