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‘Mayor curtails freedom’

20 April 2007 - Not ‘keeping things together’, but ‘keeping things under one’s thumb’ seems to have become the motto of Mayor Job Cohen, according to Ivar Manuel and Jan Paternotte (D66) in an opinion article in het Parool.

The mayor is often associated with a relaxed style of government, having a dialogue while enjoying a cup of tea. According to Manuel and Paternotte, that image is no longer accurate.

More and more often, the mayor opts for a repressive approach. Examples include the closing of brothels at the Wallen, the bans on smoking cannabis in public, body searches of visitors of dance parties, the performance contract regarding the arrest of undocumented residents and preventive frisking on the streets.

According to Manuel and Paternotte, Cohen further evades democratic control by defining problems as violations of the public order, leaving the city council empty-handed. The authors of the article call on the mayor to enter a debate with the citizens on the future of the city.

Photo: Damaso Reyes. See also: Mayor critical of freedom

 

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