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A28 WORLD NEWS
Thursday 11 June 2020
Thousands attend Black Lives Matter demo in Amsterdam

By PETER DEJONG ple -- small children -- with
Associated Press dark skin who say: 'I feel
AMSTERDAM (AP) — Thou- unbelievably discriminated
sands of people dem- against because Pete is
onstrated Wednesday in black,' that's the last thing
support of the Black Lives you want," Rutte said in a
Matter movement in a park debate in Parliament.
in Amsterdam named for "I expect that in the com-
South African anti-apart- ing years almost no Petes
heid icon Nelson Mandela. will be black," he added.
It was the latest in a series of "It's a popular culture that
protests in Dutch cities that changes over time and un-
have followed the death der pressure from debate in
of George Floyd in Minne- society." But Rutte has said
sota on May 25 and the he won't ban Black Pete.
protests across the United Esajas wants more from the
States and the world that country's political leader.
followed. "As long as Mark Rutte does
"We are here to hold up not take any action against
a fist against the global Black Pete, we can say
pandemic of racism," pro- Mark Rutte does not care
tester Mitchell Esajas told about black lives," he said.
the crowd at the peaceful Debate also is on the rise
event, where all the par- about statues and other
ticipants took a knee and buildings and street names
raised a fist near the end. honoring historical figures
Floyd, a black man, died linked to Dutch involve-
after a white Minneapo- ment in the slave trade.
lis police officer pressed A couple kisses as they and thousands of other people demonstrate in support of the Black Lives Some of the mansions lin-
a knee on his neck even Matter movement in a park in Amsterdam, Wednesday June 10, 20202, named for South African ing Amsterdam's historic
after he pleaded for air anti-Apartheid icon Nelson Mandela. Associated Press canals -- including even
while lying handcuffed on the official residence of the
the ground. He was buried in the Netherlands since dominated by a children's blazoned with the words city's mayor -- were built for
Tuesday in Houston after Floyd's death. A Dutch hu- character known as Black "Black Pete is racism." wealthy 17th century trad-
a funeral service at which man rights organization Pete, who is frequently por- Last week, Prime Minister ers who held prominent
speakers predicted he will called on the government trayed by white people in Mark Rutte said he had positions in companies that
be remembered forever for Wednesday to appoint a blackface makeup during undergone a significant bought and sold slaves.
changing history. coordinator to help tackle St. Nicholas festivities in ear- change in his views about On Sunday in the English
Public debate about rac- what it called "structural ly December. Black Pete, although he port city of Bristol, demon-
ism, discrimination and discrimination" in the Neth- The first speaker to address maintained that he does strators toppled a statue of
historical links to the slave erlands. Dutch debate the Amsterdam demon- not believe the character is a 17th-century slave trader,
trade have intensified about race has often been stration wore a hoodie em- racist. "When I meet peo- Edward Colston.q

PM vows IS will never again overrun Iraqi territory

ister vowed Wednesday in internally displaced — to A military campaign dis-
an official visit to northern mark the sixth anniversary lodged IS’s territorial hold
Iraq. of the group’s onslaught in Iraq by 2017, but recon-
The visit by Mustafa al-Kad- against Iraq. IS controlled struction efforts have been
himi came amid a recent a third of the country at slow and often upended
increase in militant attacks the height of its power in by local political dynam-
and the withdrawal of U.S.- 2014. ics.
led coalition forces in a Al-Kadhimi was accom- Al-Kadhimi was inaugurat-
planned drawdown. panied by the ministers ed as premier last month
In Baghdad, a rocket of housing, migration and amid a severe economic
struck a few hundred me- displacement, commerce crisis brought on by low
ters (yards) from the U.S. and culture, as well as mili- oil prices. Recently, his
Embassy inside the capi- tary officials. administration has been
tal’s fortified Green Zone, “Our visit to Mosul is to send dealing with a flare-up in
according to a military a message to IS: What coronavirus cases.
statement, hours before happened will not be re- The streets of Mosul were
the U.S. and Iraq are to peated,” he told reporters empty and shops shut-
hold highly anticipated accompanying him. tered due to a curfew
Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kahdimi, center, visits the site talks focusing on the pres- Al-Kadhimi inspected the aimed at curbing the
of the Al–Nuri mosque, which was destroyed by Islamic State ence of American troops iconic al-Nuri Mosque, spread of the virus.
militants, during his visit to Mosul, Iraq, Wednesday, June 10,
2020. in Iraq. No casualties were from where IS leader Abu The World Bank recent-
Associated Press reported. Bakr al-Baghdadi first an- ly offered to restructure
One month into office, al- nounced the IS caliphate. loans earmarked for re-
By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA Islamic State group will Kadhimi visited the gamut He was also present to re- construction to help the
Associated Press never again overrun Iraqi of lives touched by IS rule open the city’s Al-Hurriya country combat the viral
MOSUL, Iraq (AP) — The territory, Iraq’s prime min- — from tribal leaders to the Bridge and a museum. pandemic. q