ANP Productions | Source: ANP
Yesterday at 8:19 PM
Amsterdam
GroenLinks-PvdA parliamentarian Habtamu de Hoop “will not let Johan Derksen tell me whether I am Frisian or not”. The politician stated this on Wednesday in Sophie & Jeroen in response to statements that Derksen made on Tuesday in Today Inside. Derksen stated that De Hoop is not Frisian because he was born in Ethiopia. The parliamentarian was adopted by Frisian parents when he was a few months old.
De Hoop thought it was a “bizarre statement” that he initially wanted to ignore. But he came back to this on Wednesday morning. “For me, this is about something bigger and more fundamental,” De Hoop said. “Many people here are wondering, especially since the elections: Do I belong? Can I be Dutch? Can I be Frisian?”
The Frisian politician stated explicitly that he wanted to speak out about Derksen’s statements for “people who are less strong in their shoes. Don’t let others tell you who you are, where you belong and how you should feel. I’ll be fine. But when it comes to others, it makes me angry. When people feel like they don’t belong here because someone else decides that for them. You determine your own identity.”
Derksen’s comments led to much outrage on Wednesday, including among politicians and on social media. The National Coordinator against Discrimination and Racism explicitly stated that programs such as Today Inside normalize racism and discrimination because it is a “revenue model”. Talpa Network, Talpa boss John de Mol and the regular analysts of Today Inside were unavailable all day on Wednesday to respond to the angry comments.
