Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - June 30, 1966, Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg free press thursday 30, 1966 dutch holding inquest on Amsterdam the Hague special ofis s Amsterdam is almost Back to Normal but the rest of Holland is still reverberating from the riots which Shook the City night after night recently. After the initial Shock and the recriminations comes a period of c r i i i c a 1 self examination while the dutch try to put their own Bouse in order. Why did it Short answer is that a Large group of the youth of Amsterdam suddenly realized that the police could no longer control the City. They began an orgy of vengeance for what they consider unfair and unnecessarily violent police treatment. It was the outcome of a resentment which has been building up for years. Ions before the disturbances at Princess Beatrix s marriage the German Claus von Amsberg brought the Situa Tion before the eyes of the world. The full answer however has its roots deep in dutch society and starts with the grievances of the two main participants the police a n d t h e y o u t h o f Amsterdam. Before the second world War. Relations Between the people of Amsterdam Anri their police Force were Good. The War quickly instilled fear and hatred of uniforms of brutality even of author Ity and unfortunately the Amsterdam police have been unable to break Down this attitude. They Are at least 500 , As the mayor of Amsterdam said during the riots. The pay is not Good enough to encourage a High Standard of recruitment and in the opinion of some people the selection procedure not thorough enough to Dis courage the wrong sort of candidate. The police have had Little Contact with the social agencies and tend to work by the Rule Book. It was their tactless handling of harmless demonstrations which eventually led to the riots. The frustration of the youth of Amsterdam and dutch youth in Genera was the other main Factor. After the second world War the whole of Holland geared itself to resurrecting the country and Economy from the ruins. It meant absolute single mindedness great self sacrifice and sheer hard work. The result has been the creation of a magnificent society but not necessarily one with values which the following generation can predate. Holland is an educational meritocracy in which education brains know How and letters after one s name Are the pass ports to social recognition. Inevitably this Means that at the age of 14 when the real Choice comes be tween those Are aiming at an academic education and University and those who cannot make the Grade a Large Section of dutch youth feels As though it has been rejected out of hand. Since the War Holland has had to concentrate on essentials and there has been Little time for amuse ment. Although Amsterdam is notorious for the facilities it can offer passing sailors there is not a single dance Hall suitable for teen agers in the whole of the City the Only youth clubs Are in the hands of the churches. All this adds up to groups of Young people aimlessly roaming the City at night with Vioney in their pockets and nothing to do but eat chips and Mayonnaise and play the Juke boxes is the cafes. It is amazing that the business minded dutch have never realized the potential of the teen age entertain ment Market. The dutch often describe themselves As a nation of 12 million individuals and Freedom of the individual is something they profess to hold dear a Section of the population is allowed to drop out of the National insurance scheme because their Reli Gion holds that insurance is a form of gambling and the education system is geared to give the majority of. Parents absolute Choice in what Type of education their children can receive. Be cause dutch society is still organized on a confessional basis about a third of the population is roman Catho Lic about a third protestant and the rest described As Neutral every Al Lowance is made to accommodate confessional d i f Ferencek but when it copies to Freedom of speech for those outside the Cucu Reveri the rules Are stricter. Over a year Asio a group of Young idealists who d e s c r i be themselves As anarchists but who do not generally approve of any form of violence began to hold happenings in the Centre of Amsterdam every saturday night to establish they said their right to express their opinions. This group christened provos Testant and socialist. But Here too the of a change Are showing. Even 10 years ago it wan unthinkable that a dutch Catholic should vote anything Catholic join anything but Catholic Trade Union or subscribe to anything butt Catholic sponsored radio and television. Sotern possible in the far East we should i think note two controlling elements As we have seen them in our european experience. One is that there exists in Europe an Over All strategic balance of Power established by the Mutual nuclear deterrence of the . And the . The other is Itiat Europe not Only gaullist Europe Europe from Britain to Romania has begun to take charge of its own destiny and is moving towards a co Culston of the cold War. In the far East on the other hand a strategic balance of Power has not yet been reached. For while the . Has virtually absolute nuclear superiority Ever China the effectiveness of this superiority is neutralized by the soviet chinese Alliance which is presumably alive. In this state of nuclear neutralization the manpower of China Avail Able for guerrilla fighting is a potent and unsettling Factor. Furthermore As c it m pared with the situation which has developed in Europe in the past four or five years there is As yet to important asian Power capable of taking tile Lead As has gaullist France in breaking up the pattern of the com War. In this respect the most hopeful development in Asia for a Long time is the emergence of Japan As a Power As we saw in the recent asian conference in Korea. Although nothing was entirely Clear or very definite it was apparent that in emerging As a great Power in Asia Japan will assume a role not unlike that of gaullist France towards the soviet Union of mediator with red China. In the whole vast process of change in Europe and the far East or. Rusk has chosen to id in t i f y the United states with non belief in the changes. He has abandoned the initiative in opening ways to the future and seems so concerned with the risky of change which of course exist that How Patty he has been Able to stand has become the measure of his diplomatic Success. The moral Assurance which envelops the Ameri can stand pattern is impressive. Never a word of doubt is offered he official quarters. Now steadfastness is a though rigidity is not parser Eranee is a virtue though stubbornness is not reliability is a virtue though stand Pattisu is not. A changeability and Lack of j fickleness is a virtue but it would be better if the state department of the United states did not act As if it bad not had a new idea since the death of John of copyright 1mi interesting thing about daily newspapers. People like the advertising Surprise you Well it s a fact. In american Survey 78 of the people interviewed said they actually prefer a newspaper with ads to one with out. They like the advertising. In contrast 54% would rather have to without ads and 61 would prefer radio without ads. In another Survey validated by the Canadian Advertis ing research foundation 71 of those interviewed said they find television commercials irritating and 13 said the same of radio. In contrast Only 8% said they were irritated by newspaper advertising. What s More canadians not Only like newspaper Adver Tising they re influenced to buy because of it. 83% of those interviewed described newspaper ads As a guide to Day to Day shopping. Only 6% considered television and 3 radio in this same Light. Yes canadians Are a nation of readers. People read a daily newspaper every week Day. They read the paper for local world and social news for entertainment and for the ads. And Many like news paper ads so much they d rather read a paper with them than one without. Interesting fact especially to the advertisers. Published by the Winnipeg free press a member newspaper of Canadian daily newspaper publishers association 55 University Avenue Toronto r. A. Narford Genera manager ;