The new Minister of Education, Culture and Science has apologised to the Dutch House of Representatives for his earlier comments about a rainbow crosswalk. Gouke Moes (BBB) came under fire for his tweets last year about a rainbow crosswalk that had been smeared with swastikas. At the time, he called it “unfortunate on both sides”.
Moes was sworn in as outgoing minister on Friday morning. After questions from the press, he apologised that day for his earlier comments. Lisa Westerveld (GroenLinks-PvdA) wanted him to also answer for his remarks in the House of Representatives and requested a debate on Tuesday morning, “partly because the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science is, of course, also responsible for tackling LGBTI discrimination”. Most MPs did not consider this necessary, as Moes had already apologised.
Restoring trust
Minister Moes was in the House on Tuesday anyway and repeated his apology there: “I support the cabinet’s policy on emancipation. I believe that in the Netherlands, you should be able to be who you are and love who you want.” He said that he “always wants to be open to dialogue” on the subject. On Tuesday evening, he sent a letter of apology to the House. ‘As a teacher, I have seen how homophobia is a real problem among young people,’ it said.
Lisa Westerveld says she wants to hear from the minister himself what exactly he meant by his apology: ‘Was it for his comments or for the commotion?’ She also wants to know ‘what he is going to do (in terms of action) for the safety and freedom of LGBTQIA+ people.’ ‘This will also give him the opportunity to restore the trust of large groups of people.’
HOP, Naomi Bergshoeff
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