On 3 November 2023 Peter Mertens had the privilege of giving the keynote speech at the launch of Jacobin Nederland at the Pakhuis De Zwijger in Amsterdam. Here is the full text of his speech.
Last weekend, thousands of people demonstrated in the Belgian cities of Liège, Brussels, Ghent, Antwerp, Mechelen and all over the world to protest against the massacre in Gaza and demand a ceasefire now!
40,000 people took to the streets of Brussels at the Schuman Square in front of the European institutions on Sunday 22 October, in response to a call from a broad platform of organisations (CSC, FGTB, CNCD-11.11.11, Union des Progressistes Juifs de Belgique (UPJB), Association Belgo-Palestinienne, Intal, Pax Christi, etc.) and Palestinian organisations.
On August 25, Raoul Hedebouw and Sofie Merckx launched The Big Survey in Seraing as the starting point for the election campaign. For 4 months, PTB members will be going out to meet people in markets, neighbourhoods and factories to listen to their concerns and seek their opinions on how to change society and define the priorities for the PTB's electoral programme.
When their schemes are uncovered, political profiteers usually proclaim their innocence loud and clear: "I don't know anything, I've never done anything wrong, I thought everything was going by the book, ...". Former president of the House Siegfried Bracke (N-VA, right-wing Flemish nationalist party) goes further.
Dear friends, dear comrades,
What a pleasure to meet again at this magnificent edition of ManiFiesta. The weather is superb, as is everyone around us. There are more than 15.000 people here today. I'd like to start by thanking all the volunteers who make this festival possible.
Unforgettable. ManiFiesta Belgium, the Solidarity Festival, reinvented itself and delighted more than 15,000 visitors over a weekend of madness. "Together we can make waves", as they say. And it was indeed a tidal wave of solidarity that washed over Ostend.
