page_title: Republicanism in the Netherlands
section_title: "It is 2013" movement
hierarchical_section_title: Republicanism in the Netherlands / Historical development / 1999–2013: Abolishment vs. modernisation / "It is 2013" movement
caption_attribution_description: English: Dutch sign protesting the Investiture (and rule) of Willem-Alexander as King of the Netherlands. It was designed by the New Republican Society (NRG) and combines the words 'Willem' ("William") and 'wil hem' ("want him") to simultaneously say: "I don't want him" and "I don't want William". The smiling figure is throwing a broken orange crown in the bin, symbolising the abolition of the Orange monarchy. Nederlands: Nederlands protestlogo tegen de inhuldiging (en heerschappij) van Willem-Alexander als koning der Nederlanden. Het werd ontworpen door het Nieuw Republikeins Genootschap (NRG) en combineert de woorden 'Willem' en 'wil hem', zodat de tekst tegelijk zegt 'Ik wil hem niet' en 'Ik wil Willem niet'. De glimlachende figuur gooit een gebroken oranje kroon weg in de prullenbak, hetgeen de afschaffing van de Oranjemonarchie symboliseert.
context_page_description: Republicanism in the Netherlands is a movement that strives to abolish the Dutch monarchy and replace it with a republic. The popularity of the organised republican movement that seeks to abolish the monarchy in its entirety has been suggested to be a minority among the people of the Netherlands, according to opinion polls. On the other hand, there has shown to be political and popular support in the Netherlands for reducing the political powers and the subsidies of the royal house.
context_section_description: In the run-up to the investiture of Willem-Alexander on 30 April 2013, Utrecht student Joanna suddenly made headlines when she protested with a cardboard sign reading 'Weg met de monarchie. Het is 2013' ("Down with the monarchy. It is 2013") in the presence of Queen Beatrix, after which she was removed by the police, violating her freedom of expression. The incident inspired the foundation of the antimonarchist "It is 2013" movement, that together with the NRG wanted hold playful activities to call for a referendum on the abolition of the monarchy on 30 April. The police later admitted their mistake, and the soon-to-be-king Willem-Alexander remarked that on the day of his investiture "of course there will be room for dissent. There has to be. Nothing wrong with that." He commented that the police officer who removed Joanna probably made a mistake, but everyone can make mistakes and learn from them. Of the six protest locations assigned by the government of Amsterdam, one was used by republicans: the Waterlooplein. Joanna and NRG chairman Hans Maessen, who demonstrated individually against the monarchy, were arrested on Dam Square. The police later admitted the arrests were a mistake. Joanna claimed she had been "silenced". Since the investiture, Joanna and the "It is 2013" movement were rarely heard from again.
caption: 2013 republican sign protesting the investiture of Willem-Alexander, simultaneously stating "I don't want him" and "I don't want Willem".
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