Dutch Gay News September 28th 1995

AMSTERDAM. "On wednesday september 6th at 20.00 hours Marleen van Amersfoort 
(co-chair of the Amsterdam chapter of the N.V.I.H.-COC) will officially open 
the toilets on the first floor."

As public lavatories or "krullen" until the 1970's were a very important 
feature of Amsterdam's gay life as meeting places for gay men I was pleased to 
see the COC's sense of gay history still alive and kicking.
Actually the opening of the restrooms on the second floor of the COC-building 
marked the completion of the, for the time being, final phase in the rebuilding
of the interior of the COC-building at Rozenstraat 14, which started 2 1/2 years
ago and which will give the building a much-needed facelift. The occasion also 
marked the start of a new year of activities carried out by the COC Amsterdam 
chapter's 250 volunteers. Commenting on the recent trouble between the gay 
community and Amsterdam politicians Marleen van Amersfoort said that the 
(sparse) contacts with mayor Patijn had taken place in a pleasant athmosphere. 
Instead she blamed the current difficulties mainly on alderman for gay 
emancipation Jikkie van der Giessen, who, in her view, should assume a much 
more active role within Amsterdam city council when it comes to defending the 
political interests of Amsterdam's lesbians and gays.

AMSTERDAM. After having provided Amsterdam's gay population with regular gay 
programming since 1991, GTV (the letter "G" is pronounced "gay" in Dutch), a 
group lead by Jean-Paul Cherreau, collapsed a few months ago amidst rumours of 
internal arguments, debts and mismanagement. A group of GTV-volunteers who 
mainly had been making documentaries have, as it turns out, found a new home 
with gay radio station MVS, which for nearly ten years has been bringing gay 
radio programmes to Amsterdam and surrounding areas. Despite some internal 
opposition MVS has decided to start tv-programming in october, a plan which had
been laying dormant for some years. So last tuesday MVS proudly announced on 
the air the birth of "Wilma-TV", which, with a staff of some 40 volunteers is 
to begin tv-programmes on the Amsterdam cable starting saturday 7th. According 
to Gabriella Manunza, Wilma-TV's producer, programmes, which among others will 
feature news, documentaries, a gay soap and quiz-show will go out for one hour 
every first saturday of each month with repeats a few weeks later. Full radio 
and TV programme details can be found in the Dutch/English gay newspaper 
"Out on the Streets" which is distributed in gay venues in Amsterdam and London
every two weeks. MVS can be reached via e-mail under: mvsmedia@dds.nl.

ROTTERDAM. In a Rotterdam court last week a four-year jail sentence was demanded
against a patron of a boys-brothel in that city. Two other men, among these the
owner of the brothel, heard 7 and 6 year's sentences demanded against them. 
The men stood trial on charges of having sex with minors, rape and slave-trade.
The men had been exploiting 30 Polish and German boys, of whom 12 were under age,
for at least 2 years. A Dutch civil servant was said to have advised the 
organisation on how to get the boys across the border from Poland. According 
to the police some 21 other men will be prosecuted in the same case.

AMSTERDAM. Frank Govers (63), openly gay and rather flamboyant couturier, last 
week presented his winter-collection for the last time in his 40-year career. 
With tears in his eyes he received the Royal decoration of "ridder in de orde 
van Oranje-Nassau" from Mr. S.Patijn, mayor of Amsterdam. Mr. Govers, who is 
suffering from bad health and, as rumour has it, the declining taste in clothes
in Holland in recent years, became known to a larger audience through his 
appearances in commercials for laundry-detergent. Frank Govers, visibly moved 
by a spontaneous kiss from Mayor Patijn, had not expected to get a royal 
decoration as, like he said, he on more than one occasion had been critical of 
her majesty the queen's choice of wardrobe.