Queen's Day evokes painful memories of 2009 attack

Last year’s Queen’s Day celebrations were disrupted by a suicide attack by a lone fanatic that killed eight. For the survivors, the attack's first anniversary brings back memories.

This Friday, just like every April 30th, the Dutch will dress up in orange - the royal family’s colour - and celebrate their monarchy on the streets. But Queen’s Day will never again be a happy celebration for Ria van der Stelt. Last year, the official parade of the royal family turned to tragedy as a lone fanatic ploughed his car into a crowd, in an apparent attack on the open bus that drove the royals through the city of Apeldoorn.

The royals survived unscathed, but Van der Stelt's sister, Netty Martens (50), wasn’t so lucky. She was one of the seven bystanders who were killed by the impact of Karst T.'s Suzuki Swift. Karst T., the 38-year-old driver of the car, later died from the injuries he sustained in the crash.

No damages

"It's there in the morning when you get up, and it doesn't leave you till you go to bed at night," Van der Stelt said about the loss of her sister. She has been waging a legal battle to get financial compensation for the emotional distress she and her 89-year-old mother suffered, but so far, to no avail. "It's unfair you aren't compensated," she said. "To qualify for damages, you have to be a witness of the event, suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder and be in treatment for it. Only then can you claim damages for emotional distress. We do not meet those criteria, but that doesn't mean our grief runs any less deep," she said. A bill that would have allowed her to claim damages was recently rejected by the upper house of parliament.

Reaal, the insurance company that covered T.'s car, has received 118 claims and processed half of those. The company has so far paid out one million euros to compensate for the victims' funerals, loss of income, emotional and other damages. The insurance company expects that the last claims won't be processed until halfway through next year and will amount to 4.5 million euros.

Van der Stelt first heard of the tragedy when she saw images of it on television shortly after it happened, just before noon. By seven in the evening, she came to realise just how close to home events had struck, when she received a phone call asking her to come to Apeldoorn to identify her sister. "It was unreal," Van der Stelt said. "At the time, I refused to belief she had died."

'Perfectly nice people'

After the incident, princess Maxima and crown prince Willem-Alexander paid a visit to both Ria and her mother. "Perfectly nice people," was Van der Stelt's take on the royal couple. She felt the same way about T.'s parents, who she saw at a recent victim-support meeting. She has come to see Karst T. as a "pathetic person who acted out of despair," she said. "Karst's parents have four children. They counted their blessings, but when it came to Karst they always felt uneasy. He wasn't happy, particularly in his last six months."

This Thursday, Van der Stelt will be participating in a memorial service in Apeldoorn, together with her husband and her sister's partner. Her mother won’t be joining them. "It is too much for her to bear. She finds it hard to visit that emotional place."

Apeldoorn mayor Fred de Graaf has already announced the memorial service will be held only once, in agreement with the victims' relatives. De Graaf defended the decision saying one person should not be able to determine how Queen’s Day would be celebrated for "days, months and years".

An absurd situation

Recently, De Graaf voiced his concerns over the excessive security required for memorials and other events. All members of the royal family will attend the memorial on Thursday. Roadblocks will have to be erected. People living nearby will not be allowed to leave their cars on the driveway. A state of emergency will be effective in the area. Watching the ceremony from a balcony is forbidden. The ceremony, which will last no longer than 30 minutes, will cost hundreds of thousands of euros. Speaking at a city council meeting on Tuesday, De Graaf called this an absurd situation.

"It has become nigh-on impossible to organise an event like this," De Graaf was quoted as saying in De Stentor, a local paper. "You can't take any risks, but sometimes you wonder what kind of absurd world we are living in today. To prepare for the event, we discussed possible incidents, including ones involving zeppelins and parachute jumpers."

In Apeldoorn, Queen’s Day itself will be celebrated in a sober modified fashion. Van der Stelt won't be joining in the festivities however. "I used to love Queen’s Day,” she said. “But, for me, this day will always be linked to Netty's death."