Eindhoven’s well-known street organist was repeatedly banned from the city centre last weekend.
According to the municipality, he didn’t follow the special police’s (boas) instructions. Thijs Haenen, who operates the barrel organ, said these enforcers’ behavior angered him. He says he was sent away because it could become too busy.
According to Haenen, that was unjustified, and it wasn’t too busy. He also has a permit that allows him to move his organ from place to place. A city council spokesperson says the officers’ instructions override this permit.
Asked to leave twice
They say it looked like it was getting busier. So, an officer asked Haenen to leave. Later that same afternoon, enforcers intervened again, says the municipality. The organist had reappeared on the city’s streets.
“We’d asked him to play his organ away from the pedestrian area. But, he’d not complied with earlier instructions. So he received an official warning”, the council’s statement reads.
In the end, Haenen moved into the suburbs. He played his Sinterklaas songs there.
Source: Studio040
Translator: Bob
Editor: Melinda Walraven
