The police arrested more than 150 people on Monday after incidents in Amsterdam, Rotterdam and smaller Dutch cities.
Photographer: Marco de Swart / AFP / Getty Images
Photographer: Marco de Swart / AFP / Getty Images
The Netherlands faced the worst civil unrest in four decades after a third night of riots against a government curfew to curb the pandemic just weeks before the national elections.
The police arrested 184 people on Monday evening after incidents in Amsterdam, Rotterdam and smaller Dutch cities, reports ANP news agency. Prime Minister Mark Rutte described the disturbances on Monday as “criminal violence”.
It is not yet clear what impact the unrest will have on the March 17 elections. The Rutte cabinet resigned on January 15 due to a damning report on childcare allowances, making him head of a janitor’s cabinet until a new government is formed. That process can take months.
The latest polls show that 53-year-old Rutte, who enjoyed strong public support during the Covid-19 outbreak, is likely to remain prime minister while his VVD party solidifies its position as a leader. In Dutch politics, the largest fraction in parliament takes the lead in forming a cabinet.
Since the beginning of the On Saturday there have been widespread demonstrations in what has a local police union also called the worst riots in four decades. People started throwing fireworks at police officers on Sunday during a protest in a square near the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, and images showed others looting a supermarket at Eindhoven Central Station.
The incidents come because the country is in a lockdown, with non-essential shops, restaurants and bars closed until at least February 9th. The nationwide curfew was added to the government’s arsenal out of concern about new coronavirus variants that could spread faster.
At the same time, the total number of cases has declined in recent weeks. The latest weekly data will be released later on Tuesday.
While some protesters seemed focused on destroying property, others voiced opposition to what they believe is an unjust invasion of their freedom by the government.
“This has nothing to do with fighting for freedom,” Rutte said in The Hague on Monday, adding that, in his opinion, 99% of the Dutch stick to the rules – including curfews.
“We are not taking these measures for fun, but because we are fighting the virus and it is that virus that is currently depriving us of our freedom,” he said.
– With the assistance of Diederik Baazil
(Updates the number of arrests in the second paragraph.)