Dutch Protest Against COVID Curfew & Restrictions
For the third night in a row since the announcement of the nightly COVID-19 curfew and restrictions in the Netherlands, the Dutch have been protesting, rioting, looting and causing destruction all over their cities at hospitals and testing facilities. Up till now, 180 have been arrested due to arson and thievery while 300 people have been detained as of the past weekend on Saturday and Sunday. According to The Guardian’s reports, 5,765 fines were issued to dutch rule breakers for stepping out during the curfew hours.
The country announced a nightly curfew of 9:00 PM to 4:30 AM on Saturday, January 23rd, 2021 with riots and protests following in its wake over the next few days. Officials have reported that the organizers and rioters were found to be “overwhelmingly teenagers”. Amongst the reported crimes were the ones by said adolescents throwing rocks and a knife in one case at officers as bars and restaurants remain shuttered since October 2020. Schools and non-essential shops, meanwhile, were announced to follow into a lockdown from mid-December 2020.
The reason behind these vast medical city-wide measures is the fear of the UK variant of the coronavirus spreading into the Netherlands and the foreseeable burdens that will create on the medical facilities of the country. A Dutch criminologist, Henk Ferwerda noted that the rioters included “virus deniers, political protesters and kids who just saw the chance to go completely wild”. DW also reports that the police used water cannons, officers on horseback and dogs to disperse the gathering protesters in Amsterdam who were caught throwing stones and setting off fireworks. A union board member, Koen Simmers told Nieuwsuur: “We haven’t seen so much violence in 40 year.
Meanwhile in Eindhoven, the city’s Mayor John Jorritsma told reporters, “My city is crying, and so am I”, describing the rioters as “the scum of the earth” when reporters came out in regards to rioters torching cars, smashing windows, and looting supermarkets at the railway station. He added in a press conference: “I am afraid that if we continue down this path, we’re on our way to civil war.”
Voor het niet naleven van de avondklok, die afgelopen zaterdag inging, werden 5765 mensen bekeurd. In totaal werden er 7045 coronaboetes uitgeschreven. Afgelopen week zijn 790 mensen gewaarschuwd omdat ze zich niet hielden aan de coronamaatregelen. #alleensamen #samentegencorona
— Politie Nederland (@Politie) January 25, 2021
The official twitter account of the Dutch police posted the above tweet on January 25th, which translates to the following via Google Translate:
“5765 people were fined for non-compliance with the curfew, which went into effect last Saturday. A total of 7,045 corona fines were issued. Last week, 790 people were warned for not complying with the corona measures. #together #togetheragainstcorona”
Stay tuned with Media Quotient Inc. on the developing situations in the Netherlands over the COVID curfew.
Credit: Marco de Swart/ANP/AFP/Getty
