By Theodore Shoebat
Just as there have been riots in Germany over covid lockdowns, now there is rioting throughout the Netherlands over a covid curfew. As we read in the Washington Post:
On Sunday, police deployed dogs, a water cannon and mounted officers to disperse a demonstration in central Amsterdam, arresting nearly 200 people, the Reuters news agency reported. In the fishing village of Urk Saturday, youth torched a coronavirus testing center and clashed with local media and police.
Some of the worst violence flared in Eindhoven in the south, where rioters threw stones, knives and fireworks at police and damaged the local railway station, Dutch media reported.A far-right, anti-immigration group, Pegida, had previously called a demonstration in the city and said they would use the protest to burn copies of the Quran. The protest in Amsterdam was also organized by anti-lockdown groups on the messaging app Telegram, according to local media.
On Monday, a spokesperson for the national police union said that law enforcement was preparing for more unrest.
“I hope it was a one-off,” Koen Simmers said of the unrest this weekend, in an interview with the Dutch program Nieuwsuur. “But I’m afraid it was a harbinger for the coming days and weeks.”
According to TRT world:
Protests against a curfew to curb the spread of Covid-19 in the Netherlands have degenerated into clashes with police and looting in cities across the country, authorities and reports said.
Police used water cannon and dogs in Amsterdam, public television NOS reported, after hundreds gathered to protest the curfew which is set to last until February 10 and is the country’s first since World War II.
In the southern city of Eindhoven, police fired tear gas to disperse a crowd of several hundred, regional television Omroep Brabant reported. At least 30 people were arrested there, according to police.
A number of vehicles were burned and businesses at Eindhoven’s central train station were also looted, media reports said.
Dutch rail company NS called on travellers to avoid the Eindhoven station, where it said train circulation was interrupted due to the intervention of emergency services nearby.
The mayor of Eindhoven stated that a civil war could erupt in the Netherlands. According to NL Times:
Mayor John Jorritsma of Eindhoven, where the riot police resorted to tear gas and water cannons to disperse rioters after an illegal protest on Sunday, called it “bizarre” what happened in his city’s center. He is worried about the coming days, he said to NOS. “That’s how we’re heading for civil war,’ he said.