Netherlands: anti-sanitary measures protest canceled after night of riot in Rotterdam

Published on : 11/20/2021 – 3:19 PM

A demonstration against sanitary measures scheduled for Saturday November 20 in Amsterdam was canceled after a violent riot broke out in Rotterdam on Friday evening, the organization said.

“Hell broke out in Rotterdam last night,” anti-sanitary measures organization United We Stand Europe said on Facebook, referring to the chaos that erupted in the center of the port city on Friday evening, which at least seven injured, also among the police, according to the police.

A demonstration against partial containment to fight the Covid-19 pandemic turned into a “riot” on Friday evening in central Rotterdam, and several dozen people were arrested.

Demonstrators were protesting against health restrictions and the government’s plan to restrict access to unvaccinated people at some sites.

Two demonstrators injured by police bullets

Maintaining the demonstration in Amsterdam “did not seem fair to us”, stressed the organization United We Stand Europe, deploring the gunshot wounds of two demonstrators, which had also been announced by Dutch media.

“The riots and extreme violence against police, riot police and firefighters last night in Rotterdam are horrific to see,” Dutch Minister of Security and Justice Ferd Grapperhaus said on Saturday, lamenting the destruction. ” considerable “.

“The men and women who take to the streets every day for our safety have been bombarded with stones and fireworks,” he said in a statement.

“The police and the prosecution are doing everything to track down, prosecute and punish these rioters,” he said. .

Demonstration maintained in Breda

“After big disturbances yesterday (…) the balance is now being made. There is a lot of damage, people have been injured and people have been arrested” said on Twitter the local police on Saturday morning .

“At the moment the full picture is being drawn up. The investigation into the rioters is starting,” she said.

Several people have claimed on social media that someone died in the Rotterdam riot. “This was not reported either on our side or the National Directorate of Criminal Investigations,” retorted the Rotterdam police.

A demonstration planned in the southern city of Breda Saturday is meanwhile maintained with “more security measures”, and the organization expects according to local media several thousand people.

Joost Eras, who is organizing the protest along with three other DJs working in Breda’s catering industry, said last night that he was “shocked” by the violence in Rotterdam, but he sees no reason to cancel the protest in Breda, the Dutch news agency ANP reported.

With AFP