Dutch police clash with anti-curfew protesters for 3rd night
Police in the Netherlands have clashed with people protesting against a COVID-19 nighttime curfew throughout the country for a third night.
Police used tear gas and water cannon to disperse protesters in cities ranging from Rotterdam and Amsterdam to the smaller centers of Haarlem, Geleen, and Den Bosch on Monday.
Groups of youths, according to police, confronted police officers by throwing fireworks, and the protesters turned a car on its side in the capital, Amsterdam.
In the country’s second-largest city, Rotterdam, police said protesters took to the streets “seeking a confrontation with police.”
Riot police clashed with them and made a number of arrests before firing tear gas.
The country’s national broadcaster NOS showed a video of police using a water cannon against the demonstrators. It also reported that some protesters had looted shops in the city.
According to police chief Willem Woelders, some 70 people were arrested on Monday. Police said hundreds had also been detained over the weekend.
Police said they had issued more than 5,700 fines for breaking the curfew, which lasts from 9 pm to 4:30 am local time.
Prime Minister Mark Rutte denounced the violence on the streets, calling it “unacceptable.”
“This has nothing to do with protesting, this is criminal violence and that’s how we’ll treat it,” he said.
Police union board member Koen Simmers said, “We haven’t seen so much violence in 40 years,” warning that there could be more protests.
The Dutch parliament narrowly voted to approve the curfew — the first since World War II — last week, after the National Institute for Health (RIVM) warned a new wave of infections was on its way due to a new variant of COVID-19.
Overall, 13,579 people have lost their lives due to COVID-19 in the Netherlands. At least 952,950 infections have also been reported to date.
Some 4,129 new cases of the disease were reported in the country on Monday.
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