A large group of young people pelts the police with stones and fireworks in Rotterdam
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A local resident braved the streets to extinguish a fire started by the rioters
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The rioters then began looting
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A focus on freedom
The group is a mixed bag of coronavirus deniers, political protesters and opportunists spoiling for a fight, all of whom claim the curfew was the trigger after nearly a year of living under lockdown — albeit a much milder one than in nearby countries.
The Dutch have a particularly libertarian notion of freedom, says Matthew Rodger, Netherlands analyst at The Economist Intelligence Unit. “Hostility to heightened lockdowns, especially onerous social distancing requirements, is much higher in the Netherlands than in countries like the UK and Germany,” he told The Telegraph.
“In surveys in early December and late November, about a third of Dutch were strongly opposed to lockdowns and curfews while the UK and Germany showed 15 per cent to 20 per cent opposition.
“The Dutch also have a much stronger emphasis on personal liberty and freedom of expression than other countries in Europe that probably stems from the Protestant reformation.”
Political fragmentation may play another role. In recent years, support for major parties has splintered, with 15 ‘parties’ currently in parliament and a four-party coalition acting as ‘caretaker’ government until a general election in March.
Opposition parties such as the far-right Forum for Democracy are staunchly anti-lockdown, and some researchers see a worrying rise in far-Right radicalism and sense of an alternative reality, similar to that behind the US storming of the Capitol.
Distrust in the media, the science and the state
Jan Willem Duyvendak, professor of sociology at the University of Amsterdam who is researching nativism in the US and in the Netherlands told The Telegraph: “The people who mobilise seem to have three adversaries: the mainstream media, which they really think are fake, there’s enormous distrust in science and scientific facts, and they are extremely distrustful towards the government, personalised by the police." He believes that copycat rioters have joined the political strain, who largely operate without any leadership.
Restrictions on social pressure valves such as football matches could also have taken their toll, says Danny de Vries, associate professor of anthropology at the University of Amsterdam.
“I don’t think it’s the curfew by itself, but the measure was a justification for many to vent longer-term repressed frustration with government’s intervention in daily social life, [which] is particularly tough on younger people,” he said.
“These are mixtures of younger groups, with somewhat different motives, but they all share sentiments against the government, with a Right-wing bent.
“There is no other outlet currently for venting their frustrations… no soccer matches occupying the attention of the hard core of these people, so the rivalry moves to this type of competition for attention through vandalism.”
Coronavirus Netherlands Spotlight Chart — Cases default
Ab Gietelink, a protester who last year took Amsterdam council to court to protest face mask rules, said peaceful protests had been taken over by violent groups, but many feel a legitimate sense of protest.
“Thousands of companies are shut, people have lost their jobs, children cannot go to school and you can’t have guests at home, go to a theatre or football match. People are against the lockdown rules and the last straw was the curfew.”
However, on Tuesday morning, different groups of citizens in Den Bosch also mobilised themselves online, and started brushing the broken glass off their streets.
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