Riots caused by curfew in the Netherlands
Written By Monica Yelinyan
Protesters clashed against Dutch anti-riot police officers during a demonstration against coronavirus restrictions Sunday in Eindhoven, the Netherlands.ROB ENGELAAR/ANP/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
From 23 January onwards, a curfew will apply throughout the Netherlands. This means that everyone has to stay indoors between 21.00 pm and 04.30 am. The purpose of the measure is to reduce the spread of the coronavirus. The new variants of the coronavirus are causing concerns for the government. This is the first curfew in over 75 years in the Netherlands.
The riots, which have been going on for 3 days, are a consequence of the measures taken by the government. Since the introduction of the curfew, citizens have expressed their disapproval. After many demonstrations against the measures, there are now riots in the country. There were riots in Den Bosch, Rotterdam, Amersfoort, Geleen, Zwolle, Haarlem, Helmond and Amsterdam, among other cities. Because of the arson and the throwing of fireworks, the mobile unit had to be deployed. Violence, vandalism and fear that one's business might be destroyed the next day, has become a real fear. Some retailers try to take precautions by placing partitions or containers in front of their shops.
At the beginning of the pandemic, Dutch citizens were told that there would be a lockdown to momentarily reduce the spread and that we should work on group immunity. The idea of group immunity was quickly forgotten. The Netherlands is in a lockdown for almost a year. Then the Dutch people were told that there will be no mandatory use of masks, because it is 'false safety'. However, the use of a mask became mandatory in public places and public transport. The government also decides how many people can visit each other and the distance that fellow citizens must keep from each other. Now there will be a curfew from 9 p.m. to 4.30 a.m. The measures are depriving citizens their freedoms and are disproportionate. The measures have caused disruption in society.