Unrest broke out on Saturday in The Hague following a truckers’ protest organised by the Freedom Convoy Netherlands movement, Belga news agency reports.
Mounted police dispersed one group of protesters then went after people who had remained on the scene. It was not immediately clear whether these had been part of the protest. At least two persons were reportedly arrested.
Belga reported late Saturday afternoon that the trucks, tractors and other vehicles used to block the streets and an intersection close to the Dutch Parliament on behalf of the Freedom Convoy had already left. According to one of the drivers, they left for the ADO Den Haag football stadium outside the city, as the city authorities had asked them to do earlier in the day.
Heavy-duty vehicles had started blocking access to The Hague’s city centre and the Dutch Parliament early Saturday morning in protest against Prime Minister de Rutte’s “dismantlement policy” and “all the measures introduced over the past two years,” a reference to facemasks, Covid vaccinations, the health pass and other measures against the Coronavirus.
“That will not happen again, which is why Freedom Convoy Netherlands is demanding a new referendum with immediate effect,” the protest movement had said.
The capital city’s mayor, Jan van Zanen, later called on the protesters to remove their vehicles by 3:30 PM or risk arrests and fines.
