The Dutch are thought to be tolerant. Not necessarily so as the Pandemic continues to impact the world.
The ongoing Pandemic and its restrictions on lifestyle are obviously too much for a portion of The Netherlands population.
In the country of Anne Frank it’s shocking.
Deutsche Welle 1.24.2021
Hundreds of opponents of the first nighttime curfew in the Netherlands since World War II have clashed with police in Eindhoven, Amsterdam and elsewhere, resulting in scores of arrests.
Clashes broke out on Sunday in Amsterdam, Eindhoven and Stein, a small city near the Dutch-Belgium border, over the introduction of a nationwide curfew to curtail the spread of the coronavirus.
The violence came hours after a group of young people torched a viral testing center overnight in Urk, a fishing industry city northeast of the Dutch capital.
Photo- torched viral testing center in Urk
Security forces in both cities used water cannon as well as batons, horses and dogs — and in Eindhoven tear gas — to quell the protests.
Vehicles were also set ablaze and shops plundered near Eindhoven’s main railway station, reported regional broadcaster Omroep Brabant.
Dutch rail company NS urged travelers to avoid the Eindhoven station.
Fearing a riot or a disease-spreading event, Mayor Femke Halsema had designated the square as a “high-risk zone” and gave police the power to preemptively frisk people for weapons.
Nationwide, more than 100 people were detained Sunday, police said.
And in Stein — near Maastricht close to Belgium — clashes with police occurred as they broke up an illegal party reportedly attended by 100 people.
Journalist Michel Kerres told DW that the collapse of the Dutch government 10 days ago, over a child welfare scandal, has likely spurred protesters:
“We now have a caretaker government and the political debate is heating up, going into elections in March. There is more restlessness and people are disappointed that things are taking very long, that the coronavirus is not going away and that the Netherlands is doing very badly with vaccines.”
By mid-week, Dutch authorities had vaccinated just 100,000 people.
https://www.dw.com/en/coronavirus-dutch-covid-curfew-protests-turn-violent/a-56330715
Lee's Perspective 