Frustrated Or 'idiots'? Dutch Seek Covid Rioters' Motives

When rioters rampaged through Rotterdam last week, Akash Anroadh was hit by a feeling of deja vu: the youths were just like those who had torched a barricade outside his shop back in January

Rotterdam, Netherlands, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 24th Nov, 2021 ) :When rioters rampaged through Rotterdam last week, Akash Anroadh was hit by a feeling of deja vu: the youths were just like those who had torched a barricade outside his shop back in January.

The scenes of burning police cars and firework-hurling youths recalled those earlier this year, when the Dutch government's coronavirus measures sparked the country's worst unrest for 40 years.

The 27-year-old was relieved that the latest riots were in central Rotterdam and spared the working class Feyenoord district where his shop selling Indian products is located, but he fears the trouble is not over.

The unrest, during which five people were wounded when police opened fire, then spread "like dominoes" with four days of chaos across the country from The Hague to Gronginen.

"It will happen again at some point," he said.

"Young people are just frustrated because they can't do anything because of corona." For him, like many other Rotterdammers spoken to by AFP, the most recent restrictions closing bars and restaurants at 8:00 pm were used as "an excuse" by young people who wanted to get violent after two years under Covid's shadow.

The fact that "people can't go see a football game anymore" and ban on New Year's Eve fireworks also "adds to the frustration".

- 'Idiots' - Anroadh was not surprised by the profile of many of the rioters, with authorities saying many of those arrested were young people.

Prime Minister Mark Rutte dismissively branded the rioters as "idiots", but Dutch authorities have painted a more complex picture.

Police said the Rotterdam troubles started with a genuine demonstration of around 100 people organised on social media "against corona policy" but quickly spiralled out of control. Several of the culprits were from outside the city, they said.

Some of the Rotterdam rioters also had links to football hooligans, while the riots in the rest of the country were different because they were "without apparent social or political intent", according to the Dutch justice minister.

Nineteen-year-old Emre from Rotterdam said he had gone into the city centre on Friday night with five friends in response to a call on social media.

"Of course I'm frustrated, and I'm proud of what we did on Friday," he said, asking for his last name not to be used.

He poured scorn on the government's coronavirus measures, saying he had not been vaccinated himself because he doubted the jabs worked.

"Almost 85 percent of adults have been vaccinated, and it just keeps getting worse," he said.

But Emre's disillusionment with the government went beyond Covid. He reserved much of his ire for Rutte, particularly over a scandal in which thousands of Dutch families were falsely accused of welfare fraud, often after racial profiling.

"Rutte is a liar, many hate him here," he said.

- 'Hooligans' - Resting on their scooters, Samski and his delivery rider friends in Feyenoord accused each other of being where the riots happened on Friday -- while denying they were themselves involved.

"People are protesting against 2G," said the 18-year-old, referring to government plans to limit access for unvaccinated people to bars, cafes and restaurants.

His friends meanwhile criticised the police whom they accused of stopping for checks because they are of Turkish origin.

Dutch far-right leader Thierry Baudet, a leading promoter of anti-vaccination and conspiracy theory rhetoric, blamed "mass immigration" for January's riots.

But many Rotterdammers are not convinced by that.

"The crowd on Friday was really diverse, there were also hooligans from my own football club," said Mark Been, 54, a supporter of Rotterdam's Feyenoord, whose fans include some of Europe's most violent.

Known for its liberal policies on drugs and prostitution, the Netherlands has long prided itself on its respect for personal freedoms.

But for many people, that has been called into question by the Covid restrictions that are now among Europe's toughest.

"People are a little lost," said Ronald Slingerland, a 61-year-old cleaning company employee, in front of the still-blackened facade of a shop in the city centre.

"I don't like this violence, but I hope this will be a wake-up call for the government."