Dutch Prime Minister Rutte calls weekend riots “pure violence disguised as demonstrations”

The weekend’s riots in the Netherlands were pure violence caused by idiots, the country’s Prime Minister Mark Rutte said on Monday.

“What happened this weekend was pure violence disguised as demonstrations. It has nothing to do with demonstrations. It was pure violence against the police, the fire service, ambulance workers. I will always defend the right to protest, but I will never accept idiots that use pure violence,” Rutte told Dutch media on Monday.

During the weekend, riots broke out in a number of Dutch cities, including The Hague and Rotterdam. Young people set fire to bicycles and destroyed traffic signs. In at least one case, stones were thrown at an ambulance. 

At one point on Friday, police fired on the crowd in Rotterdam, where four people were taken to the hospital with gunshot wounds. At least five police officers have been injured in the riots, and more than 30 protesters have been arrested.

There were also a number of peaceful demonstrations around the country.

The Netherlands has introduced a three-week corona lockdown to reduce the infection before Christmas.

Source: © NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today / #NorwayTodayNews

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