About two hundred fines were handed out in Monday’s farmers’ protests, said police commander Willem Woelders in the talk show on Monday evening. On 1† Especially people who drove tractors on the highway have been fined. At least seven people have been arrested during blockades of distribution centers in Friesland.
The Mobile Unit (ME) had to use tear gas against activists in Heerenveen in the evening. They blocked a distribution center there, pelted the riot police and refused to leave, the police said. The riot police was also deployed in Sneek, while the mayors of Overijssel decided not to intervene in farmers’ blockades late in the evening.
In Zwolle and Deventer, among others, activists maintained blockades. Mayors Peter Snijders (Zwolle) and Ron König (Deventer) and their colleague Martijn Dadema (Raalte) called on the blockades to end by 8 p.m. This was not heeded, not even when the farmers’ association LTO called on activists to stop, because otherwise the food supply would be endangered.
An emergency ordinance was announced late Monday evening in the municipality of Zwolle to end the blockades at the distribution centers. The municipality reports that the emergency regulation applies to the locations of Albert Heijn and the Jumbo Hub Zwolle. The farmers present are given the opportunity by the police to leave with their tractors. If they do not do this, the police can intervene on the basis of the emergency ordinance to lift the blockades.
In Sneek, farmers didn’t seem to make any move to leave either. Mayor Jannewietske de Vries eventually issued an emergency order because of the situation. The riot police eventually had to intervene, because activists ignored several warnings. Four people have been arrested for public violence and blocking the road.
Police commander: ‘No major incidents’
Woelders was moderately satisfied with the day of action at the start of the evening. According to him, there were no major incidents, although he agreed that it was becoming restless in some places.
Farmers blocked dozens of distribution centers. This led to empty shelves in, among other things, the dairy and meat departments in supermarkets, while speed cameras also ran into problems. Supermarket umbrella organization CBL fears millions in damage to the supermarket sector if the distribution centers are blocked for a long time.
Activists also erected blockades on highways. For example, farmers blocked the A73 and the Afsluitdijk, it also hit the A67 and farmers on the A1, A37 and A28 were supported by sympathizers. Truckers joined some campaigns for so-called slow-motion campaigns. Blockades on highways were often over quickly.
Fishermen erected blockades in the ports of Lauwersoog, Harlingen and Den Helder. In the north, this led to hindrance for ferry services to and from the Wadden Islands. Schiphol, Eindhoven Airport and Rotterdam The Hague Airport were not affected by the farmers’ campaigns. The police had warned in advance that major action would be taken in the vicinity of the airports.
Super fast law applies with sometimes double punishment
In some cases, suspects will be tried by super-fast court. “Last Friday, a suspect had to justify himself at a super-fast court session at the Rotterdam court,” a spokesperson on behalf of the Public Prosecution Service told NU.nl.
This person was sentenced to 120 hours of community service and a two-month suspended prison sentence for sedition. If you are suspected of a criminal offense against someone who performs a public task, according to the Public Prosecution Service, you can look forward to a double sentence if there is sufficient evidence.
