Thousands of people, some throwing fireworks and stones, joined an unauthorized protest against Dutch government coronavirus restrictions in Amsterdam on Sunday and riot police used water cannons, batons, attack dogs and horses to disperse the crowd.
According to local media, about a hundred were arrested.
The protest took place two days after the resignation of Prime Minister Mark Rutte and his cabinet over the way in which the tax authorities treated innocent Dutch people involved in a child benefit scandal.
The protesters gathered in a central square full of landmarks, including the Van Gogh Museum and the US Consulate, and waved placards with the words ‘dictatorship’, ‘freedom’ and ‘we are the Netherlands’.
Videos showed that no one was wearing masks – although not mandatory outdoors in the Netherlands – and no one maintained social distance, one of the most important health measures recommended by the Dutch authorities.
As in most of Europe, the Netherlands is in a lockout, in its case at least until 9 February. Infections are high but slightly decreased with about 34 coronavirus cases per 100,000 inhabitants.
Those protesting against the pandemic restrictions are a relatively small but pronounced pick-up of groups and individuals, and they have on Mr. Rutte and his policies as well as established media organizations. Like the Trump loyalists who stormed the US capital, they believe the system needs to be uprooted.
“These people live in their own truth, with their own news and their own reality,” said Hans Nijenhuis, editor-in-chief of The Algemeen Dagblad, the largest circulation in the Netherlands. “As we have seen in the United States, we can not just ignore their displeasure.”
An application for Sunday’s protest by Michel Reijinga, who gathered supporters on Facebook, was rejected by authorities, who called for a ban on all gatherings to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
Despite this, thousands gathered at Museum Square, ask the Amsterdam mayor, the police and the Dutch Public Prosecution Service to send in the riot police.
There were several protests in the Netherlands during the pandemic against locks and other pandemic measures, but there were others in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
On Sunday, some protesters spoke with frustration about the restrictions.
‘We want to party and go to clubs, we are so tired of all these measures’, a younger woman can hear streaming on the live stream of a new Dutch broadcaster, Unheard of the Netherlands.
The channel, which describes itself as ‘patriotic angles of the news’, recently reached the threshold of gaining access to subsidized Dutch public television by having 60,000 people sign up as paid members.
“Traditional media say these people are stupid and crazy, but a demonstration like this is a sign of broader dissatisfaction,” said Arnold Karskens, the channel’s managing director.
Mr. Karskens, who also opposed a ban on Black Pete, a controversial Dutch tradition in black face, said: ‘The truth is that people are tired of the coronavirus measures. They feel there is no end in sight. ”