Protesters in the Netherlands who peacefully opposed the country’s draconian health measures faced attacks from police dogs and beatings from police officers. Officers from the Royal Marechaussee (KMar) military police forcefully dispersed the peaceful Jan. 2 protest at the Museumplein public square in the capital Amsterdam.
Footage of the violent dispersal circulated on social media, with most featuring several protesters being severely beaten. Participants were also bitten by trained police dogs. Another video showed a protester being hit on the head with a baton until they fall to the ground dazed.
Dutch lawmaker Pepijn van Houwelingen of the Forum for Democracy (FvD) party posted pictures of a bus full of protesters, which was pulled over by KMar officers. An officer yelled at the bus to turn around with this threat: “If you go into Amsterdam, you will all be stopped.”
Insiders who joined the Jan. 2 Museumplein protest confirmed to Free West Media (FWM) the presence of “great numbers” of KMar officers during the gathering. They added that participants were being searched extensively in order to intimidate them into backing out of the protest.
Anti-vaccine lawyer Bart Maes announced his plan to file a report based on two instances of police violence seen on social media. He said of the footage involving a police dog biting a man: “That’s [the] No. 1 [declaration on social media.] Another police dog; do they never learn?” Maes added that he will file a report against the officer who hit the protester on the head as part of the second declaration.
Political reporter Paso Dagori criticized Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema’s deployment of the military police against the protesters. He said: “So the [KMar] is deployed against citizens who want to demonstrate. The fact that it is now normal to carry out preventive searches on demonstrators says something about the decline of this country.”
Van Houwelingen, one of five FvD lawmakers in the Netherlands’ lower chamber of parliament, said of the crackdown: “This is what a dictatorship looks like where fundamental rights are worth nothing. If you challenge the totalitarian regime and start demonstrating for freedom, suddenly everyone is arrested.” (Related: People around the world protest tyrannical COVID-19 lockdowns and vaccine mandates.)
Even an emergency order did not stop protesters from gathering
The local government of Amsterdam outlawed the protest in a bid to prevent citizens from airing their dissatisfaction. Halsema announced through an emergency order that no one would be allowed to gather at the Museumplein square. However, this did not dissuade the thousands who went to protest against the tyrannical measures imposed by Prime Minister Mark Rutte.
Amsterdam’s decision to outlaw the protest was based on police indications that some demonstrators might be “prepared for violence.” When the protesters refused to budge despite the emergency order, KMar officers marched across the grass to clear the area – forcing the protest to disperse.
But before law enforcement moved in, some participants expressed their sentiments through banners and signs. Several protesters unfurled a banner that read “Less repression, more care” near the Van Gogh Museum. Another group of protesters wearing white outfits and masks held up signs, with one sign saying “It’s not about a virus, it’s about control” on one side and “Freedom” on the other.
According to FWM, images and footage on social media show that Halsema had called in the KMar to disperse the protest. Her move was a stark contrast to her prior statement during a Black Lives Matter protest in the country last year.
She said that time that she refused to intervene with violent marchers. “For many people demonstrating is their last line of defense,” Halsema explained. However, her deployment of the military police against demonstrators using “their last line of defense” on Jan. 2 contradicted her words.
The Jan. 2 protest in Amsterdam came less than two months after similar demonstrations in the city of Rotterdam. According to the Associated Press, riots broke out in the city on the night of Nov. 19, 2021 after the Dutch government announced plans to restrict unvaccinated citizens from accessing certain venues. (Related: Hague court declares Dutch coronavirus lockdowns “illegitimate, far-reaching violation”.)
Law enforcement fired warning shots and used a water cannon to drive away protesters from a central street in Rotterdam. They reported about seven injuries, including police officers. Dozens of rioters were arrested during the unrest.
Below is a video of the Jan. 2 Amsterdam protests and their subsequent dispersal by KMar officers.
The video above is from the Russia Truth channel on Brighteon.com.
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