The Hague: Violent protests against asylum policies
NEWS
Express newspaper
21/09/2025 11:31
A far-right protest in The Hague has spiraled out of control: Demonstrators have attacked police and the offices of the left-wing liberal party. The out-of-control violence has been condemned by all parties.
Far-right demonstrators in the Netherlands clashed with police and attacked the office of a left-wing liberal party. Protesters threw objects at police and set police vehicles on fire. According to their own data, police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse the violent demonstrators. 30 people were arrested. There are injured police officers. Authorities do not rule out the possibility of arresting other people, as they are currently reviewing video footage.
Tougher asylum policy called for
A smaller group of demonstrators marched towards the parliament building complex, which is currently closed for renovation. At the demonstration, where violence broke out, hundreds of demonstrators, mostly dressed in black, demanded a tougher asylum policy. The protest got out of control when about 1.500 demonstrators blocked traffic by marching along the A12 motorway that runs through The Hague. The motorway was blocked by police. According to NOS media, some of the demonstrators waved the orange-white-and-blue flag, the so-called prince’s flag, which was once used by the Dutch National Socialist movement (NSB) and is now used as a symbol by right-wing extremists. The acting government and many parties condemned the violence at the protests: “The right to demonstrate is a precious value, but do not harm our police officers!” said Justice Minister Foort van Oosten from the conservative-liberal Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD).
The government coalition fell apart in the fight over tougher asylum laws
Right-wing populist politician Geert Wilders also condemned the attacks on police officers and demanded that those who used violence be punished “severely.” According to the ANP, Wilders stressed that “blocking highways and using violence against the police is absolutely unacceptable. Idiots.”
Wilders and his Party for Freedom (PVV) have long called for the Netherlands to have one of the strictest asylum laws of all time.
The PVV entered government for the first time last year to achieve this goal. But in June the coalition government collapsed over tougher asylum laws. New elections in the Netherlands are scheduled for the end of October./DW