Social media videos over the past few days have shown hundreds of rioters in several towns and cities in The Netherlands  clashing with police. Al Jazeera reports that a COVID testing center was attacked, and that knives were thrown at police officers.

Protesters angry at strict social distancing measures, and new rules, which include a strict night-time curfew, to curb the spread of the coronavirus, have been staging violent demonstrations since the past weekend. The night-time curfew, imposed after the arrival of the so-called “UK variant”, sets in at 9pm and ends at 4:30am. According to Al Jazeera, The Netherlands was already under tough lockdown measures, restaurants closed since October. Further, as of December, schools and non-essential shops had been shut down.

On Monday night, in Amsterdam, according to Al Jazeera, about 150 police officers were involved in clashes with protestors. Aggressively worded invitations to the protests were reportedly sent out on social media.

Aside from Amsterdam, riots broke out in other cities including Eindhoven, Urk, Roermond, and Apeldoorn.

Some rioters are convinced that the new lockdown measures, imposed from January 23, are part of the “Great Reset” conspiracy theory. They say, “They are limiting our freedom, so we need to fight back”. According to advocates of the theory, political elites will use the pandemic at the expense of ordinary people, to reorganize global societies and economies to their benefit.

Meanwhile, Bertjan Doosje, a professor of radicalization at the University of Amsterdam, said the extension of the lockdown, combined with the curfew, was a direct trigger for the unrest. He explained that when the need for people to control their own lives was undermined, people could  take action to regain control.

Almost 500 people were arrested nationwide by Monday night.

Umm Muhammed Umar