PM condemns "criminal violence" in anti-curfew riots

Prime Minister Mark Rutte condemned the anti-curfew riots and unrest in various Dutch municipalities over the weekend. "It is inadmissible. Any normal person can only find out about this with horror," the outgoing Prime Minister said on Monday, NOS and NU.nl report.

According to Rutte, this was "criminal violence" that had "nothing to do with the fight for freedom". "You really have to wonder what were these people thinking? The only fight we have to fight is to beat the virus."

Rutte emphasized that 99 percent of the Dutch population did stick to the curfew.

Riots on Sunday started with illegal demonstrations against the coronavirus measures in Amsterdam and Eindhoven in the afternoon. As curfew approached, there were also riots in Tilburg, Stein, Enschede, Roermond and Apeldoorn, among others.

On Saturday, when curfew was implemented for the first time, there was already unrest in Urk, with fire being set to a coronavirus test center. "Unacceptable," Rutte said about that.

The Prime Minister stressed that the violence and rioting will not have any effect on the measures in place to curb the spread of the coronaivurs. "The curfew remains necessary. It is the virus that is robbing us of our freedom."