Skip to main content
Home

Main navigation

  • Top stories
  • Health
  • Crime
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Tech
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Weird
  • 1-1-2
Image
Ank Bijleveld as Minister of Defense in her office
Ank Bijleveld as Minister of Defense in her office - Credit: Ministerie van Defensie / Wikimedia Commons - License: Public Domain
Politics
afghanistan
Taliban
asylum seeker
Ede
Harskamp
anti-asylum center protest
Ank Bijleveld
Ministry of Defense
Sigrid Kaag
ministry of foreign affairs
Wednesday, 25 August 2021 - 14:30
Share this:
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • linkedin
  • whatsapp
  • reddit

Protest against Afghan refugees "heartless" and "reprehensible", Ministers say

Serious and reprehensible. That is how Defense Minister Ank Bijleveld described the demonstration that got out of hand on Tuesday evening at a military barracks in Harskamp, where Afghan asylum seekers are being received. Foreign Affairs Minister Sigrid Kaag called the demonstration "heartless", but said that generous and understanding reactions from the Netherlands are louder.

About 250 people came to the protest in the village in the municipality of Ede. It got out of hand around 21:30. Those present did not heed calls from the police to leave, car tires were set on fire and slogans like "own people first" and "Harskamp is ours" were shouted.

"I think it's terrible, really terrible," Bijleveld said on Wednesday. "I think these people should really watch TV, what's happening in the world. How happy we should be that we're free and can do what we can do." The Minister thinks that "people do not realize the suffering in the world".

"If you are in need, you also want to be taken care of," she said to the demonstrators. "I hope they realize that.

Minister Kaag said that she mainly wants to focus on people who make a constructive contribution to the reception by, for example bringing items. "They show that we are the Netherlands, that we are tolerant, that we have respect and that we are there for people in need. That is the real answer and as far as I am concerned, those are the Dutch values."

Reporting by ANP

Follow us:

Latest stories

  • Putin played an active role in conflict around MH17 downing; No new suspects prosecuted
  • ABN Amro profit up over 55% to €1.9 billion due to rising interest rates
  • TikTok showing triggering videos to people with eating disorders: report
  • Upcycle shop at Rotterdam Central Station gives second life to NS material
  • Dutch government can't limit family reunification for refugees, Council of State rules
  • New results in MH17 investigation presented this afternoon

Top stories

  • Putin played an active role in conflict around MH17 downing; No new suspects prosecuted
  • 42% of secondary school teachers witnessed anti-Semitism in class
  • 40% of home buyers end 2022 were first-time buyers
  • Dutch team rescues 6 people from rubble in Turkey; Death toll climbs to 8,100
  • Rutte tells Erdogan the Dutch can offer more help; Dutch donate millions in relief aid
  • Netherlands, Germany & Denmark buying at least 100 Leopard 1 tanks for Ukraine

© 2012-2023, NL Times, All rights reserved.

Footer menu

  • Privacy
  • Contact
  • Partner content