Attempt to hang far-right version of Dutch flag on D66 office in The Hague
The police in The Hague are investigating a failed attempt to hang a Prinsenvlag, a version of the Dutch flag widely used in far-right groups, on the D66 party office in the city, NOS reports.
During the early hours of Wednesday morning, a group of people moved scaffolding at the party office, climbed onto it, and attempted to replace the D66 flag with a Prinsenvlag. The orange, white, and blue Prinsenvlag was formerly used by the NSB, a Dutch fascist and Nazi organization that later became a political party, and has now been adopted by far-right groups.
The attempt was captured on the security camera. The persons failed to replace the flag, but the D66 takes the matter very seriously. “Replacing a political party flag with an NSB flag is a form of political intimidation,” D66 leader Rob Jetten told NOS. Changing a flag on a facade is not a criminal offense, but the party did file a report of intimidation, and the police are “on top of it,” Jetten said.
The Prinsenvlag was also seen during the far-right anti-immigration riots in The Hague less than two weeks ago, on September 20. On that day, rioters also attacked the D66 office, smashing windows and breaking the outer door open. The scaffolding used in this week’s incident was at the office to repair the damage caused during the riots.
According to Jetten, there is a difference between the two incidents. The attacks during the riots could still be seen as a random act. “D66 was part of an explosion of violence then,” Jetten said. “Now people have knowingly come here to show that the riots aren’t over yet.”
The police confirmed to NOS that they are investigating the incident. “Recent events have made us very alert to these kinds of actions,” a police spokesperson said.
