Eight arrested for farmers riot at minister’s home; Airport protest relaxed

The police arrested eight people for the farmers' protest that got out of hand at Nitrogen Minister Christianne van der Wal's house last week. Farmers are protesting at Groningen Airport Eelde on Wednesday. So far, the demonstration has been calm, with no major incidents.

Last week, farmers broke through a police blockade to get to Van der Wal's house. The police published blurred-out images of 11 suspects. The police identified and contacted ten of them, arresting eight. The last person's identity is still unclear. "If necessary, photos may still be published," the police said.

The police also shared images of disturbances in Kootwijkerbroek and Stroe, where demonstrators cornered police officers last week. They attacked police vans and hit police officers with a tractor. The police arrested two men, a 33-year-old man from Kootwijkerbroek and a 24-year-old man from Barneveld, for attempted aggravated assault, public violence, vandalism, and sedition.

The police are still looking for other suspects visible in the images of Kootwijkerbroek and Stroe. The police called on them to come forward quickly "to prevent recognizable images being shown."

On Wednesday, farmers are protesting at Groningen Airport Eelde. About 20 vehicles entered the airport just after 9:00 a.m., several parking on the sidewalk right in front of the departure hall. Mayor Marcel Thijsen gave the farmers permission to be there until midnight "if necessary" as long as they keep to the agreements not to block the runways and allow access to trauma helicopters and the UMCG's organ transport.

According to Thijssen, the farmers are demonstrating at Groningen Airport Eelde because they believe the airport emits a lot of nitrogen on the edge of a nature reserve but is not included in the Cabinet's plans to reduce emissions. According to the Koninklijke Marechaussee, no commercial flights are scheduled at the airport on Wednesday.