Police hunting down 3 blackface suspects in Zwarte Piet riot
The police have started releasing photos of men in blackface who threatened and harassed Kick Out Zwarte Piet protesters and Amnesty International observers on November 19th. The police released photos of three men who have “emphatically crossed the line” on Opsporing Verzocht on Tuesday.
The KOZP protesters were trying to reach their pre-approved demonstration against blackface at the Sinterklaas arrival party in Staphorst. At the A28 offramp to Staphorst, a large, aggressive group surrounded three cars, shook them, and pelted them with eggs. They pulled items out of one car and slashed another car’s tires. Many of the rioters were in blackface makeup.
The police called on anyone who may recognize these men to contact them.
The police received criticism for not acting against the rioters gathered on the A28 highway and waiting for the protesters. The police argued that they only had six officers at the scene, and tractors blocked backup from responding quickly. Amnesty International argued that the police did not deploy enough officers to protect the demonstrators, even though KOZP asked for extra security due to death threats.
Police scientist Jaap Timmer of the VU Amsterdam agreed that the police and mayor should have been better prepared for this escalation, especially given previous attacks on KOZP protesters. “We have known since Gouda in 2014, and then Zaandam, Apeldoorn, and the Friesland highway blockades that this is a sensitive and complicated file. Now the police are showing for the umpteenth time that the right to demonstrate apparently does not apply to everyone.”
BIJ1 MP Sylvana Simons also clashed with Justice Minister Dilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius about that point, pointing out that KOZP demonstrators have been harassed, attacked, and hindered in their right to demonstrate for a decade. Simons could not believe that after a decade of incidents, the Minister would first want to find out what happened in Staphorst. She called the Minister “hard of learning” and demanded a broad independent investigation into the police.
