Rijkswaterstaat warns throughout the day to take into account extra travel time, to leave later or to work from home, and if you do go on the road: take some extra food and drink with you. The airports advise people flying on Monday to travel to the airport by train.
Groups of trekkers are expected to enter highways in various places, slowing down or blocking traffic. During previous protest days, this led to lengthy traffic jams. Jeroen van Maanen, one of the organizers of the recent mass protest in Stroe, advises not to go on the road at all. “Work at home. That’s the most sensible thing I can say about it,” says the Flevoland dairy farmer. He says he doesn’t know what exactly is going to happen.
The lack of clarity about the farmers’ actions makes it difficult to take measures. Tata Steel points the staff to the announced farmer actions in an internal message. “We have therefore advised everyone who can work from home to work from home,” a spokesperson said. He adds: “Should the farmers stand at the gates of Tata Steel on Monday, they will be welcomed with ‘coffee and biscuits’, just like at the farmers’ protests in 2019.”
Schiphol
Elsewhere in the country, the protesting farmers will not be able to count on such leniency. The authorities are on alert throughout the country; police, justice and defense have short lines with the port of Rotterdam, distribution centers of supermarkets and the airports. The farmers who want to block Schiphol with tractors find defense against them.
In peasant circles, the idea is that the pressure on politics increases with the ongoing protests. On Saturday, CDA leader Wopke Hoekstra was severely beaten by angry party members at a meeting in Nijkerk. The chagrin continues to rage within the VVD as well. Van Maanen: “If the country goes flat, then let it be done properly, because then the message will at least get across in The Hague. This policy must be off the table.”
VIDEO: During a protest at the home of nitrogen minister Van der Wal, farmers broke through a police blockade. The minister was not at home herself, but her family was. Video via Dumpert.nl†
Transporters from the agricultural sector may also join the protest on Monday, predicts Helma Lodders, chairman of Vee & Logistiek Nederland. “We stand next to the farmers. There will certainly be members who, like in Stroe, participate in the actions. They will also notice the consequences if the plans are implemented as they are now,” says Lodders.
A Farmers Defense Force foreman anticipated highway blockades on Saturday. According to the organization, ambulances, emergency services and people on their way to the hospital should be able to pass. “One job will become available for emergencies,” announced foreman Mark van den Oever. The government previously announced that if a strategic point such as Schiphol is closed, the army will be called in.
Some farmers expect a hefty confrontation with authorities on Monday. “I think a state of emergency will be declared on Monday afternoon,” says a Gelderland cattle farmer who has missed few demonstrations, on an anonymous basis. “Or they have to meet us at last.”
Nitrogen minister Chistianne van der Wal called on farmers on Friday not to participate in the campaigns, but to enter into discussions. However, the news on Sunday that Johan Remkes (VVD) has been appointed as the independent nitrogen mediator did not sit well with the farmers. “He does not have confidence in the sector,” says Bart Kemp foreman of farmers’ action group Agractie.
Demonstration
According to the municipality, about 1500 demonstrators attended a solidarity demonstration with farmers in Eindhoven on Sunday. They had, among other things, Dutch flags and some Frisian flags. They also carried placards that read “It’s not right,” “Enough is enough,” and “Nitrogen crisis is a lie.”
Demonstrators held a march in Eindhoven in solidarity with the farmers and against the cabinet.
GinoPress BV
The “March with the Farmer’s Handkerchief” also made a point of other things that the protesters – including Willem Engel – are opposing, such as the European identity card, the permanent corona law and the member treaty of the World Health Organization WHO. The influence that the World Economic Forum would have on the cabinet is also a thorn in the side of the organisation.
The participants of the tour gathered around 12.30 pm at the Stadhuisplein in Eindhoven, from where, after a few speeches, they made a four-kilometre tour through the city center for two hours. Many participants wore a farmer’s handkerchief, which could be purchased from the organization. The proceeds of the sale are transferred to farmers’ organization Agractie with the intention of paying the fines that activist farmers receive.
One of the demonstrators carried a banner with an image of Minister Van der Wal with the inscription: “Don’t aim at the farmer, but at this whore.” Somewhere halfway through the procession, the banner disappeared. A police spokesman could not say whether the incident had been ordered by the police.
The demonstration proceeded without any problems, according to the municipality.