Riots in The Hague: ‘We took unrest into account, but not a battle’

Blackened pavement tiles, smashed windows that are being replaced and a burnt-out coach. On Sunday morning, the day after the battle in front of the Opera hall center in The Hague, its traces are still clearly visible. It is otherwise quiet, except for a handful of construction workers repairing the damage. Because the weddings planned for Sunday evening are still on the list. The emergency order that Mayor Jan van Zanen announced on Saturday evening has now become redundant, heavy rainfall has ensured that no one is at the door anymore, except for a few disaster tourists taking photographs.

On Saturday evening it was the place where some 1,600 visitors escaped disaster in the party center: the guests of two wedding parties and seven hundred pro-government Eritreans who were gathered there. The latter group became the target of an organization that calls itself Brigade Nhamedu. During riots in the street, six police officers were injured and the fire brigade was kept at a distance, so that fires on the street and in the conference center could not be extinguished. Evacuation from the building was also impossible for a long time because the police could not guarantee safety on the streets.

The municipality and police knew that meetings from the Eritrean community could get out of hand. Last May, a ‘liberation party’ in Rijswijk turned into a massive brawl. But Eritrean demonstrations in October were peaceful, according to a municipal spokesperson. The meeting, Saturday evening in Opera, a late New Year’s party, had been duly reported to the municipality, extra private security had been provided and the police had a platoon of riot police on hand in case things got out of hand. “We had prepared well, we knew that there was a party of people who support the regime in Eritrea,” says general commander Mariëlle van Vulpen, who was responsible for the police action on Saturday evening. “But we did not anticipate that it would become so violent. The size of the rioters and the violence they used was unprecedented. We took into account unrest, but not a battle at a private party.”

Also read
This group does everything it can to disrupt the foreign parties of the dictatorial regime in Eritrea

Tight organizational structure

According to the municipality, the strict organizational structure of the demonstrators had also not been taken into account. They came, just like the visitors in the party center, from all over the country. When it was clear that this was a well-oiled counter-demonstration, the police ‘scaled up’. But by then it was too late to prevent large-scale destruction and visitors to the party center from being locked up for a long time.

Such as fifty wedding guests who had nowhere to go, while the bridal couple themselves could not reach the hall, Omroep West reports.

police commanderMariëlle van Vulpen The size of the rioters and the violence they used was unprecedented

Wedding guests on their way to the party were told by demonstrators on the street to get out of their way. Because it would get much worse. They saw groups of people running with bricks and long sticks. Some guests made it to the party center, then the doors were locked. The area around the party center was then the scene of riots, where police and fire brigades were pelted with stones, and there were fires and fireworks explosions everywhere. Police cars and parked passenger cars that were set on fire could not be extinguished for a long time because the fire brigade was not allowed to reach them.

When the police regained control of the area, including after the use of tear gas, the trapped guests could be evacuated. They were taken away in hastily called HTM buses. Under police escort, because there was too little insight into where the demonstrators were.

Thirteen arrests

The municipality announced on Saturday evening that the Eritrean organization Brigade Nhamedu was behind the disturbances. After reports of this were received at the beginning of the evening, Mayor Van Zanen announced the emergency order and officers from all over the country were mobilized. Only during the evening did it become clear that there was an organizational structure behind it, according to a spokesperson. So at some point the disturbances suddenly stopped, as if an order had been given for them.

The police have now arrested thirteen suspects, all Eritrean-Dutch men between the ages of 19 and 36, from outside The Hague. “They are still being interrogated, so we don’t know much about the motives yet,” said Van Vulpen. “The difficult thing is that these are very closed rival groups. That does not make gathering intelligence easy for the police.”

The Public Prosecution Service has now set up a special Large-Scale Investigation Team to track down as many perpetrators as possible. This is possible, among other things, because there is a lot of footage available. “The violence of the rioters was horrific for my colleagues,” said van Vulpen. “They suddenly found themselves in a war zone and were pelted with stones, bicycle parts and attacked with knives and sticks. The police officers and firefighters were terrified, even though most of them are seasoned riot police.” A number of officers are going to file a report. So does the municipality, if only to be able to recover damages caused on the street.

With the cooperation of Marcel Haenen.

To share





Email the editor