Police and riot police were attacked in Ferwert on the night from Saturday to Sunday. A shower of fireworks awaited them. They had to carry out charges to restore peace to the village. No arrests have been made.
“We would like to give people space for New Year’s Eve,” says Mayor Johannes Kramer. “They can have a blast. But when it concerns the safety of bystanders, fire brigade or police, we intervene.”
Villagers had been busy making fire pits all day. These are allowed in Noardeast-Fryslân in places “where no one is bothered by them”, says Kramer.
Crossroads
But at intersections where traffic passes, such stacks are prohibited. Municipal employees had a big job on Saturday to prevent car tires and caravans containing wood from being towed there.
“Apparently our efforts were not sufficient,” Kramer noted a day later. “Because it went wrong.”
While the fire brigade had extinguished one fire, a new pile was going on elsewhere in Ferwert. The alerted police were, according to a spokeswoman, attacked by about forty men with heavy fireworks. A police car was damaged.
Fireworks rain
The Mobile Unit was then called in, which also awaited a shower of fireworks. The riot police did manage to get the crowd away from the fire. No arrests have been made.
It is often restless in Noardeast-Fryslân around and during New Year’s Eve. The tension then increases to such an extent that the riot police have to be involved. Two years ago, things got so out of hand in Ferwert, Anjum and Marrum before New Year’s Eve that Kramer labeled the villages as a safety risk area. This allowed the police to search people preventively.
Such a measure is not currently on the agenda, according to the mayor.