Nieuw-Weerdinge is angry that no military police come to the village to curb the nuisance caused by asylum seekers. Local Interest fears that the situation will get out of hand.
Wim Katoen, chairman of Local Interest Nieuw-Weerdinge, is seriously displeased and even then he puts it weakly. The request from the municipality of Emmen for additional deployment of the military police in the Drenthe village has been rejected. “Rücksichtslos dismissed. While the effort is so necessary in our village.”
Katoen fears that things are going completely in the wrong direction in his village and has emailed the Ministry of Justice and Security. Residents are already regularly taking matters into their own hands. They believe that insufficient action is being taken against thefts and burglaries by underprivileged asylum seekers from mainly safe countries who are staying at the Application Center in Ter Apel.
Vigilantes are active in Nieuw-Weerdinge and Ter Apel, who alert each other in suspicious circumstances and arrest asylum seekers and hand them over to the police. However, according to the police, citizens crossed the line up to three times. They have been arrested.
‘Misstep is almost inevitable’
Citizens may only arrest others if they do not use force. “But it is a very thin line that has to be walked,” says Katoen.
“Given the aggressive attitude of those causing nuisance, a misstep is almost inevitable. The police response time is one to two hours! They have no people. As a citizen you then find yourself in a very unpleasant situation. As a result, Nieuw-Weerdingers are arrested because they want to protect their own village and residents.”
Katoen praises the efforts of the mayors of Emmen and Westerwolde and points the accusing finger at The Hague. “The mayors are being completely ignored. It seems as if The Hague has not yet realized how dire the need is here. This is a far cry from me, but the situation here is becoming untenable. We can’t handle it anymore. The water is really on our lips.”
‘Lax attitude in The Hague’
He predicts that from now on, villagers will even more often go after those who cause nuisance. “They feel forced by the now really lax attitude in The Hague. That’s the sentiment here.”
Katoen therefore fervently hopes that the decision not to deploy a military police officer will be revised. “And that the residents of Nieuw-Weerdinge will also be protected and supported. Extra help is really needed, as long as people in the Netherlands seem unable to take other measures to remove this group of nuisance makers from the streets. That is where the real solution lies.”