On Saturday evening there was a massive police deployment at the Provinciehuis in Den Bosch, after signals that protesters would prepare a storm for an AZC at the Pettelaarpark. Around one hundred agents, including ME’ers from Amsterdam, were deployed as a precaution.
The demonstrators would be members of the extreme right -wing action group Defend Netherlands. That group was also prominently present last week at an anti-immigration break at the Malieveld in The Hague, where rioters left a trail of destruction.
In a WhatsApp group, plans would have been forged to collect at the provincial government at the provincial government and then move on to the asylum seekers’ center. There was talk of storming the reception center.
Serious signals
At the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA), signals had already been received about the possible plans for storming, the organization confirmed to Omroep Brabant. The COA informed the police. How concrete the plans were is unclear, but the police decided not to take any risk.
Almost a hundred agents and ME’Ners gathered early on the evening around the provincial government. In the end, a confrontation was not forthcoming.
Around forty activists gathered briefly at the provincial government, but quickly left again. The massive police, including a drone that monitored the area, made a possibly impression. A witness also reported that a police helicopter flew above the city for some time.
Open day
On Saturday, the annual Open Day of the COA took place at asylum seekers’ centers throughout the Netherlands. Due to unrest and out of control, protests at a number of AZCs last week, the COA decided that a number of reception locations would remain closed.
At various locations in the country, additional security measures were taken on the advice of the police, so writes The NOS. The open day at the location on the Pettelaarpark continued on Saturday afternoon.