An agent fired targeted shots at a farmer’s protest near Heerenveen on Tuesday evening. According to the police, rioting farmers tried to drive into officers and official cars with tractors. Targeted shots were fired during the threatening situation that arose at the time. Warning shots were fired earlier, the Friesland police report. No one was injured.
One of the tractors was hit by the aimed shots. Three people have been arrested. No one was injured.
The incident took place at a ramp to the A32 near Heerenveen. Tractor drivers tried to drive into the officers and police vehicles around 10:40 PM, police said. The officer then fired warning shots. Shots were then fired.
The National Criminal Investigation Department is investigating whether the police fired correctly. An (unconfirmed) video on Twitter gives the impression that the trigger did not hit the officers, but independent police experts often emphasize in situations like this that it is difficult to conclude from one video that the police acted wrongly. A video does not tell what happened before and after the recording. Nor what the situation looked like from the police’s point of view. All this will have to be revealed by the investigation.
Maarten Brink of the ACP police union says he has seen the images online, but believes it is unclear what preceded the incident. Officers “never just reach for the firearm,” says the trade unionist. “The gun is the heaviest.”
Member of Parliament Caroline van der Plas of the BoerBurgerBeweging announced immediately after the escalation that she wanted an emergency debate with Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Wednesday. Member of Parliament Gideon van Meijeren of Forum for Democracy also wants that.
Protests across the country
Farmers also took action in several other places in the country on Tuesday evening. For example, a short-term blockade took place on the A50 between Arnhem and Apeldoorn. Hay bales and tires were also set on fire. The fire brigade extinguished the fire.
Distribution centers in Geldermalsen and Weert were again blocked for some time. A procession of tractors has also departed from Schaijk, but it is not clear what their destination is.
Regional media report that in Sint Annaparochie (Friesland) trucks and tractors are blocking the gates of a wholesaler in fruit and vegetables.
Earlier on Tuesday, all farmer actions seemed to have come to an end. The last farmers left Gaarkeuken after an ultimatum around 6 p.m. Actions in Haaksbergen, Drachten, Gieten, Hengelo, Heerenveen and Nijkerk had already come to an end.
Minister Dilan Yesilgöz (Justice and Security) called the days-long blockade of distribution centers earlier in the day “not okay”. The farmers have been engaged in a large-scale protest against the government’s nitrogen policy since Monday.
Yesilgöz wants the farmers to take action in a way that “does not get other people in trouble”. Supermarkets say they have already suffered “tens of millions of euros” in damage due to blockades at distribution centers.
Groningen Airport Eelde on Wednesday, the decor of protest
The farmers will protest at Groningen Airport Eelde on Wednesday morning, mayor Marcel Thijsen van Tynaarlo and airport director Meiltje de Groot say to RTV Drenthe† The protest is taking place “in close consultation” with the authorities, says Thijsen.
“There has been contact with the farmers, the Public Prosecution Service, the police, the Marechaussee and the municipality,” says Thijsen, who plans to attend the protest. farmers have said they want to keep the protest tidy.