Mayor Eric van Oosterhout condemns the civilian arrest in Nieuw-Weerdinge last Saturday, in which an asylum seeker was allegedly assaulted. “This is very bad. Of course I’m shocked by this.”
At the same time, De Emmer mayor emphasizes that villagers are near despair in the absence of decisive government policy. Van Oosterhout recalls the conversation with outgoing State Secretary Eric van der Burg (VVD), where a number of commitments were made at the end of April that should lead to a breakthrough in tackling nuisance, often caused by safelanders. These are asylum seekers from ‘safe’ countries with little chance of obtaining a residence permit.
Six months later, the reality is still just as unruly, with Saturday’s incident as the low point. A 50-year-old man is said to have kicked an asylum seeker in the head during his arrest, who allegedly stole money from a van along the Weerdinge Canal. This was preceded by a chase, in which fellow villagers took part.
Van Oosterhout disapproves of this behavior, although he sympathizes with the concern in the village. “These are rightly concerned residents who are concerned about their own safety. They (safe residents, ed.) also pass by my house. And I also lock the back door, even though I am not used to it.”