REPORT
Supermarkets are groaning under farmers' actions, but the
Battle of Schiphol is not happening
The government drew a red line for the protesting farmers
on Monday. While they were able to block the distribution centres of the large
supermarket chains, the force majeure around Schiphol was enormous. There was
no confrontation. 'It's balancing between empathy and setting boundaries.'
Noël van Bemmel4 July 2022, 17:30
You get used to
it at Schiphol Airport: military police with machine guns in the departure hall
and armored all-terrain vehicles in front of the door to deter any terrorists.
But today two sturdy shovels were added, dark blue painted bulldozers in front
of the arrivals hall, to push any angry farmers with tractor and all the
driveway back down. A kind of Robot Wars on the A4. A chief guard next to his
shovel: 'No idea who is going to win that. Never tried.'
Monday was the
day the authorities decided to make a fist against radical farmers. To make it
clear: so far and no further. Previously, the police opted for de-escalation:
withdrawing, giving up equipment and understanding conversations with tractor
drivers, even though they blocked highways and attacked drivers' homes. Today,
the government draws a line.
It does not lie
in blocking supermarket distribution centres. There the farmers could go about
their business, with financial damage to the shops as a result. Albert Heijn
and Picnic also cancelled thousands of
orders. The government's boundary apparently lies with infrastructure such as
Schiphol and the port of Rotterdam. If necessary, in addition to shovels, the
Marechaussee also has armored tracked vehicles with a dozer blade and an
engineer breakthrough tank of 62 tons and 1,500 hp can be borrowed from the
Army.
Atmosphere is
calm
Today was also
the day of the Battle of Schiphol that did not take place. Many travelers (and
journalists) booked a very expensive room in an airport hotel as a precaution,
took the train or even the bicycle. In the latter case, it was easy to see that
the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee, which is responsible for safety at
Schiphol, had drawn a wide ring around the airport: along supply roads,
all-terrain vehicles were ready to block tractors, concrete blocks had been
laid out on cycle paths. A watchman who has been waiting for hours: 'They can
come from me now.' That angry farmers on Monday chose to block distribution
centers of supermarket chains, highways, the Mediapark and a garbage processing
company across the country seems tactically sensible. It is impossible for the
government to place enforcers everywhere.
On an upper floor
of the Queen Máxima Barracks next to Schiphol, the Staff large-scale and
Special Action of the Marechaussee discusses the situation around five airports
in the country. On a screen, the actions of farmers and fishermen appear as
colored squares, and the position of their own units as numbers. In Driebergen,
the national police have set up a similar staff. 'The situation around Schiphol
is calm', says an intelligence officer. 'There would still be eighty tractors
on their way to Rotterdam Airport, but I can't confirm that.' A colleague:
'Well, we had seen eighty tractors.' The atmosphere is calm during the safety
briefing, the only point of concern: the continuity of the marechaussee.
'How long will
this deployment be?', an officer wants to know. 'Do I have to cancel all
courses? And what do we do with the Navy Days?' Commander Peter de Bruin, a
major at the head of the table: 'Let's not go cauliflowering. We shouldn't make
this bigger than it is.' About the ability to continue, he says afterwards: 'We
have enough people. But if this happens more often, it will be at the expense
of other things.'
De-escalation and
enforcement are not opposites
Among the
passengers at Schiphol, there is little understanding for the farmers' actions.
"It's bad luck for them, but there's no other way," says a lady on
her way to New Zealand. Just to be on the safe side, she came to Schiphol by
train. 'The environment cannot cope with this way of farming.' She acknowledges
that flying to New Zealand is not good either. 'I looked it up: the trip by
boat takes six weeks.' A 39-year-old ICT professional on his way to Madrid for
his work, thinks that the farmers go too far. 'Demonstrating is okay, but make
sure your compatriots are not bothered by that. What do I have to do with their
nitrogen emissions?'
According to
professor of public order & danger management Otto Adang (Police Academy),
de-escalation and enforcement are not opposites, but two sides of the same
coin. "Every teacher or educator knows that." According to the
researcher, threatening and intimidating is different from protesting. 'Then
you cross a border. This also applies to blocking vital infrastructure.' At
such a moment it is important, says Adang, that the government shows that you
can not get away with everything. 'It's balancing between empathy and setting
boundaries. If you act too softly, you risk social outrage; if you act too
hard, the farmer can present himself as a victim and strengthen his
mobilisation power.' The farmer also balances, says Adang, because too harsh
actions can lead to a loss of social support.
In front of
Schiphol, the chief watchman and his men wait in vain for the arrival of
tractors. He doesn't expect it to ever come to a clash between shovel and
trigger. "We just drive towards them, block the road, and arrest the
driver." Moreover, the Marechaussee do not expect a farmer to risk his
precious tractor, uninsured on the highway, in a confrontation. "He just
needs that thing again the next day."
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