New Year celebrations were busy, but did not get
really out of hand, police chief says
Society
January 1, 2022 Fireworks over Rotterdam, but it was quiet on the streets.
Photo: Bas Czerwinski ANP
The
Netherlands saw in the New Year with rockets, firecrackers and street parties,
despite the ban on most fireworks and on large gatherings. Police said on
Saturday morning that it had been a ‘busy night’ which was ‘only kept under
control by the use of considerable police capacity.’ According to the Telegraaf, there were more
call outs of the emergency services than in 2020. As every year, riot police
were drafted in to deal with disturbances and to protect ambulance workers and
firefighters, particular in the more rural parts of the country. In the Drenthe
village of Bovensmilde, riot police were in action for several hours to break
up groups of youths throwing fireworks. There were similar incidents in at
least five villages in Friesland, including Burdaard – where tear gas was used
– and in Tzummarum and Kollumerzwaag. In Groningen four people were arrested
for throwing fireworks at emergency service workers, but there were only 13
arrests in total in the three northern provinces, broadcaster NOS reported.
Clearing up car fires in Veen. Photo” Erik Haverhals ANP In Noord Holland,
police said there had been 32 arrests, including 17 for arson and illegal
fireworks. In Amsterdam, a crowd of some 3,000 to 4,000 had gathered on the Dam
in the city centre to celebrate the New Year, and riot police were drafted in
to clear the area. Local broadcaster AT5 said riot police were also brought in
to restore order in Amsterdam Nieuw-West. Elsewhere cars were set on fire in
Rotterdam, Utrecht and The Hague and in Rotterdam, gangs of youths threw
fireworks at police as they tried to put out a blaze at a school. There were
also a number of arrests in Arnemuiden in Zeeland after groups of youths
starting setting fires. Police chief Willem Woelders said every attack on
emergency service workers was to be regretted. ‘But our preparations over the
past few months have enabled us to be there on time if there were problems.
Thanks to this, nowhere did the situation really get out of hand.’ Despite the
ban on fireworks and the large number of seizures in recent weeks, a
surprisingly large amount of fireworks were set off, he said. ‘Cars were also
set on fire nationwide and the police broke up illegal parties all over the
country. But this did not lead to major problems.’ Injuries Rotterdam’s specialist
eye hospital had dealt with three cases by Saturday morning, compared with 10
to 15 in a normal year. None of the patients were seriously injured, NOS said.
Some people were injured by fireworks. RTV Rijnmond said a man had lost a hand
when a firework blew up, while in Berkel en Rodenrijs a man received a serious
foot injury after a firework rolled towards him. The complete injury figures
will be published on Wednesday, broadcaster RTL Nieuws said.
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at DutchNews.nl:
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