Defying a ban on gathering, thousands of Dutch protesters gathered on a central square in Amsterdam on Sunday, to protest the Dutch government’s coronavirus lockdown measures.

A small group of protesters battled violently with riot police as officials sought to evacuate the gathering from Museum Square in response to an order from Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema.

At least 30 individual was detained, according to reporters on the scene.

The rally had been declared illegal by the local authorities, who stated that police had received evidence that some participants were planning to arrive “prepared for violence.” Later, the municipality issued an emergency order requiring people to leave the square, and riot police marched across the grass to empty the area, forcing protests into surrounding streets.

Before the officers arrived, several participants unfurled a banner near the Van Gogh Museum that read, “Less repression, more care.” A group of people dressed in white overalls and white masks held signs that said, on one side, “It’s not about a virus, it’s about control” and, on the other, “Freedom.” One person made their way through the crowd with a “Trump 2024” flag.

There was a large police presence on the square and in the surrounding streets. The town labeled the area as a security risk area, granting police the power to conduct preventative frisks.

Following a march through the city, people began congregating in a park in western Amsterdam for a rally of the populist Forum for Democracy party.

The protest occurred on the same day that Dutch police announced they would take action to protest the increasing demands of their jobs. Riot police, according to union representatives, will continue to work if necessary.

In the Netherlands, where lockdown restrictions were reintroduced in November and reinforced further throughout the holiday season, coronavirus infection rates have been gradually declining for weeks.

Even when the omicron mutation became the nation’s leading variant, the 7-day rolling average of new daily cases fell somewhat over the past week to 85.55 new cases per 100,000 persons.

All non-essential shops, as well as bars, restaurants, and institutions such as museums, theaters, and cinemas, are closed during the lockdown.

In November, a coronavirus rally in Rotterdam turned into violent riots, and rallies on Museum Square had resulted in clashes between police and demonstrators who refused to leave the area.

Image Credit: AP

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