Riot Police Break Up Banned Far-Right March in The Hague

Dutch riot police moved in to disperse several hundred far-right demonstrators in The Hague on Saturday after a planned march against immigration and asylum policies was banned by local authorities and violence broke out.

Officers made several arrests after some in the crowd threw fireworks and other projectiles at police. The municipality had prohibited the march after clashes erupted among demonstrators gathered at the Malieveld, a park in the city centre, and later instructed the crowd to leave.

Justice Minister David van Weel called for an "extremely firm" response to what he described as "disgusting scenes," saying demonstrators had made Nazi salutes, chanted antisemitic slogans, attacked police and thrown fireworks at riot officers. He thanked the police for standing up for the country's democratic rule of law.

The unrest came a year after rioting broke out around a right-wing demonstration, when a police car was set on fire during clashes between black-clad protesters and officers, and the headquarters of the centrist D66 party — whose leader, Rob Jetten, is now prime minister — was attacked.