New Year celebrations ‘not really a party’, says justice minister

More people were arrested during this weekend’s New Year celebrations than last year, and there were more reports of vandalism, the Telegraaf said on Sunday evening.


The festivities did not proceed as they should have done, justice minister Ivo Opstelten is quoted as saying.
In particular, Opstelten said the amount of violence directed at the police and emergency service workers is unacceptable. The message to anti-social elements should be ‘if you continue to do this, we will come down hard on you,’ the minister said.
So far, there are 8,450 reports of vandalism and other incidents, and 1,350 people were arrested, the paper said. Last year, there were 1,200 arrests.
Rotterdam
Rotterdam’s mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb on Sunday called on the government to introduce a partial firework ban.
He said he is particularly concerned about the size and power of some fireworks which can be sold to the public.
Aboutaleb plans to raise the issue with the mayors of The Hague, Amsterdam and Utrecht to try to present a common front.

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