Justice minister Foort van Oosten was forced to admit yesterday that the riots in The Hague at the weekend were driven by far-right extremism after coming under sustained pressure from opposition MPs.

Van Oosten, who was appointed a month ago, was grilled in his first appearance at ministers’ question time over the violence, in which demonstrators waved far-right banners, gave Nazi salutes and attacked the offices of liberal party D66.

The minister condemned the violence but repeatedly refused to comment on the “motivations” of the rioters, arguing he did not want to interfere with court cases that were going on at the same time.

But in a debate later in the evening, Van Oosten said his position had been “too rigid”.

“I want to emphasise that I was appalled to see these hooligans and extreme-right rioters using violence, including Hitler salutes and chanting the most horrific slogans,” he said.

“I think it’s Nazi behaviour, anti-Semitic, and therefore abhorrent and disgusting. Just in case I wasn’t clear enough about it at question time this afternoon.”

Anti-Semitism

Van Oosten’s change of tone followed criticism by members of his own party, the right-wing liberal VVD, which was in a coalition government with the far-right PVV until PVV leader Geert Wilders walked out in June.

VVD MP Ulysse Elian said during a debate on the government’s anti-Semitism plan that the minister should have “been clearer” in condemning Nazi salutes.

Earlier left-wing parties including D66 and GroenLinks-PvdA had lined up to press the minister to speak out against far-right extremism.

“What the cabinet is doing is looking the other way,” GL-PvdA leader Frans Timmermans said. “The problem is clear, but they are scared to give it a name.”

Jan Paternotte of D66 said: “If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck and swims like a duck, this minister will probably tell us he can’t say what type of animal it is.”

Maccabi clashes

MPs contrasted the minister’s approach with the cabinet’s response to the violence surrounding the Champions League football match between Ajax and Israeli football club Maccabi Tel Aviv last November.

VVD junior justice minister Jurgen Nobel said “a large part of Islamist youth do not subscribe to our values”, while prime minister Dick Schoof said there was an “integration problem” with “a specific group of youths with a migrant background.”

Esther Ouwehand, leader of the animal rights party PvdD, asked Van Oosten: “Where was that attitude when all the young people in the Netherlands were being put in the dock because a few of them had crossed a line?”