Jetten sends in expert team to councils hit by anti-asylum riots

Prime minister Rob Jetten has pledged to give more support to councils struggling to house asylum seekers and crack down hard on rioters who have clashed with police outside proposed shelters.

Jetten held crisis talks with local authorities in the Catshuis on Monday to discuss the shortage of beds for refugees and the violent protests in towns such as Loosdrecht, Apeldoorn and Den Bosch.

The government pledged to set up a “flying team” of experts and provide financial support to councils that are having trouble finding suitable locations to house refugees.

All councils are required to take in a proportionate share of asylum seekers under the so-called “spreading law” (spreidingswet) designed to relieve pressure on the main reception centre in Ter Apel.

Local mayors called for the talks to be held after the protests escalated in recent days. Rioters threw fireworks at police and set bushes on fire outside a former town hall building in Loosdrecht, near Hilversum, where the council wants to house 70 refugees for six months.

Step forward

Jetten acknowledged that smaller municipalities had little experience of housing refugees or dealing with the riots. But he also said some councils who have refused to find accommodation needed to “approach the conversation differently”.

Sharon Dijksma, the mayor of Utrecht who represented the local government organisation VNG at Monday’s talks, said the cabinet had taken a step forward by offering support.

“I said earlier that I wanted support from the cabinet and that ministers need to step up. They have done that this evening,” she said.

The prime minister said the recent protests had “gone beyond all boundaries” and called for prosecutors to deal with the rioters “hard”, but he stopped short of identifying the source of the protest.

The far-right network Defend Netherlands has been prominent at the demonstrations with banners, clothing and slogans. Several of the people have been arrested at the protests came from outside the local area, fuelling suspicions that the demonstrations are co-ordinated.

Markuszower row

The Dutch security service AIVD is investigating whether there is “organised activity” behind the rallies, asylum minister Bart van den Brink told parliament this week. He declined to say whether foreign interference is part of the scope.

Jetten also called on far-right MP Gidi Markuszower to withdraw his comments about Palestinian refugees earlier this week.

Markuszower, who leads a seven-strong group that broke away from Geert Wilders’ PVV party in January, said Dutch border guards should use “maximum force” to repel Palestinians and treat them more harshly than the Israeli army if necessary.

The MP later said his remarks had been “clumsy” but did not withdraw them. Jetten said: “It would be good if he took back his comments more firmly”, but did not rule out doing deals with Markuszower’s party to support his minority government’s legislation.