Dutch and German farmers have blockaded a refugee centre in Ter Apel to protest the government’s nitrogen policy that will bankrupt businesses and force farmers to sell their land.
While it’s been reported on social media that the blockade was at a distribution centre, those on the ground have confirmed to TCS that the protest happened at a refugee centre for asylum seekers, with protesters saying that they know what the government wants to do once they’re forced sell their land: build new apartments to house more immigrants.
The refugee centre in Ter Apel is one of the largest asylum seekers centers in the Netherlands, and usually handles roughly 2,000 asylum seekers at any given time, with most asylum seekers coming to the facility upon arrival to the Nertherlands.
Speaking to De Telegraaf, a spokesperson for the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers said that those at the centre were “quite overwhelmed,” but the protest didn’t last long.
Like the farmers, Thierry Baudet, leader of the Forum for Democracy political party, has stated that the nitrogen policy implemented by PM Rutte is not meant to save the environment but to force farmers into selling their land.
“They want to make us more dependent on international supply chains. They want to weaken Dutch sovereignty and autonomy. And also, they want to continue mass immigration into the Netherlands,” Baudet told Roman Balmakov of Epoch Times.
“And if you’re going to bring more people into the Netherlands — into a very small and dense country — you’re going to need to take the land from the farmers and put houses there. That’s the agenda. To turn the Netherlands into a giant city.”
The policy that farmers are protesting will require Dutch businesses to reduce nitrogen emissions nationwide by 50% and up to 95% in some provinces by 2030. As significant contributors, cows and fertilizers are the primary targets of reduction, which will greatly impact farmers’ livelihoods.
The Dutch government has acknowledged that farmers will lose their business but is pressing onwards anyways.
“The honest message … is that not all farmers can continue their business,” a government statement reads.
Legal Philosopher Eva Vlaardingerbroek has also stated that the policies being pushed by Rutte’s government aren’t about protecting the climate but are about making farmers give up their land.
Speaking to Fox News’s Tucker Carlson, Vlaardingerbroek said, “What this is about is the Dutch government stealing our farmers’ land, and they’re doing this under the guise of a made-up nitrogen crisis that’s basically going to put most of these farmers completely out of business… they’re doing this because they want they want these farmers’ land, and they want it to house new immigrants.”
PM Mark Rutte has yet to address this claim but recently spoke to farmers at a controlled photo-op meeting, which only state broadcasters were allowed to attend.
