Dutch Police Deploy Water Cannon to Disperse Anti-Immigration Demonstrators in The Hague

Thousand of people, organized by right-wing activist ElsRechts, protested against asylum seekers and for fairer housing policies in the Netherlands, with some demonstrators throwing bottles and rocks at police officers and setting a police car on fire. The protest, which also drew the leader of the far-right Party for Freedom, Geert Wilders, was marked by violence, with police using water cannon to disperse the crowd. The protest comes ahead of snap elections in the Netherlands on October 29, triggered by the collapse of the right-wing governing coalition.

Key Takeaways:

• Thousands of people, organized by right-wing activist ElsRechts, participated in an anti-immigration protest in The Hague.
• Some protesters threw bottles and rocks at police officers and set a police car on fire.
• The protest was marked by violence, with police using water cannon to disperse the crowd.
• The leader of the far-right Party for Freedom, Geert Wilders, was invited to the protest but chose not to attend, condemning the violence.
• The protest comes ahead of snap elections in the Netherlands on October 29.
• The elections were triggered by the collapse of the right-wing governing coalition, which was led by former Prime Minister Dick Schoof.
• The three other parties in the coalition failed to back Wilders' plans to crack down on asylum for refugees.

Statistics:

• 4,000 - 6,000 people (approximate number of protesters) (Source: Dutch media)
• 1 police car (set on fire by protesters)
• 1 (water cannon used by police to disperse the crowd)
• 1 (Geert Wilders, leader of the far-right Party for Freedom, invited to the protest but did not attend)
• October 29 (date of snap elections in the Netherlands)

Sources:

• Dutch media (exact source not mentioned in the original article)
• X (social media platform where Geert Wilders posted his message condemning the violence)