by Jack Montgomery, Breitbart:
Farmers drove tractors toward The Hague early Saturday in defiance of a ban on the heavy vehicles imposed ahead of a protest against the government’s plan to reduce nitrate emissions, with some calling for a Nexit (Dutch exit from the European Union).
While Amsterdam is the official capital of the Netherlands, The Hague is its administrative capitol, hosting its executive, legislature, and highest court, as well as the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court.
TRUTH LIVES on at https://sgtreport.tv/
The municipal government imposed an emergency order in the city on a day when thousands of farmers were set to gather in a park and climate activists from the Extinction Rebellion group were also planning a protest action on a major road. Authorities placed army trucks near some crossroads ready to block the streets if tractors tried to drive into the city centre.
The demonstrations come days before Dutch voters go to the polls in provincial elections Wednesday that indirectly also elect the national parliament’s upper house and could have an effect on proposals for reducing nitrate use, driven by European Union diktats and likely to inflict a heavy blow on farmers or force them out of business altogether.
The farmers also are protesting government policies on child welfare benefits and the treatment of residents in the northern province of Groningen whose homes have been damaged by earthquakes caused by decades of natural gas extraction.
Rotterdam broadcaster Rijnmond showed video of a convoy of tractors crossing the city’s Erasmus Bridge early Saturday, apparently on their way to The Hague. One of the tractors was emblazoned with a banner saying in Dutch “#proudofthefarmer.”
Police in The Hague said they stopped a group of tractors near the city and told their drivers to park in a nearby village and take the bus to the protest. The city’s mayor said this week he would allow just two tractors to park at the event.
