Dutch far- right protest against govt

Rotterdam, Netherlands, Jan. 20: Hundreds of right- wing demonstrators crowded a main square at Rotterdam’s central station Saturday to protest what they describe as the “discrimination against ordinary Dutch citizens” in favour of immigrants and Muslims.

The protest by around 700 right- wing supporters comes as Dutch political parties gear up for local government elections in March, with issues such as immigration and integration again expected to feature prominently among its 13 million illegible voters.

“The Netherlands is our country, it’s not ( Prime Minister) Mark Rutte’s country,” populist Dutch politician Geert Wilders, who led the demonstration, told the protesters.

“We live here, not in Morocco, we don’t live in Turkey or in Saudi Arabia, but in Rotterdam, in the Netherlands,” said Wilders.

“Here it’s our rules that count. I want to tell you that the Netherlands is not an Islamic country, do you agree?” Wilders said to loud applause, speaking through a megaphone and sporting his trademark peroxide hairdo.

He left the demonstration a short while later after safety concerns when his vehicle became boxed in by a throng of supporters and journalists.

Wilders, 54, is often called the “best protected” man in the country and lives under 24- hour security.