Aggraction: great mistrust of governments

The massive demonstration by farmers in The Hague once again makes it clear how great the mistrust of agricultural entrepreneurs is against the governments. Police, politicians and also the national broadcaster NPO are regularly beaten on the spot or on social media.

It is clear that Agractie 2019 can already be described as historic. The combination of the convoys of tractors from various corners of the Netherlands, the precipitation and a traditionally busy Tuesday morning rush hour, has largely paralyzed the road network in the morning. With a total length of just under 1.100 kilometers of traffic jams, it was the busiest morning rush hour ever.

1050 km traffic jam through # farmer protest. Especially in the middle of the country it is bizarrely busy.
With that is het de drukste #morning rush ever! pic.twitter.com/RzZAyqEwYC

- ANWBverkeer (@ANWBverkeer) October 1, 2019

Arrests
In many places the police had a tight hand in guiding these columns. Overall, this went well. Reportedly, 3 activists have been arrested. In The Hague itself, the roads around the Malieveld are hermetically closed, including trucks and roadblocks. The road to the Binnenhof has also been blocked, for fear that farmers will want to drive there with tractors. 

This great display of power, combined with the presence of the riot police, led to great irritation among farmers in the morning. This was also made clear on social media such as Twitter and Facebook. What many farmers warned each other about is also true: agents who mingle in the crowd undercover. There is suspicion against this, because farmers suspect that they deliberately want to stir up unrest in order to give the police a legitimate reason to intervene.

Even before the demonstrations, there was a warning about plainclothes officers. The farmers are afraid that these people will deliberately start riots so that the police have reason to intervene. pic.twitter.com/B0lkTTy4NF

— Farmers Campaign (@farmersactie) October 1, 2019

Fences flattened
Although Agractie has emphasized several times to respect the rules and to follow instructions from the police, things still went wrong at Malieveld. The farmers were tired of waiting and shot across the road into the Malieveld, knocking over 2 fences. Afterwards, the fuss was not necessary, because in the end it turned out that the current of tractors in the city center was unstoppable and the police released the Malieveld.

Farmers have found a new entrance on the #Field and drive over fences (via @GeLeHesjesNL) # farmer protest #agraction pic.twitter.com/yVLw3Ffa4e

— Farmers Campaign (@farmersactie) October 1, 2019

Politicians can also count on little appreciation this day. Members of parliament from various parties from the House of Representatives (such as VVD, CDA and ChristenUnie) tried to make a good impression on Twitter in the morning by indicating that they supported the action.

Wick in the powder keg
Tjeerd de Groot (D66), who lit the fuse to Agractie with his plan to halve the livestock, has indicated that he wants to address the farmers. The farmers on the Malieveld have already been called upon to turn their backs on De Groot en masse. Geert Wilders (PVV) has already addressed the farmers on the Malieveld.

Pole position.. # farmer protest #Farm promotion #Geert Wilders speech to farmers. @geertwilderspvv pic.twitter.com/avQXM52pvH

— Marcus Breet (@MarcusBreet) October 1, 2019

Jesse Klaver (GroenLinks) gets a lot of attention on social media with his tweet. Klaver says he understands the anger of farmers, but: "The factory farming system is bankrupt. We have to move towards fewer animals in the Netherlands. That is not a nice message, but it is the truth." With this Klaver obviously scored points with his supporters, but the reactions of agrivists can be guessed at.

I understand the anger of farmers, but the factory farming system is bankrupt. We have to move towards fewer animals in the Netherlands. That is not a nice message, but it is the truth.

This cabinet must quickly come up with a plan to remove the uncertainty among farmers. #agraction

- Jesse Klaver (@jesseklaver) October 1, 2019

Striking was a protest, of modest size, at the public broadcaster NPO in Hilversum. Many farmers are frustrated that the broadcaster has too much of a left-wing signature and therefore pays far more attention to topics such as climate change than worrying about the future of the farmer.

As a result of the protest, Shula Rijxman, the chairman of the board of the public broadcaster, and Hans Gelauff, the editor-in-chief of NOS News, entered into a conversation with the farmers on the square in front of the NOS building. 

Now talking to @MarcelGelauff, @shularixman en @Gerard_Timmer at @our. #agraction #agriaction #team farmer #peasant rebellion pic.twitter.com/8pmUFGsOvn

— Etaregge Holsteins (@Etaregge) October 1, 2019

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