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Equipped with high-visibility vests and lamps, a group of Dutch citizens has been carrying out their own checks at the German border, prompted by dissatisfaction with the current migration policy.
The participants, who number around a dozen according to local media reports, decided to take matters into their own hands and have been engaged in border checks, videos of which have been circulating on social media.
They have been applauded by right-wing politician Geert Wilders, whose PVV party withdrew from the Dutch coalition government last week after it refused to adopt his migration proposals.
The same day, Prime Minister Dick Schoof announced he was also stepping down, slamming Wilders’ decision to leave the coalition as “irresponsible and unnecessary”.
“As far as I’m concerned, this shouldn’t have happened,” he said.
A snap election will take place on 29 October following the collapse of the government.
Minister and police with an urgent appeal
In contrast to Wilders, the Netherlands’ Minister of Justice and Security, David van Weel, has been less enthusiastic about the citizens’ action.
“Frustration is understandable, but don’t take the law into your own hands,” he warned.
He said the government is in favour of stricter immigration laws, he advised citizens to “Let the police and border police do their job.”
The police also advised the citizens to stop the border checks immediately.
“Such actions create extremely dangerous situations on and along the road,” the Dutch police said in a statement carried by the newspaper De Gelderlander, calling the border checks “really unacceptable.”
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