Demissionary minister Foort van Oosten of Justice and Security (VVD) ignored a critical recommendation from the National Coordinator for Counterterrorism (NCTV) during the weekly question hour regarding the riots in The Hague on Saturday, urging that they be explicitly labeled as ‘right-extremist’.
- Minister Foort van Oosten ignored NCTV's urgent advice.
- The riots in The Hague were labeled as 'right-extremist'.
- NCTV reported presence of right-extremist group members.
- Minister Van Oosten refused to discuss political violence.
- Politicians normalize extremist ideologies through ambiguous behavior.
- Van Oosten later referred to 'extreme-right rioters' in debate.
The NCTV, responsible for counterterrorism and national security, identified the riots as right-extremist, noting the presence of members from right-extremist groups at the anti-asylum protest. The NCTV highlighted intimidating behaviors, including the waving of prince’s flags and chanting slogans such as “out with foreigners”.
Despite the NCTV’s advice, Minister Van Oosten refrained from discussing political violence, stating that it was merely about the harassment of police officers and vandalism. He followed the stance of his party colleague, demissionary Finance Minister Eelco Heinen, who also avoided addressing the motives behind the violence.
“By merely speaking of rioters, scum, or hooligans, without addressing the underlying right-extremist ideologies, a complete picture of reality is not presented,”
— NCTV
Originally reported by www.nrc.nl as “Minister negeerde NCTV-advies om Haagse rellen expliciet ‘rechts-extremistisch’ te noemen” on 2025-09-24 13:32:00.
