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A6 WORLD NEWS
Thursday 23 June 2022
Thousands of Dutch farmers protest, fearing government cuts

By ALEKSANDAR FURTULA ers and their support-
Associated Press ers, some wearing T-shirts
STROE, Netherlands (AP) with the text “No farmers,
— Thousands of farmers no food,” gathered for a
gathered in the central breakfast before head-
Netherlands Wednesday ing to the protest. “This is
to protest the Dutch gov- where the rules are made,”
ernment’s plans to rein in said dairy farmer Jaap
emissions of nitrogen oxide Zegwaard, who parked his
and ammonia, driving their tractor on the edge of a
tractors across the Nether- park in the city. “I was asked
lands and snarling traffic on to come here and provide
major highways. breakfast so we can show
The protest was organized we are food producers, not
earlier this month after the pollution producers.”
government published na- The ruling coalition has ear-
tionwide targets for reduc- marked an extra 24.3 bil-
ing emissions, sparking an- lion euros ($25.6 billion) to
ger from farmers who claim finance changes that will
their livelihoods and those likely make many farm-
of thousands of people ers drastically reduce their
who work in the agricultur- number of livestock or to
al service industry are on get rid of them altogether.
the line. Calling it an “un- The plans, which have to
avoidable transition,” the Dutch farmers protesting against the government’s plans to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxide be carried out by provin-
government mandated and ammonia gather for a demonstration at Stroe, Netherlands, Wednesday, June 22, 2022. cial governments, have
reductions in emissions of Associated Press been opposed even by
up to 70% in many places about 70 kilometers (45 lawmakers in the city that have no prospect of ... tak- members of Prime Minis-
close to protected nature miles) east of the capital, houses the Netherlands’ ing over a farm,” he said. ter Mark Rutte’s own party
areas and as high as 95% in Amsterdam. A stage was parliament. Another ban- The national infrastructure and other members of his
other places. The govern- set up for speakers to ad- ner on a tractor said: “We authority urged motorists coalition. Provincial gov-
ment has been forced to dress the crowd and mu- can no longer be stopped.” to delay travel as slow- ernments have been given
act after courts in recent sic blared out of speakers Marijn van Heun, a 23-year- moving convoys of trac- a year to formulate plans to
years began blocking per- while children bounced in old dairy farmer from the tors defied appeals not to meet the reduction targets.
mits for infrastructure and a giant inflatable pig. central Utrecht province, use highways as they drove One government lawmak-
housing projects because Farmers hooted their trac- said the government plans toward the demonstration. er, Tjeerd de Groot, tweet-
the country was missing its tors’ horns as they drove were stripping young farm- The traffic chaos continued ed that he had planned to
emissions targets. onto the field, where a ers of their futures. throughout the day. attend to discuss the plan
Organizers said some banner on a truck read, in “We cannot invest. Our fa- As tractors returned home, with farmers but called off
40,000 farmers converged Dutch, “What The Hague thers, our uncles, cannot some farmers blocked a his trip on the advise of a
on a green field in the small chooses is deeply sad for invest in the future. And so highway. Earlier, in The government security agen-
agricultural village of Stroe, the farmer,” a reference to as young farmers we also Hague, a few dozen farm- cy. q

Royals thank Caribbean migrants for contribution to the UK

By SYLVIA HUI Caribbean immigrants to help rebuild Britain after ment called on colonies to an unknown number were
Associated Press for their “profound con- World War II. send workers amid post- deported to countries they
LONDON (AP) — Queen tribution” to the U.K., as a William and his wife, Kate, war labor shortages. The barely remembered.
Elizabeth II and her grand- national monument was unveiled the statue de- new arrivals were called Britain’s government apol-
son Prince William paid trib- unveiled in London to cel- picting a man, woman and the “Windrush generation” ogized and offered com-
ute Wednesday to Britain’s ebrate the migrants’ work child standing atop suitcas- after the Empire Windrush, pensation, but many have
es at London’s Waterloo the ship that brought the complained that the claim-
train station. In his speech, first 500 migrants to British ing process is too cumber-
William highlighted the rac- shores in 1948. some and the payments
ism faced by thousands In 2018, the Windrush offered aren’t high enough
who journeyed to Britain scandal revealed that to make up for harm done
in the post-war years, and thousands of Caribbean by the British government.
said it still affects their de- migrants who had lived “Alongside celebrating
scendants today. and worked legally in the the diverse fabric of our
“Discrimination remains an U.K. for decades were en- families, our communities
all too familiar experience snared by tough new rules and our society as a whole
for Black men and women designed to crack down something the Windrush
in Britain in 2022,” he said. on illegal immigration. generation has contributed
William referred to a British Scores lost their jobs, homes so much to it is also impor-
government scandal that and the right to free medi- tant to acknowledge the
“profoundly wronged” tens cal care because they ways in which the future
A view of National Windrush Monument unveiled at Waterloo of thousands who travelled didn’t have the paper- they sought and deserved
Station in London, Wednesday, June 22, 2022. to Britain between 1948 work to prove their status. has yet to come to pass,”
Associated Press and 1973 after the govern- Some were detained, and William said.q