Romke de Jong is owner of the companyfather De Jong has been running it since his son has been in the House of Representatives.
decency and respect
According to De Jong senior, the farmers want to speak to Romke and will continue to block the entrance to the company until he reports. Romke de Jong says when asked that he will not do that now. “Out of decency and mutual respect”, he always wants to talk, according to the politician. “But not this way.”
There are about ten tractors in front of the entrance, according to De Jong senior. The farmers have got out and are drinking coffee at the neighbors. “It’s very quiet. They are farmers from the area, I know them too.”
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“We can’t get in and we can’t get out,” he continues about the consequences of the blockade. “That means, as it stands now, that we will not be able to supply the Floriade today.” The company would also supply ice to the Down the Rabbit Hole festival, but according to De Jong, that still has enough in stock. A number of companies had also rented an ice cream truck, but De Jong had to cancel those agreements.
He doesn’t know how long the blockade will last. “I’ll wait.”
Unacceptable
The MP says he understands ‘that farmers make their voices heard’. According to him, it is incomprehensible and unacceptable that they do this by harming other people. “Shutting down parts of the Netherlands, of companies, of our highways and other infrastructure is not the way to express your opinion.”
The police say that a report was only made shortly after 8 a.m. that ‘something was happening’ at the company in Gorredijk and has no indications that the situation is escalating. According to a spokeswoman, there are six or seven tractors along the road and there would be no blockage.
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