Five political parties from Zaandam have sent a letter to the mayor of Zaanstad about the series of fires and explosions in the Westerkoog district in Koog aan de Zaan. The parties find it unacceptable that residents of the municipality feel unsafe and demand clarification from the municipal authorities.
In February, the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Service for a suspicious package. In June, two cars burned out. The following month, a fireworks bomb was thrown at the back of a house. Several local residents reported to NH Nieuws that these would be targeted actions on a specific home.
The municipality has recently put up security cameras to prevent new incidents, but last night a camera was burning several hundred meters from out of a car. A fireworks bomb exploded in the neighborhood on Monday evening. “We’re scared and angry too, because nobody tells us anything,” say a resident.
“It is literally and figuratively an explosive situation,” says Roland van Braam of SP Zaanstreek. The political parties hold the mayor and aldermen to account and have requested a debate, reports NH News. The letter was signed by SP Zaanstad, Local Zaans, Party for the Elderly and Safety, Party for the Animals and Democratic Zaanstad.
Deserted
“Although cameras have been installed by the municipality, the criminal incidents continue,” the parties write in the letter. “Residents feel abandoned by both the police and the mayor because they do not provide information. Residents want clarity about what is happening in their normally quiet neighborhood.”
It is difficult to say whether the car fire last night is related to recent incidents in the neighborhood opposite. Local residents will have a meeting with the municipality and the police tomorrow evening about the unrest in their neighborhood.
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