Schiermonnikoog PoliceThe unscrewed signs in question
In association with
Omrop Fryslân
NOS Nieuws•vandaag, 21:53
Two residents of Schiermonnikoog will not be prosecuted for stealing 28 information signs from Natuurmonumenten on the island. The Public Prosecution Service decided this today. The men were caught red-handed last summer when they were unscrewing the information signs. They stole the signs out of dissatisfaction with the management of Schiermonnikoog National Park.
The problems between the islanders and the manager of Natuurmonumenten have been going on for some time. Some residents believe that Natuurmonumenten makes decisions without consultation. Placing the information signs was an example of this. Residents found the signs patronizing and not attractive.
“The entire island is full of those ugly signs,” resident Ardie Noorman previously told Omrop Fryslân. “The signs state that you must have written permission if you want to organize a paid activity or go into nature with groups of more than twenty people. We live here in the middle of the National Park. Then I have to ask permission to go with a large to be allowed to take a group walk in my own backyard. That’s not possible, is it?”
Good conversations
Two dissatisfied residents took matters into their own hands at the end of August and unscrewed all the signs. They were arrested and taken to shore.
The men were rightly arrested, the Public Prosecution Service now says. Yet they are not criminally prosecuted. “Discussions have now started between Natuurmonumenten and island residents,” a spokesperson said Omrop Fryslân. “The focus must be on the future and good mutual understanding. In our view, starting a criminal case is not helpful at this time, but rather good conversations between those involved.”
Natuurmonumenten admitted during a public evening last month that the installation of the signs was not handled properly.
2023-12-18 20:53:34
#Men #prosecuted #stealing #signs #Natuurmonumenten
