New Zealand police today ruled out using force to disperse protesters who have been protesting outside parliament for 11 days outside the capital, Wellington, despite growing outrage.
The use of force “poses a real risk of causing civilian injuries, forcing more protesters to take to the streets and forcing a generally peaceful demonstration,” warned police chief Andrew Koster. “It’s time to continue hoping for de-escalation.”
According to the Police, there are currently out of Parliament about 800 protesters, while about 450 vehicles close the city’s streets, but their number may grow during the weekend.
Inspired by pandemic drivers in Canada protesting pandemic restrictions and mandatory vaccination against covid-19, hundreds of protesters in Wellington have used their vehicles to block roads around Parliament and have blocked traffic. of the building.
Koster said he understood the outrage of Wellingtonians as more and more protesters blocked the streets. Residents have protested in recent days that they were harassed by protesters for wearing a mask.
“The people of Wellington are tired of these illegal activities, harassment and unrest, we call for an end to them,” a group of local officials and professionals protested today.
A first unsuccessful attempt to disperse the protesters took place last week, resulting in violent incidents and 120 arrests.
Last weekend, the speaker of parliament tried to drive protesters out of the building’s garden by turning on the automatic watering system and playing deafening music.
In New Zealand, a country of 5 million people, just over 10,000 cases of covid-19 and 53 deaths from the disease have been reported. But the number of cases has increased recently due to the variant strain Omicron of the coronavirus.
About 94% of people who can be vaccinated against covid-19 have done so and vaccination is mandatory for some frontline workers.
Protesters initially opposed the mandatory vaccination, but later joined the protests demanding the complete lifting of the restrictions.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has said the protests are an “imported” phenomenon and has rejected calls for all restrictions to be lifted.
SOURCE: ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ
Source: Capital
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