Officers moved to disperse protesters tenting exterior New Zealand Parliament in solidarity with Canadian truckers
New Zealand police cracked down on protesters exterior Parliament in Wellington on Thursday, arresting greater than 50 individuals after forcibly dispersing the demonstration towards Covid-19 restrictions.
Shortly earlier than the scuffles erupted, police threatened the gang of round 150 protesters with arrest in the event that they refused to go away the realm voluntarily. Those that ignored the order had been subsequently detained by regulation enforcement.
Protesters could possibly be seen chanting “this isn’t democracy” and “disgrace on you” as cops moved in to clear the grounds.
Footage confirmed cops tearing down tents that had been erected by protesters and struggling with the protesters unwilling to scatter on their very own.
“Police proceed to attraction to protestors to go away Parliament Grounds peacefully, as the realm is closed to the general public,” New Zealand Police mentioned in a statement on Thursday.
“We proceed to acknowledge individuals’s rights to protest, nevertheless those that behave unlawfully will face arrest,” the assertion continued.
By 11:30 am, New Zealand Police claimed to have arrested greater than 50 protesters on costs comparable to trespass and obstruction for remaining on Parliament grounds after they decreed the realm closed to the general public.
“Wellingtonians have the fitting to conduct their lives and go about their enterprise with out the interference of ongoing illegal exercise,” the police declared, warning that “extra assets” could be “deployed from across the nation” to crack down on protests in the event that they continued.
The protesters started blocking the streets surrounding New Zealand’s Parliament on Tuesday in a present of solidarity with the truckers and their supporters in Ottawa, Canada who’re at the moment protesting towards Covid-19 restrictions and mandates exterior the Canadian Parliament in addition to on the US-Canada border.
The New Zealand protesters additionally oppose Covid-19 restrictions in their very own nation, which embrace necessary vaccination for sure professions, together with well being, training, emergency providers, and protection.
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