Protesters against the Corona measures have been blocking the city of Ottawa for almost two weeks. Mayor Watson reports on racism and the threat of violence.
Update from Tuesday, February 8th, 2022, 5:20 p.m.: Due to the ongoing corona protests in Ottawa, Mayor Jim Watson has warned the population that “there will be deaths”. The Canadian capital declared a state of emergency on Sunday (February 6th, 2022).
The so-called “freedom convoy”, consisting of trucks and demonstrators, has been blocking several roads in Ottawa since January 29, bringing the city to a virtual standstill. The background is a regulation that sends unvaccinated truckers to quarantine if they cross the US border on their routes. As reported by aljeeza.com, the large-scale demonstration was organized by well-known right-wing extremists.
Canada: Corona protests in Ottawa scare the population
“We are in the middle of a serious emergency. It’s the most critical emergency our city has ever endured and we have to move much faster, much more proactively, to get the streets back under control,” Watson said in an interview with CTV. “Someone is yet to be killed or seriously injured due to the irresponsible behavior of some of these people,” the mayor said.
The police are now “a lot more aggressive,” said Watson. He fully supports a corresponding approach, since “one cannot argue with these individuals”. In addition, since the beginning of the major action, there has been increased “anti-Semitic and racist” behavior among the demonstrators. Many older residents are so scared that they don’t even dare to go to the supermarkets.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated that those involved would be a small minority of Canadians. Around 83 percent of the Canadian population is considered to be fully vaccinated against the corona virus (as of February 8th, 2022). Former US President Donald Trump called Trudeau a “left-wing lunatic” on Friday (February 4th, 2022) and expressed his support for the truckers.
Corona protests in Canada: Ottawa declares a state of emergency
First report from Monday, February 7th, 2022, 10:56 a.m.: Ottawa – What began at the end of January as a protest by Canadian truck drivers*, who initially complained about the obligation to vaccinate at the US-Canadian border, has now become an enduring large-scale demonstration against corona restrictions * become. For days, demonstrators in trucks, sit-ins and protest marches have paralyzed the city – Mayor Jim Watson declared a state of emergency on Sunday (February 6th, 2022).
With this measure and the request for additional police forces, Watson now wants to get a situation under control, which, as the mayor emphasized, is “completely out of control”. He said there were far more protesters at the scene than there were police officers available. “We are clearly outnumbered and losing this fight,” he told radio station CFRA. In order to “take back” the blocked city center, he called for “support from other jurisdictions and levels of government”.
Protests in Canada against corona measures: demonstrators ignite pyrotechnics
Thousands of people came to the Canadian capital again at the weekend (05/06/02/2022) to announce their dissatisfaction with the current corona measures. In chants and on banners, they demanded an end to “segregation”, i.e. the unequal treatment of the unvaccinated in society, and a return to “freedom” without rules or measures. The demonstrators not only blocked the streets of the city center, but also honked their horns and harassed and insulted local residents.
Watson called the truckers “insensitive” because they “make a party out of it”. The British daily The Guardian reports on fireworks at the National War Memorial, which were also attended by people with swastika flags, and on smaller protests in Canada’s largest city, Toronto.
Corona protests in Canada: criticism of US influence
Criticism of the protests was not only aimed at the demonstrators themselves, but also against influences from the USA *, which were also shown in the protests at the weekend in the form of Trump flags. The former US ambassador to Canada, Bruce Heyman, wrote on the short message service Twitter that Canada is currently experiencing an intervention by radical US political forces. Donald Trump* and his followers are “not just a threat to the United States, but to all democracies”.
The background to the allegations is, in addition to loud applause by Republicans* for the protests in Canada, recently launched fundraising campaigns in which US politicians pretended to collect millions in support for the Canadian protesters. Heyman tweeted: “Under no circumstances should any group in the United States fund anti-democratic activities in Canada.”
Protests in Canada: New measures are intended to normalize the situation in Ottawa
The police have now announced new measures to prevent people from supporting the protesters in their sit-in. “Anyone trying to provide material support (fuel, etc.) to the demonstrators can be arrested,” the police said on Twitter. The Ottawa Police Department is due to be reinforced by around 250 federal police officers shortly. (ska/nak/AFP) *fr.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA
