A PROTEST MOVEMENT by Canadian truckers angered over Covid vaccine rules has become a rallying point for opponents of pandemic restrictions, firing up crowds from New York to New Zealand.
In New York, dozens of municipal workers facing dismissal unless they get shots marched across the Brooklyn Bridge to City Hall on Monday carrying giant US and Canadian flags.
“Unvaccinated Lives Matter” and “Workers Are Essential, Mandates Are Not,” read signs carried by the crowd, which included firefighters and teachers.
In New Zealand, inspired by the Canadian “Freedom Convoy,” trucks and campervans blocked streets near parliament in Wellington yesterday to protest against Covid restrictions and vaccinations.
Hundreds of vehicles plastered with messages such as “Give Us Back Our Freedom” parked in streets surrounding the parliament building.
Others drove around the city centre with horns blaring as over 1,000 protesters on foot listened to speeches.
“I’m actually vaccinated but I’m against mandating people to be vaccinated,” said Stu Main, of Wellington. “I think it’s disgraceful, forcing vaccination on people who don’t want it.”
Several Wellington protesters carried Canadian flags, including an expatriate named Billy, who declined to give his surname.
“I’m just supporting the brothers in Canada, fighting for freedom over there,” he said.
The Canadian protests have often tapped into right-wing politics, with Donald Trump flags at rallies and huge interest on conservative online sites.
- Calls for rallies in France -
In France, calls were circulating on Facebook for protestors to descend on Paris for anti-mandate demonstrations this weekend.
Similar appeals were launched in Belgium.
Some of the most vociferous support for the Canadian demonstrators has come from Republican officials in the United States, where Covid mask and vaccination mandates have become a highly partisan issue.
“The Freedom Convoy is peacefully protesting the harsh policies of far left lunatic Justin Trudeau who has destroyed Canada with insane Covid mandates,” former president Trump said.
“Now, thankfully, the Freedom Convoy could be coming to DC with American Truckers who want to protest (President Joe) Biden’s ridiculous Covid policies,” he said in a statement.
There has been no protest in Washington so far, but more than 100 truck drivers in Alaska drove from Anchorage to Eagle River on Sunday to support the Canadian demonstrators, the Anchorage Daily News reported.
Alaska Senator Dan Sullivan, a Republican, addressed a rally in Eagle River, ADN said, telling the crowd he did not believe the federal government “has the power to look at American citizens and say ‘either you get vaccinated or you get fired from your job.’”
According to the US Centers for Disease Control, fully vaccinated people are significantly less likely to die of the disease than non-vaccinated people.
Several Republican officials in US states have called meanwhile for investigations into GoFundMe after the fundraising site stopped taking donations for the “Freedom Convoy” protest.
GoFundMe removed the “Freedom Convoy” donation page on Friday, claiming it violated the site’s terms of service that “prohibit user content that reflects or promotes behaviour in support of violence.”
GoFundMe said it would refund all of the donations.
After the GoFundMe cutoff, organizers launched a donation drive on GiveSendGo, which describes itself as the “leader in Christian fundraising.” More than $7.2 million has been raised on GiveSendGo by today.
- Spreading protests -
The “Freedom Convoy” demonstrations began 9 January in western Canada as protests by truckers angry with vaccine requirements when crossing the US-Canadian border.
They have since morphed into broader protests against Covid restrictions and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government.
Trudeau demanded an end on Monday to the protest that has paralyzed Ottawa, saying “It has to stop.”
“This pandemic has sucked for all Canadians,” he said. “But Canadians know the way to get through it is continuing to listen to science, continuing to lean on each other.”
The truckers showed no sign of backing down yesterday, as several of the nation’s provinces announced it was time to roll back restrictions that count among the world’s toughest.
With authorities struggling to bring the protest movement to heel, Saskatchewan in the country’s west it was ready to lift all pandemic restrictions, with Quebec and Alberta also signaling plans to ease measures.
Today in New Zealand, protesters camped inside the Wellington legislature’s grounds vowed to stay “as long as it takes”.
Many of the vehicles that jammed central Wellington’s streets yesterday have left, but a hardcore of several hundred protesters pitched tents and refused to leave.
Three were arrested after trying to breach the police line as supporters chanted “let them through” but officials said the event remained largely peaceful.
© – AFP, 2022 additional reporting from Céimin Burke
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