26m ago
16:06
Around 30
people were arrested in Amsterdam when police dispersed an anti-lockdown
protest on Sunday, as authorities sought to prevent a repeat of riots that
raged across Dutch cities for three days last week.
Police said
they had sent home around 600 people who had flouted social distancing rules
and ignored a nationwide ban on public gatherings by assembling in Amsterdam’s
central Museumplein on Sunday afternoon.
There were
no reports of violent incidents by late afternoon, Reuters reports.
1h ago
15:23
There have also been protests against coronavirus
restrictions in Vienna, Austria, Reuters reports:
Vienna
police banned numerous protests planned for this weekend, including one by the
far-right Freedom Party on Sunday, on the grounds that protesters have
generally failed to observe rules on social distancing and often not worn face
masks.
Since 26
December, Austria has been in its third national lockdown, with non-essential
shops and many other businesses closed and their staff unable to work.
The
opposition Freedom Party has denounced various restrictions as “corona madness”
and its leaders have sent mixed messages on issues such as vaccinations.
Freedom
Party deputy leader Herbert Kickl on Saturday accused the conservative-led
government of banning criticism in general. He urged his supporters to go on a
walk in the capital instead of attending the banned protest, and to “articulate
their displeasure peacefully”.
1h ago
15:09
Hundreds arrested in Brussels in anti-restrictions
protests
Police in
the Belgian capital said Sunday they have detained scores of people in a bid to
prevent two banned demonstrations against measures to curb the spread of the
coronavirus, AFP reports.
“We are
above 200 arrested at the moment,” mainly around the rail stations in Brussels,
a police spokesman said around midday.
Police
evacuated one square in front of the main railway station, where some of the
protesters were football supporters from Belgian clubs.
Dozens of
people, responding to calls on social media for protests against measures to
check the coronavirus, also began gathering at the Atomium, a landmark building
in Brussels.
“We remind
you that there is no authorisation to come and demonstrate this Sunday,” the
Brussels police said in a Tweet.
“Those
people who still intend to demonstrate in Brussels today will be approached,
dissuaded from staying and if necessary” detained, it said.
Belgium has
registered one of the highest death rates in the world during the coronavirus
pandemic, but restrictions closing bars and restaurants since October along
with a night time curfew have brought infection and hospital cases down in the
past two months.
The country
last week banned non-essential trips in and out of the country until 1 March.
Belgium’s
neighbour, the Netherlands, was rocked by anti-curfew riots last week.
The
affiliation of many of today’s protesters was not immediately clear. Some of
them, however, expressed support for the Freedom Party, and many opposed
conservative Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, chanting and waving banners saying
“Kurz must go” - often without wearing masks. Many carried Austrian flags.
The crowd,
which police estimated at 5,000, gathered on a square in central Vienna across
the central ring road from the former imperial palace as well as from the
offices of Kurz and President Alexander Van der Bellen.
Rows of
police in riot gear and face masks prevented the crowd from marching down the
ring road.
A Reuters
witness saw police make some arrests and estimated the size of the protests at
thousands. Police confirmed arrests had been made without giving numbers.
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