Protests Erupt Over Virus Rules in Austria, Italy, Croatia, Netherlands …
Tens of thousands of protesters marched through Vienna on Saturday after the Austrian government announced a nationwide lockdown beginning Monday .
Demonstrations against virus restrictions also took place in Switzerland, Croatia, Italy, Northern Ireland, and the Netherlands on Saturday, a day after Dutch police opened fire on protesters and seven people were injured in rioting that erupted in Rotterdam. Protesters rallied against coronavirus restrictions and mandatory COVID-19 passes needed in many European countries to enter restaurants, Christmas markets, or sports events, as well as mandatory vaccinations.
Protests against renewed Covid-19 restrictions turned violent in The Hague. The unrest comes a day after several demonstrators in another Dutch city, Rotterdam, were injured amid police gunfire.
Seven people were arrested after fierce clashes broke out between law enforcement and anti-lockdown demonstrators in the Hague, the seat of The International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Saturday.
A video shared on social media shows protesters lighting firecrackers that spark multiple fires, causing the skies in the city to glow an eerie red.
The Hague burns🔥, home of international court of justice, the seat of Dutch cabinet and 3rd largest city in Netherlands https://t.co/8gjqu2sE60
— petrichor (@1e9petrichor) November 20, 2021
The Hague riots live #TheHague #Holland pic.twitter.com/d0ko9YmZFn
— Pierre Crom (@PierreCrom) November 20, 2021
In another clip, a group of protesters are seen knocking down a traffic pole, fitted with a surveillance camera.
VIDEO: Young people removing traffic surveillance equipment in #DenHaag 🇳🇱 tonight as protests spread over the attempted reimposition of #lockdown in the Netherlands. https://t.co/c2FTeV9uTs #NoVaccinePassports #NoLockdown #Rutte 🇨🇳 #EU #NWO
— Manchester Chronicle 🐝 (@WithyGrove) November 20, 2021
Dutch police reported that five of its officers were injured in the showdown with the rioters. One officer was taken to hospital with a knee injury and a concussion. Two others “suffered hearing damage,” while another two suffered injuries to their hands.
The chaotic scenes in the Netherlands’ third-largest city unfolded a day after a protest against reimposed Covid-19 restrictions in Rotterdam was marred by violence. Over fifty people were arrested in Rotterdam and three were injured after police opened fire in a bid to quell the unrest. Police later claimed that the officers were “compelled to shoot at targets” to protect themselves. The three injured protesters remain in hospital, and their condition is unknown.
Protests have swept through a number of Dutch cities after the Netherlands became the first country in Western Europe since summer to go into a partial lockdown last week. Tensions soared further after the government banned New Year’s Eve fireworks displays and the Dutch parliament backed the introduction of the so-called 2G system, which would bar unvaccinated and those who have not recently recovered from the virus from a long list of public places if introduced.
VIENNA – The Austrian lockdown will start Monday and comes as average daily deaths have tripled in recent weeks and hospitals in heavily hit states have warned that their intensive care units are reaching capacity. The lockdown will last at least 10 days but could go up to 20, officials said. People will be able to leave their homes only for specific reasons, including buying groceries, going to the doctor, or exercising.
The government also will make vaccinations mandatory starting Feb. 1. Not quite 66 percent of Austria’s 8.9 million people are fully vaccinated.
Saturday’s march started off at Vienna’s massive Heldenplatz square. Chanting “Resistance!” and blowing whistles, protesters moved down the city’s inner ring road. Many waved Austrian flags and carried signs mocking Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg and Health Minister Wolfgang Mueckstein. Most signs focused on the vaccine mandate: “My Body, My Choice,” read one. “We’re Standing Up for Our Kids!” said another.
Freedom Party leader Herbert Kickl, who tested positive for COVID-19 this week and had to stay in isolation, appeared via video, denouncing what he called “totalitarian” measures from a government “that believes it should think and decide for us.”
Schallenberg apologized to all vaccinated people on Friday, saying it wasn’t fair they had to suffer under the renewed lockdown restrictions.
“I’m sorry to take this drastic step,” he said on public broadcaster ORF.
In neighboring Switzerland, 2,000 people protested an upcoming referendum on whether to approve the government’s COVID-19 restrictions law, claiming it was discriminatory, public broadcaster SRF reported.
A day after the Rotterdam rioting, thousands gathered on Amsterdam’s central Dam Square, despite organizers calling off the protest. They walked peacefully through the city’s streets, closely monitored by police.
“We certainly don’t support what happened in Rotterdam. We were shocked by it,” he told NOS.
In Italy, 3,000 turned out in the capital’s Circus Maximus, a field where in ancient times Romans staged popular entertainment, to protest against “Green Pass” certificates required at workplaces, restaurants, cinemas, theaters, sports venues, and gyms, as well as for long-distance train, bus, or ferry travel within Italy.
“People like us never give up,” read one banner, in the red, white, and green colors of the Italian flag.
In Northern Ireland, several hundred people opposed to vaccine passports protested outside the city hall in Belfast, where the city’s Christmas market opened Saturday—a market where proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test was required.
In Croatia, thousands gathered in the capital Zagreb, carrying Croatian flags, nationalist and religious symbols, along with banners against vaccination and what they describe as restrictions of people’s freedoms.
In France, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin condemned violent protests in the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe, one of France’s overseas territories. Darmanin said 29 people had been detained by police overnight. Authorities were sending 200 more police officers to the island and on Tuesday will impose a nightly curfew from 6 p.m. to 5 a.m.
Protesters in Guadeloupe have staged road blockades and set cars on fire. They denounce France’s COVID-19 health pass that is required to access restaurants and cafes, cultural venues, sport arenas, and long-distance travel. They are also protesting France’s mandatory vaccinations for health care workers.