A new demonstration against health measures was held this Sunday in Brussels. Tens of thousands of people gathered from 11 a.m. at the Brussels-North station to cries of “freedom”, at the call of many movements including World Wide Demonstration for Freedom and Europeans United for Freedom but also of more than 600 associations European locals. According to the established program, the procession set off at the end of the morning to finish at the Parc du Cinquantenaire, after crossing the European district where clashes broke out. The demonstration is now over.
Through this demonstration, the organizers claim to defend “democracy, human rights and respect for the Constitution”. Europeans United for Freedom considers on its website that the spread of Covid-19, the saturation of related hospitals and the death of people in fragile health do not justify derogating from the fundamental freedoms guaranteed by democracy. “The worst disease we imported from China was not the virus, but totalitarianism,” he said. The movement also criticizes the lack of public debate upstream of decisions taken by governments on the basis of the advice of scientific experts
Relive the course of the event:
6:50 p.m.: More than sixty arrests
About sixty people were arrested administratively and ten judicially, for possession or throwing of projectiles, in particular flammable materials, rebellion and degradation of public property, the police said in a press release. Before the departure of the procession, the agents “carried out the administrative arrest of six people in possession of prohibited and/or dangerous objects such as pyrotechnic objects”. They will be the subject of an in-depth investigation, for which a “judicial task force” will be set up.
The police then used water cannons and tear gas to try to direct the recalcitrant “400 to 500” towards the Parc du Cinquantenaire. There followed a call for dislocation, which was not respected. “Police were clearly attacked with heavy objects including garbage cans, nadar barriers, cobblestones etc. The rioters also attacked a police car. The game of cat and mouse with the police escalated. then continued in the avenue de Tervuren and its surroundings”, according to the press release of the police, considering that the rioters “deliberately sought confrontation”.
In total, 3 police officers and 12 demonstrators were injured in the clashes. They were transferred to the hospital, but none of them is in danger.
A group of demonstrators and rioters continue to resist on the Avenue de Tervuren, behind the Parc du Cinquantenaire in Brussels. Riot police have evacuated the park, but protesters continue to cause damage and put out the fire. “The police will evacuate the premises. If you stay, you risk an administrative arrest”, indicated the police on Twitter around 4:30 p.m.
But the last recalcitrants obviously did not intend to return home. The game of cat and mouse with the riot police continues on Avenue de Tervuren. Any police vehicle that gets too close to the crowd is targeted. Meanwhile, the troublemakers set fire to trash cans and detached wooden pallets and building materials. The police continue to push back the rioters with a water cannon and tear gas.
5 p.m.: The demonstration is over, but the damage is significant
According to HLN journalists present on the spot, calm has returned to the park, which looks like a battlefield. Stones lie on the ground, windows of buildings of the European Union, and restaurants have been broken, poles have been torn off.
4:30 p.m.: The park is empty
Around 3:15 p.m., those in charge of the demonstration, from the podium, called to evacuate the park. It was only under pressure from the police that the crowd finally moved, a quarter of an hour later. By 4:15 p.m., the majority of the public had left the premises and the police moved to the arcades.
3:30 p.m.: The police ask participants to leave the fiftieth anniversary, the riots continue
While the situation is still tense between the police and the demonstrators, the police are asking everyone the world to leave the premises. The speakers have been asked to leave the stage.
The riots continue in the grounds of the Parc du Cinquantenaire, where demonstrators continue to target the police officers, who still respond with gunfire water and tear gas. The crowd and riot police engaged in a game of cat and mouse in the park, feeling bolstered by the thousands of protesters in attendance.
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3 p.m.: 50,000 participants according to the police, who are asking for the dislocation of the rally
The demonstration against health measures, which was held on Sunday in the streets of Brussels, brought together 50,000 participants, said the police of Brussels-Capital Ixelles. A large part of the crowd has arrived at the Parc du Cinquantenaire, where speeches by Belgian and international interlocutors are in progress on the podium installed under the arcades. They call for a societal debate concerning health measures aimed at countering the coronavirus pandemic.
“It’s incredible, the crowds. But I have a double feeling about it. D “on the one hand, I am happy to see so many people gathered. On the other hand, I am unhappy because these people (…) are here because they are not heard. There is a big democratic problem “, declared Tom Meert, president of Europeans United.
The police asked for the dislocation of the demonstration, shortly before 3 p.m.
2:30 p.m.: clashes take place between the police and a hundred thugs, some buildings and vehicles damaged
A hundred thugs are caught by the police at the Schuman roundabout. They threw projectiles at the police, who responded with tear gas and a fire engine. Some buildings and vehicles were damaged.
2 p.m.: a petition to dismiss the government
Europeans United, the protest organizer, will launch a petition on Monday calling for the government to be impeached. This has just been announced during the meeting at Parc du Cinquantenaire.
1:30 p.m.: a first estimate from the police
The demonstration against health measures has several thousand participants in the streets of Brussels, according to initial police estimates. Six people were arrested before the departure of the procession.
German, French, Dutch, American, Polish or Romanian flags float in the crowd strolling through the streets of Brussels, observed Belga on the spot . Many demonstrators carry signs with inscriptions criticizing the power in place, vaccination, the Covid Safe Ticket or calling to “protect the children”.
Most of the participants do not wear a mask, while many hide their faces so as not to be recognized. Firecrackers resound loudly in the streets, creating a somewhat tense atmosphere.
12:25 p.m.: Call for a moratorium on health measures
The Children’s Health Defense Europe organization has called for a moratorium on health measures, on the sidelines of the demonstration which is currently being organized in Brussels on the same theme. These health measures go against the mental and physical well-being of young people, she insisted, during a press conference where panels of experts made up of lawyers, economists and doctors.
“They threaten the development of young people, while hindering their future, so they must be eliminated”, according to the organization.
Children’s Health Defense is an organization of Robert F. Kennedy Jr, nephew of former US President John F. Kennedy and great opponent of vaccination.
12 p.m.: the demonstration started
The demonstrators began to march in the capital. Many children are present. “No to the pass of shame”, “No to the vaccination of children”, “False pandemic, real dictatorship” are among the messages displayed on the protesters’ placards.
11 a.m.: people leaving the station are searched
Protesters flock to Gare du Nord, some metro stations are experiencing a large crowds. Those leaving the station are systematically searched by the police, reports het Nieuwsblad. According to our journalist on site, many Dutch speakers are present.
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