New Zealand anti-vaccination demonstrators set alight their own protest camp outside parliament Wednesday after riot police moved to end their weeks-long occupation of the legislative precinct.
Ending a previous light-touch approach, hundreds of officers used perspex shields and pepper spray to force back protesters, who responded by pelting them with chairs, bottles and paint bombs.
When it became apparent that police were winning the battle for control of the makeshift tent city that sprang up on parliament’s lawns three weeks ago, the demonstrators torched it themselves.
«This is not over,» one man yelled, while others chanted «Shame on you» at advancing officers as a thick pall of black smoke enveloped the area.
Police deployed an ear-splitting sonic cannon to help disperse the crowd and made dozens of arrests in an operation that began just before dawn.
Source: https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20220302-new-zealand-protesters-burn-camp-after-riot-police-move-in
