The Trudeau government decided to restore order. On Friday, February 18, police cut through the crowd of protesters gathered in central Ottawa in order to dislodge them, making more than 100 arrests and moving vehicles that had blocked the Canadian federal capital for more than three weeks as part of a a broad challenge to health restrictions.
The police intervention gave rise to scenes of tension, while some protesters were forcibly extracted from their vehicles, while other demonstrators who faced the police were thrown to the ground with their hands tied behind their backs. . In a statement, police said protesters exhibited “violent behavior” which necessitated an intervention to “clear essential space” by late afternoon. Three of the protest organizers were arrested – two on Thursday and one on Friday.
Contestation. “We are going to operate this operation around the clock until the residents and the community recover their entire city,” Acting Ottawa Police Chief Steve Bell told reporters. Numerous roadblocks were erected by the security forces around the gathering place of the demonstrators in order to block any further arrivals as well as the delivery of food and fuel.
Initially intended to demand the abolition of the vaccination obligation against Covid-19 for truck drivers, the demonstration gradually turned into an anti-government movement and protest against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
(with Reuters)
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