Demonstrators demanding an ‘end to vaccine mandates’ and the sacking of the government
Several anti-vaccine-mandate marches were organized by the ‘Convoy to Canberra’ movement in the Australian capital of Canberra on Saturday. Groups of protesters moved in several directions in the city center, blocking traffic and converged near the parliament buildings.
Banners reading “No jabs for jobs,” “Hands off our kids,” and “My body, my choice” were seen at the rallies, footage from RT’s Ruptly video agency showed. Other banners read “Since 2020 I’ve lost my chance to say goodbye,” and “Together united we will never be defeated.”
Demonstrators wrapped in flags chanted “Sack them all” in reference to the Australian government as they marched through the streets, while calling to “Save the children” and “Save Australia.”
Police cars accompanied the protest, which appeared peaceful.
One man who joined the movement told Ruptly that he considered the government’s stringent Covid-19 restrictions to be a “breach of our constitution” and the rule of law. He accused the authorities of taking “total control” of the people.
Another protester with a loudspeaker told the cheering crowd that the convoy would stay in the city “for as long as it takes to make a statement that we are not going to stand idly by” in response to the government’s policies. He also called for an “end to the vaccine mandates.”
Protests have been ongoing in the Australian capital this month, with between 10,000 and 15,000 people camping outside the national parliament. The latest marches did not attract crowds as large, but hundreds still attended from across the country.
The smaller size of the gathering should not “dishearten” anyone, a man filming the event told local media, saying that the rallies “are very spread out.”
Demonstrations against coronavirus restrictions and mandatory vaccination in particular have been gaining momentum around the world. Inspired by the original ‘Freedom Convoy’ in Canada, where truckers occupied downtown Ottawa and blocked border crossings, people have also recently driven trucks and other vehicles to central governmental precincts in Finland and New Zealand.
