On January 29, a convoy of several hundred heavy trucks and thousands of people gathered in front of the Canadian Parliament in Ottawa summoned by the anti-vaccine movement and right-wing extremist groups.
(See: Canada: Ottawa Declares ‘State of Emergency’ Over Anti-Vaccine Protests)
Since then, a group of more than 200 trucks and hundreds of people have maintained the protest, blocking some of the streets surrounding Parliament. For this reason, a state of emergency has been declared due to the protests that continue in the center of the Canadian city.
Among the protesters are truckers and citizens affected by the restrictions imposed to contain the pandemic. Right-wing extremist groups, from anti-Semitic, Islamophobic and supremacist, also participate. These people were summoned by the anti-vaccine movement and right-wing extremist groups, explains EFE.
For its part, the BBC points out that the mobilizations arose from the introduction in January of a new rule that establishes that all truckers must be vaccinated to cross the border between the United States and Canada.
The mayor of the Canadian capital, Jim Watson, said in a statement that the situation caused by the protests has caused “the most serious emergency” that the city has experienced in its history.
(Also: Europe is experiencing ‘the most dangerous moment’ since the Cold War, says the EU)
On Saturday, January 29, it was learned that the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, and his family were transferred by the security services from his official residence in Ottawa to a safe place in the capital for fear that the protests could cause unrest.
Meanwhile, the organizers have declared that they will not abandon their protest until the Canadian government lifts all the restrictions imposed to contain the pandemic.
(Keep reading: European diplomacy tries to take control in the Ukraine crisis)
Although the movement, called ‘Freedom Convoy’, initially aimed against the decision to force truck drivers to be vaccinated against covid-19 in order to cross the border, “the protest later became a mobilization against all sanitary measures and against the very government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau,” says AFP.
One of the tactics used by the protesters is to sound truck horns day and night, which is causing serious inconvenience to residents.
Faced with criticism for their lack of action since the beginning of the protest, in the last hours, the Ottawa Police began to fine and arrest protesters who violate municipal ordinances.
Who would be behind the protests?
Ottawa Police Director Peter Sloly told a news conference on Friday that the protest in the canadian capital is highly organized, with “multiple hubs” both in Canada and abroad, and with funding coming from around the world.
(You can consult: The WHO advocates increasing anticovid vaccination in small countries)
On Thursday, the Canadian Parliament voted unanimously to investigate the origin of the donations received by Canada Unity, the organizers of the so-called ‘Freedom Convoy’.
The donation campaign through the US portal GoFundMe has already raised 10 million Canadian dollars (about 7.89 million US dollars) to finance the protests.
A committee of the Canadian Parliament will call the directors of GoFundMe to testify in the coming days to offer details about the donations received and the measures adopted to prevent the money from being distributed to groups or individuals that promote “extremism, supremacism, anti-Semitism and other forms of hate.
Deputy Alistair MacGregor, of the Social Democratic New Democratic Party (NPD), who has promoted the investigation, fears that a large part of the donations, made anonymously or under fictitious names, come from foreign sources related “to extremist groups”.
(See: Australia announces the reopening of borders to tourists after almost two years)
MacGregor’s suspicions do not seem unfounded: The protests have received public support from the former president of the United States donald trump (2017-2021) and the businessman Elon Musk, the latter the richest man in the world and known for his opposition to the public health policies implemented to contain the pandemic.
Among the symbols that have been seen these days in the protests that grip Ottawa are everything from Trump paraphernalia and his Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement to Nazi and United States Confederate flags.
GoFundMe decided to suspend the distribution of donations to the organizers of the “Freedom Convoy” on Thursday until it is sure that the campaign complies with the company’s terms of service.
An analysis of donors by the Canadian public broadcaster, CBC, has found that about a third of the 120,000 donors to the campaign have given money anonymously or using assumed names.
The study has also concluded that the protest of the anti-vaccine movement and radical groups has received money from U.S, the United Kingdom, Australia Y Poland.
(Also: Ómicron mercilessly punishes the United States and pushes away the end of the pandemic)
The connection of the protests with foreign radical groups was reaffirmed by the deputy director of the Ottawa Police, Steve Bell, who declared today that the Canadian authorities are cooperating with the FBI and the United States Department of Homeland Security in the investigation of a series of of threats received in recent days.
As noted on Monday by the Canadian public broadcaster, CBC, in the last hours the Ottawa Police have arrested seven people and issued more than 100 fines for infractions such as transporting fuel and other supplies to truckers.
The Ottawa Police have also requested backup officers from the Canadian Mounted Police and police forces from other nearby municipalities.
ELTIEMPO.COM*With information from EFE, AFP and BBC.
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