CLASHES OVER THE VACCINES
ANTI-VACCINE and anti-lockdown protests have been gathering pace around the world with some resulting in violent clashes.
German riot police were attacked with bottles, fireworks and one was even bitten as more than 35,000 people took part in protests last week against the government’s coronavirus restrictions and plans to introduce vaccine mandates.
It came after police foiled a plot that involved six violent anti-vaxxer extremists allegedly targeting Michael Kretschmer, the state premier of Saxony in eastern Germany.
In London, police officers suffered minor injuries during “scuffles” at a protest in Parliament Square in Westminster in December.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson hit out at the anti-vaxxers, declaring they are “completely wrong” and spreading
BY JACKIE GRANT “mumbo jumbo”. In Italy, authorities disrupted a plot in September in which anti-vaxxers, who have linked up with far-right gangs, had planned to use explosives to carry out attacks.
In the Netherlands, protests against lockdowns and vaccines in Rotterdam, Amsterdam and The Hague led to riots and in Australia, a man set himself on fire on New Year’s Day after screaming about vaccine mandates.
On Saturday a peaceful protest by anti-lockdown campaigners was held in Glasgow without any arrests or disorder reported. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has previously said: “To the small but noisy minority who knowingly spread fear and misinformation about vaccines, I say this – stop being selfish and irresponsible. Getting vaccinated is an expression of love and solidarity.”
NICOLA STURGEON COUNTERS ANTI-VAXXERS