Omnipresent and equipped as ever on Saturday, the police did not skimp with the use of force to increase the pressure on the last hundreds of demonstrators who still refuse to surrender, despite the 170 arrests that took place in the last 48 hours.
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“Asshole Gang Osti! They put up a fence, they are afraid of us, ”says a Quebecer while drinking a beer in the crowd, while the police erect new barricades to surround the besiegers.
On the evening of the 23rd day of occupation, the most determined of the besiegers are still resisting even though they have been repelled and are now almost completely surrounded by the security forces in a restricted perimeter on the fringes of parliament.
In the early evening “protesters were hitting the police with weapons,” Ottawa police said. This, police said, justified “the deployment of Medium Range Impact Weapons (ARWEN) to stop the protesters’ violent actions.” These non-lethal weapons fire rubber bullets.
True to form, the besiegers take advantage of the police’s relaxation to revive the party with fireworks and music, as they have done every evening since the first day of the siege. However, they have no shelter or fire to keep warm tonight, and the temperature felt in Ottawa tonight is -24 degrees Celsius.
In front of the barricades, a cloud of cannabis floats above the besiegers who have become much more aggressive since the erection of the metal barriers. The security forces had installed the same barriers on Friday evening to maintain their position at the end of the day and prevent the besiegers from regaining ground during the night.
Investigations have been launched in connection with the possession of weapons by certain demonstrators, indicated in a press briefing the interim chief of police of Ottawa, Steve Bell. No figures were given and the nature of the weapons seized was not disclosed.
“If you are involved in this protest, we will actively identify you and follow up leading to financial penalties and criminal charges,” he said bluntly, adding that hard work investigations will take place for a long time. coming months.
Wellington Street cleared after three weeks
Wellington Street, the capital of the occupation, was in the process of being completely freed of demonstrators, a first since the end of January.
The action gradually moved to Bank Street, perpendicular to Wellington. The police are actively trying to push the protesters back to the south of the city.
On the ground, the strong gusts of freezing wind sweeping through the Ottawa area manage to overcome some of the breathless protesters who finally decided to pack up after a night spent “holding the fort” in front of the officers. .
Dozens of trucks were deserted, as well as tents and trailers where they found refuge. Teams from the municipality were seen dismantling the facilities.
Chief Bell is on the way to winning his bet, he who promised Thursday that “this weekend would not be like the last three”, when thousands of anti-sanitary measures demonstrators joined the improvised festival which was held opposite Parliament.
More aggressive than yesterday in their advance, the police smashed the windows of several trucks on their way. Unlike yesterday, the police showed up with helmets and batons.
Protesters with bulletproof vests, smoke grenades and bags containing fireworks were apprehended. The most untimely of them were sprinkled with cayenne pepper.
One of the co-organizers of the convoy, Tom Marazzo, one of the few not to have been arrested, invited the truckers on Saturday to leave the scene in order to avoid the worst and to be arrested, promising a legal battle against the government.
However, there are many truckers who did not wait for his call to clear off. Already on Friday evening, a good number of trucks parked on Wellington had chosen to take off on their own.
Since yesterday, 38 vehicles have been towed, Ottawa police confirmed.
The police strategy is always to use the least possible force to limit the number of arrests. That of the demonstrators is to sing “O Canada” while avoiding violent confrontations on their side as well.
Children were still there, which further complicates the work of the police. The Ottawa police reminded today that the parents of these children risk fines of up to $5,000.
The highly unusual scene took place a stone’s throw from Parliament, where MPs are debating all weekend over the invocation of the Emergencies Act.
The Act allowed financial institutions across the country to freeze 76 bank accounts, totaling $3.2 million, a sum that was suspected of fueling blocking efforts across the country, federal ministers said this morning.
Disinformation as a weapon
Chief Steve Bell said misinformation is one of the “tactics” used by protesters to continue fueling their movement, “information that is inaccurate, information that misleads the public.”
Saying he had “learned” from recent events, Mr. Bell pointed out that one of the strategies now employed by the police is the much greater use of the communication of information, through Twitter in particular.
“We are actively tweeting and giving information through social media and other media mechanisms to better circulate factual information about what is happening in the protest without disclosing police tactics,” he said. .