XPost: uk.legal, sci.med.cardiology, alt.bible.prophecy
http://www.spiked-online.com/2021/02/05/europe-is-in-revolt-against-lockdown/
Europe is in revolt against lockdown
Protests, riots and civil unrest have broken out across the continent.
People are starting to reach breaking point.
PADDY HANNAM
5th February 2021
Europe is in revolt against lockdown
Share
TopicsPOLITICS WORLD
Across Europe, Covid restrictions have changed life beyond recognition.
From London to Ljubljana and most places in between, people have been
shut up indoors and huge economic, educational and health sacrifices
have been made.
But something is starting to stir among the people of Europe. There has
been a wave of protests – and, in some cases, riots – across the continent.
In the Netherlands, there is a national lockdown. Pubs, bars and
non-essential shops are shut. There is also a 9pm curfew, enforced by
fines. Last week, there were several days of rioting against that
curfew. Rioters burned cars and pelted police with stones.
These riots helped expose two things: the public’s growing impatience
with lockdown rules on the one hand and the arrogance of the ruling
elite on the other.
Dutch finance minister Wopke Hoekstra dismissed the mounting anger.
‘It’s scum doing this’, he said. Rotterdam mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb
attacked what he called ‘shameless thieves’, asking, ‘Does it make you feel good that you’ve helped ruin your city? To wake up with a bag full
of stolen stuff beside you?’
Destruction of people’s businesses is wrong and the looting should be condemned. But the violence points towards growing frustration among the
people of Europe.
Why Britain had to leave
PODCAST
Why Britain had to leave
SPIKED
Discontent is brewing in France, too. Emmanuel Macron appears to have
decided against a new national lockdown – for now. But his hand has
arguably been forced by the French public, who have been out on the
streets in large numbers, protesting against both an authoritarian
security bill and any imposition of further Covid restrictions.
Macron’s decision against a new lockdown may have been a reaction to a warning given by ex-interior minister Christophe Castaner. Castaner said recently that a new lockdown could result in significant ‘civil disobedience’. Meanwhile, 24 restaurants in Paris were raided by police
last weekend after opening illegally.
Polls suggest that less than 50 per cent of French people support
‘strict confinement measures’, while tens of thousands joined the recent marches against both pandemic rules and the security bill. Popular
resistance to restrictions on freedom has become a threat the French
government can no longer ignore.
In Brussels, police arrested over 200 people at an anti-lockdown protest
at the weekend. ‘We remind you that there is no authorisation to come
and demonstrate this Sunday’, tweeted the city police. In the age of
Covid, public protest is only permitted with the approval of the state.
The new clerisy
PODCAST
The new clerisy
SPIKED
In Budapest, protesters gathered to show their objection to Covid rules
which they say have wreaked havoc on the hospitality industry. Activists
called on restaurants to open in defiance of the law. A protest
organiser, Aron Ecsenyi, said, ‘Every tool that we have used until now
has been depleted so, beginning now, every business should open in the
spirit of civil disobedience’. And in Poland, police raided a nightclub
which had opened illegally, using teargas to clear people out.
Meanwhile, the EU’s dismal vaccination programme has dented public
confidence in their governments.
But will any of this prompt a rethink in policy? It’s unclear.
Protesters in France appear to have made the government pause before
imposing a third lockdown. But life is far from normal and civil
liberties are still curtailed. Elsewhere, there has been even less
progress toward normality.
Is it really any surprise, then, that people are taking to the streets?
Across Europe, large numbers of people have reached breaking point.
Covid measures have destroyed economies, wrecking livelihoods and
thrusting people into poverty. Ordinary people have been ordered to make
huge sacrifices, some of which are simply too great to bear.
And to make matters worse, governments are trying to silence public
anger. They are arresting people for daring to protest against the most
severe restrictions on our freedom in living memory.
Countries that do not tolerate protest cannot fairly call themselves democracies – whether there is a pandemic to deal with or not.
The EU must get its house in order on vaccines. And national governments
must come up with clear plans for reopening society in the near future. Otherwise the anger will grow.
Paddy Hannam is editorial assistant at spiked. Follow him on Twitter: @paddyhannam.
--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)