Image: Two men enter an Ottawa apartment block where people have complained about anti-vax protesters. In the second image, you see them lighting combustible blocks, and in the third image they tape the door handles to prevent escape; the pictures were shared by resident Matias Munoz on Twitter, attracting the attention of the city’s police.
ANTI-VAX PROTESTERS in Canada blocked roads in several cities and in at least one case used arson in a continuing protest that has received harsh condemnation.
The techniques were similar but much milder than those used in Hong Kong in 2019, observers said.
Yet the reaction has been totally different, showing the double standards used against the Chinese city, said British journalist Tom Fowdy.
Ottawa has declared an official state of emergency and terms like “terrorism” and “attempted murder” are being used.
The people occupying roads and blocking access are “a threat to our democracy,” city council member Diane Deans told reporters. “What we’re seeing is bigger than just a city of Ottawa problem, this is a nationwide insurrection. This is madness.”
The authorities’ strong response and tough language to relatively mild protests surprised many people in the light of Canada’s strong support for much harsher protest actions by Hong Kong’s anti-China movement in 2019.
“The truth is what the truck drivers are doing in Ottawa isn’t even remotely comparable to the scale of what the Hong Kong rioters did, yet it is decried as an ‘insurrection’ and a national security threat,” said Fowdy. “Correct me if I’m wrong but I don’t see truck drivers burning down buildings, destroying critical infrastructure, attacking people in the streets, tearing up sidewalks for bricks.”
ARSON CLAIM
There has only been one arson claim to date. Canadians were shocked when Matias Munoz, a resident of an apartment block in Ottawa, yesterday posted on the Internet security footage showing protesters lighting a fire in their building.
In contrast, there were huge numbers of arson attacks on shops and people during the Hong Kong protests. Several police officers suffered serious injuries, and protesters on multiple occasions accidentally burned each other or themselves.
“It’s interesting how one event was celebrated as ‘democracy’ yet the other is a ‘threat to democracy’,” Fowdy said.
In related news, top legal professor Richard Cullen noted last year that the half day protest on January 6 last year in Washington DC was quickly dubbed an “insurrection” while violent Hong Kong protests which continued for half a year were and are whitewashed as “pro-democracy” marches.
Pictures at the top by Matias Munoz via Twitter