Coronablog – 35,000 people demonstrate in Brussels against corona policy, some of the protesters deviate from the course
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15 minutes
Part of the demonstrators deviates from the route
According to our journalists on the spot, some of the demonstrators have deviated from the official route. They moved into Wetstraat. Images show how they currently have to stop at a police blockade.
21 minutes
Official figures: according to police there are 35,000 demonstrators
According to the official report of the police, there are 35,000 demonstrators on the march for the demonstration in Brussels against the corona policy.
32 minutes
Traffic on the small Brussels ring is stuck
Due to the demonstration, traffic on the small Brussels ring road has come to a standstill, as can be seen on the traffic maps. Several tunnels are also closed to traffic. It concerns the Leopold II tunnel to Kunst-Wet (towards South), the Troontunnel to Rogier (towards Basiliek), the Cinquantenaire and Wettunnel (towards the center). The Park metro station in the heart of Brussels is also closed for the time being, there are no metros stopping in that station.
13:57
Few mouth masks to be seen at the demonstration
On site, our journalists can determine that the demonstrators hardly wear mouth masks. That is not mandatory outside either. When they arrived, many people still put on their masks, because it is mandatory on transport, but once in Brussels, the mouth masks went off.
In the beginning, it still believed that half to a third of the protesters would wear a mouth mask, but once they started to leave, all mouth masks started off.
When asked why the answers came to Brussels, our journalist got different answers. “We are against vaccination”, “we are against the coronapas”, “down with the government” or “we are handing out stickers with “open up”, to contain it from lock down”.
13:40
Train to Brussels stopped in Oudenaarde because many travelers don’t wear a mouth mask
A train traveling from Ostend to Brussels has stopped in Oudenaarde for 40 minutes. Many between travelers do not take mouth masks, which is why the police had to come. Finally, the train was able to continue. In consultation with the police, the NMBS has decided that the train would no longer make intermediate stops in Zottegem and Denderleeuw, but would immediately continue to Brussels.
13:29
Many slogans: “Generation QR” and “Now a vaccine against political immorality”
There are many people carrying banners at the demonstration. On it are slogans like “Generation QR” or “And now a vaccine against political immorality”.
13:12
VRT reporter Saskia De Schutter: “Demonstrators demand their freedom back”
VRT journalist Saskia De Schutter stands in Brussels among the proceeds of the demonstrators. “The organization is in the hands of a few. Families with children and the Vlaams Belang party have joined the protest, among others. The common thread with the demonstrators is the same: they demand their freedom back.”
In the Netherlands, the protest got out of hand for two days in a row. The water cannon came in handy and travel injured. Will the atmosphere in Brussels get grim?
“The police don’t think so,” says De Schutter. The organizers via social media also called for nonviolent protest. However, the tone of the responses to the messages is different. De Schutter has already spotted firecrackers (small fireworks, ed.). She estimates that amok makers will appear among the demonstrators.
12:52
Watch Thousands of demonstrators on their feet
The Brussels police informs our editors that for the time being “several thousand people” are already in Brussels to demonstrate. From the North Station in Brussels, they will take the Little Ring from 2 pm to the Barlaymont building.
12:50
Heavy street protest in the Netherlands
There have also been demonstrations in the Netherlands against their government’s corona policy. At least 28 people were arrested last night. It was especially restless in The Hague, and that for the second night in a row.
There, fires were set in the street, heavy fireworks were thrown and a stone also ended up through the window of a passing ambulance. the police arrived on the spot with the water cannon: five people were injured in the riots. Law enforcement officers are particularly concerned about the violence against police officers.
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