Canadian police begin arresting protest organizers
One of the leaders of the protest was arrested on Thursday night after police promised to suppress the “imminent” protests, IRNA reported Friday, quoting the New York Times. The arrests are in response to the recent Freedom Caravan movement, which began in Ottawa on January 29 and spread to other cities, with a number of Canadian truck drivers protesting against the forced vaccination to cross the border into the United States. This country spread.
Among those arrested Thursday night was 47-year-old Tamara Leach, one of the main organizers of the protests, according to Dagni Pavlak, a spokeswoman for the protesters. He confirmed that police also arrested another organizer, Chris Barber, on Thursday afternoon.
Canadian government officials and police have been warning in recent days that the unrest will end soon. On Thursday, city, county and national police mobilized around Ottawa to prepare for the crackdown. According to the New York Times, many police officers have been seen gathering at a convention center near the airport and in major hotels in Ottawa. “Action against the demonstrators is imminent,” said Steve Bell, interim chief of the Ottawa Police Service, on Thursday afternoon, adding that police were committed to ending the “illegal occupation.”
On Thursday, the police created a range of about 100 and inspected at the center of Ottawa to prevent people except residents, and declared the city center to be a safe and closed region for foreigners. Authorities also closed all exits to the city center on the Trans-Canadian Highway, Ottawa Intercity Highway.
According to the New York Times, in recent weeks, truckers and their backers have blocked key Canadian border crossings and other routes, preventing land exports and imports, and causing significant damage to US auto factories.
The Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, in a rare move on Monday used his emergency powers to end the protests that have crippled the Canadian capital and other parts of the country since late last month. This is the first time that the 1988 Emergency Act has been implemented in Canada.
The recent Freedom Caravan movement began in Ottawa on January 29 and spread to other cities in Canada, with a number of Canadian truck drivers protesting against the forced vaccination to cross the border into the United States. Following his re-election last October (October 1400), Justin Trudeau ordered compulsory vaccination for all government employees. The United States and Canada last December (December 1400) made vaccination mandatory for truck drivers at their borders.
The recent protest movement, which began as the Freedom Caravan, claiming opposition to compulsory vaccination or quarantine of truck drivers, has expanded to include other purposes, such as protesting carbon taxes and other laws. A number of other protesters have been occupying the busiest border crossing in North America since the 18th of Bahman Ambassador Bridge in Windsor, Alberta. Evacuated.