On 20 March 2021, parts of the world set out to protest against the current Covid-19 measures for their freedom.
In the past year, people’s livelihoods and freedoms have been disrupted by lockdowns and border closures. Demonstrations advertised as World-Wide Demonstrations for freedom, peace, and democracy took take place Saturday in more than 40 countries all over the world.
In London, tens of thousands gathered together in the capital in what was reported by those who attended, as a peaceful demonstration.
Protesters in London today speak truth to power and cry out for their civil liberties to be returned.#londonprotest #antilockdownprotest pic.twitter.com/OWjqJPVDxn
— Joshua D Jones (@BlueCheezWhisky) March 20, 2021
A small contingent of police was seen observing the march, as protestors made their way down the high street in central London. There were reports of a few scuffles between police and a smaller number of demonstrators who gathered in Hyde Park. There were also scenes of bus drivers being greeted by demonstrators.
In Amsterdam, police have been accused of taking a heavy-handed approach with protestors in recent weeks. During this worldwide demonstration, however, dutch military veterans and healthcare workers were seen forming a line of defense between riot police and protestors.
Dutch military veterans defy authorities in #Netherlands #AntiLockdownProtest. pic.twitter.com/mACBG41RNO
— Geopolitics & Empire (@Geopolitics_Emp) March 20, 2021
In Germany, thousands gathered in Kassel to protest the ongoing Corona restrictions that started one year ago. The event had several speakers including those responsible for organizing the German demonstrations in conjunction with other protests around the world. There were reports of police using water cannons to control a group of demonstrators in the city center.
There were demonstrations in many cities in the US too. The New York city demonstrations had Vera Sharav, a holocaust survivor and medical activist as one of the speakers.
On their website, the organisers -Worldwide Demonstration- made their “one common goal” clear, stating: “We will make it clear that the government’s attempts to divide us have been unsuccessful. Together we will ALL be on this demo to demonstrate against the current Corona measures!”
They added, “With live streams from different countries, together we will form the biggest worldwide demonstration of the current time! Because #wearenotalone.”
The live streams that took place were viewed by thousands, with one live stream of the London protest having close to 20k views throughout the live stream. There have been no reports of damage to public property in any of the demonstrations.
