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Protesters drive into New Zealand police as the ropes tighten

WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND – One protester drove his car towards the New Zealand police line, narrowly avoiding officers, while other protesters sprayed pepper spray at officers, police said on Thursday Three, as they tightened the ropes around a convoy that had been camped outside Parliament for two weeks.

The clashes in the capital Wellington came a day after police reported that some protesters had thrown human excrement at them.

Assistant Police Commissioner Richard Chambers told reporters that the actions of some protesters, who oppose coronavirus vaccine regulations, are unacceptable and will be dealt with decisively. .

“Our focus remains on opening roads to the Wellingtonians and doing our best to restore peaceful protest,” Chambers said. “The behavior of a certain group in the protesting community is absolutely disgraceful.”

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the protesters had taken things too far and needed to return home.

“What’s happening in Wellington is wrong,” she said.

The latest clashes began after about 250 officers and staff arrived at dawn and used forklifts to move the concrete barriers into a tighter tie around the plantation, where hundreds Cars and trucks still block the city streets. Police used barricades this week to allow protest cars to leave but no one entered.

Video posted online shows a white car going the wrong way on a one-way street towards a group of officers quickly getting out of the way while people scream. The car stopped in front of the police line and several policemen climbed inside and pulled the driver out.

Police said the officers were lucky to escape injuries after the vehicle came to a stop because of a collision with them. They said they had arrested one person for dangerous driving and two others for obstructing police.

Chambers said three officers who were sprayed with a stinging agent of unknown origin were treated at the hospital and are recovering well.

The protest, which began when a convoy of cars and trucks drove to Parliament, was inspired by similar protests in Canada. The protesters were well organised, pitching tents on the lawn outside Parliament and transporting in portable toilets, donation food bins and straw packages to lay down when the grass turned to mud after the President Congressman Trevor Mallard turned on the sprinklers and blew up Barry Manilow tuners in an unsuccessful attempt to get them to leave.

Protesters have even dug up a vegetable garden, set up babysitting tents and assembled makeshift showers as they signaled their intention to stay permanently.

New Zealand has required some workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19, including teachers, doctors, nurses, police and military personnel. A vaccination card is required to enter most shops and restaurants.

The protests come as New Zealand experiences its first major COVID-19 outbreak, fueled by the omicron variation. The number of daily cases rose to a new high of more than 2,800 on Tuesday, even though only a single patient was hospitalized in the intensive care unit. About 77% of the population is vaccinated.

Since the start of the pandemic, New Zealand has reported just 56 deaths from the virus out of a population of 5 million, after it imposed strict border controls and lockdowns to eliminate outbreaks earlier.

Ardern said earlier this week she plans to begin easing regulations and restrictions on the virus once the peak of the current outbreak has passed.

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