Thousands of people yesterday marched through Australia’s capital to the parliament building to decry COVID-19 vaccine mandates, the latest in a string of rallies against pandemic restrictions around the world.
Demonstrators packed Canberra’s streets before massing outside the parliament, some waving the red Australian ensign flag.
Protesters, many with children, rallied under bright skies brandishing banners proclaiming “Fight for Your Freedom & Rights,” “Free Aus Freedom Now” or “No forced drugs” written above a symbol of a syringe.
Police estimated that there were up to 10,000 protesters.
They were “generally well behaved,” a police spokesman said.
Three people were arrested, including one man who drove his truck through a roadblock.
Two others were taken into custody for a breach of the peace.
COVID-19 vaccinations are mandated for people entering the country and for those working in a range of professions deemed at particular risk, such as caring for elderly people.
Some Australian states have begun to relax proof-of-vaccine requirements for entry to pubs, restaurants or shops.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison called on the protesters to act peacefully.
Morrison said he understood their concerns, adding that the states, not the federal government, were responsible for many of the vaccine requirements.
“My message to them today is Australia is a free country and they have a right to protest, and I would ask them to do that in a peaceful way and a respectful way,” Morrison told reporters when asked about the rallies. “Those who are protesting today are speaking up for the things that they feel strongly about.”
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