EU-DIGEST: Protests

Showing posts with label Protests. Show all posts

1/14/23

Israel: Protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's new government plans to overhaul the legal system and weaken the Supreme Court

Tens of thousands of Israelis gathered in central Tel Aviv on Saturday night to protest plans by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's new government to overhaul the legal system and weaken the Supreme Court — a step that critics say will destroy the country's democratic system of checks and balances.

The protest presented an early challenge to Netanyahu and his ultranationalist national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, who has ordered police to take tough action if protesters block roads or display Palestinian flags.

Read more at: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-thousands-of-israelis-protest-against-netanyahus-legal-reforms-2/

1/9/23

Brasil: Similarities in rightwing presidential election demonstrations in Brasil and US

On Sunday, demonstrators supporting Brazil's nationalist former President Jair Bolsonaro stormed Congress and government buildings in Brasilia to overturn an election which brought leftist leader Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to power earlier this month.

The rioters ransacked political buildings -- while parading the Brazilian flag with its motto 'ordem e progresso', 'order and progress' -- in a botched attempt to reverse the peaceful transfer of power.

The biggest assault on Brazil's democracy in decades, news of Sunday's uprising has sent shockwaves around the world. But what has most alarmed many are the echoes of the US uprising almost exactly two years prior, when supporters of Republican ex-President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol in Washington DC on 6 January in an attempt to prevent Joe Biden from taking office.

11/27/22

China: popular uprising against Covid restrictions increase and now also include protests against lack of democracy in China

A protest poster showing a Friedmann equation was purportedly held up by students in Beijing's prestigious Tsinghua University - a play on the word "Friedmann", which sounds similar to "free 的 man" - quite literally translated to "a man who is free".

Friedmann is a Russian physicist and mathematician best-known for his work on the theory of relativity and for introducing the possibility of an expanding universe - a concept that may not have been lost on the protesting students.

3/23/22

Ukraine: In English-language plea, Zelensky urges protests around the world against Russia

Speaking on the eve of the NATO summit, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy callson the alliance to provide “effective and unrestricted” support to Ukraine, including any weapons the country needs to fend off the Russian invasion.

“We ask that the alliance declare that it will fully assist Ukraine to win this war, clear our territory of the invaders and restore peace in Ukraine,” he says during his nightly video address to the nation.

Read more at:In English-language plea, Zelensky urges protests around the world against Russia | The Times of Israel

1/20/22

The Netherlands: Dutch museums and concert halls open as hair salons to protest Covid-19 rules

Museums and concert halls temporarily turned themselves into beauty salons and gyms in the Netherlands on Wednesday in protest against the Dutch government's coronavirus restrictions. Advertising

A barber and two nail artists tended to visitors among priceless works of art at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam and two barbers set up their chairs on the stage of the Concertgebouw in the capital.

The cultural sector says it is unfair that they must remain closed while Covid curbs were lifted last week on shops and so-called "contact professions" like barbers, nail salons and even sex work.

Read more at: Dutch museums and concert halls open as hair salons to protest Covid-19 rules

11/23/21

Netherlands: EU wants calm amid virus protests; rioters called 'idiots'

In the face of demonstrations across much of Europe protesting tough COVID-19 measures over the past days, authorities on Monday pleaded for patience, calm and a willingness to get a vaccine shot in the arm as infections spike upward again.

And for those who abused the protests to foment violence, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte just called them “idiots.”

Protest marches from Zagreb to Rome and from Vienna to Brussels and Rotterdam, bringing tens of thousands out, all had one message from a coronavirus-weary crowd — we’ve had enough!

“Not able to work where you want work, to be where you want to be. That’s not what we stand for, that’s not freedom,” said Eveline Denayer, who was at Sunday’s march in Brussels, which drew a crowd of over 35,000.

“We live in Western Europe and we just want to be free, how we were before,” she said.

Read more at: https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-health-riots-netherlands-rotterdam-445b8e7e0b3c53081d6525c83dc4dbca

7/16/21

Cuba and the long unknown road ahead, can protests lead to freedom?- by Michael Paluska

You could argue that the Cuban people have never really known what it means to be free. But, from the dramatic and unprecedented protests in the streets across the island nation, it is clear the people want another revolution.

People are asking in Cuba and the United States if they can pull off the impossible? And what would a free Cuba look like?

Read more at Cuba and the long unknown road ahead, can protests lead to freedom?

3/28/21

Netherlands: Churchgoers breaking COVID rules attack journalists

Police in the Netherlands arrested a man after he hit and kicked a journalist outside a Protestant church that had opened for a full congregation on Sunday despite the country's strict lockdown.

Reporters showed up at the Mieraskerk church in the town of Krimpen aan den Ijssel near the city of Rotterdam.

The church made headlines after reports that it was going ahead with a service for its entire congregation. The Netherlands is under a strict lockdown and has a rising COVID-19 rate.

Read mor at: Netherlands: Churchgoers breaking COVID rules attack journalists | News | DW | 28.03.2021

3/21/21

Russia: Will protests against President Putin gain momentum in Russia?

People in Russia have defied police warnings and freezing temperatures to hold some of the biggest protests yet against President Vladimir Putin.

Tens of thousands rallied in nearly 70 cities to demand the release of opposition leader Alexey Navalny, who was arrested as he returned from Germany where he had treatment for poisoning by a nerve agent.

Security forces detained more than 3,000 demonstrators, triggering condemnation from countries including the United States and the United Kingdom.

Read more at: Will protests against President Putin gain momentum in Russia? | Protests News | Al Jazeera

3/20/21

Womens Rights: Turkey exits European treaty designed to protect women from violence

Hundreds of women gather in Istanbul on Saturday to oppose a move by the Turkish government to exit the Istanbul Convention, a European treaty designed to protect women from violence. (Umit Bektas/Reuters)

Turkey withdrew early Saturday from a landmark European treaty protecting women from violence that it was the first to sign 10 years ago and that bears the name of its largest city.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's overnight decree annulling Turkey's ratification of the Istanbul Convention is a blow to women's rights advocates, who say the agreement is crucial to combating domestic violence.

Read more at: Turkey exits European treaty designed to protect women from violence | CBC News

8/10/20

Poland: ‘You will not lock all of us up!’: Protesters in Poland denounce arrests of LGBT activists

You will not lock all of us up!” people chanted at a protest in Warsaw that drew thousands of mostly young people, most wearing masks for protection from the coronavirus. Similar protests took place in Krakow, Lublin, Wroclaw and other places.

The protests came a day after LGBT rights supporters and police scuffled in Warsaw after the arrest of transgender activist Malgorzata Szutowicz, better known as Margot. Police said they detained nearly 50 people, with several activists accusing police of using rough tactics.

Read more at
‘You will not lock all of us up!’: Protesters in Poland denounce arrests of LGBT activists

6/7/20

Britain: George Floyd death: Protesters tear down slave trader statue

A slave trader's statue in Bristol has been torn down and thrown into the harbour during a second day of anti-racism protests across the UK.

It comes after largely peaceful demonstrations in London on Saturday ended in some clashes with police.

Read more at:
George Floyd death: Protesters tear down slave trader statue - BBC News

5/17/20

EU: Protesters rally against coronavirus measures across Europe

German police detained 200 people in Berlin as several parallel protests were held in the city on Saturday, with some of the protesters rallying against anti-infection measures and others decrying conspiracy theories.

Rival events were also held in Frankfurt, where about 1,500 people gathered to protest the government measures and about the same number of joining a counter-protest, police said.

Read more at:
Protesters rally against coronavirus measures across Europe | News | DW | 16.05.2020

5/3/20

USA: Woman holds sign targeting Jewish governor at anti-lockdown protest in Illinois

As protests against stay-at-home orders and safety measures amid the novel coronavirus continue nationwide, protesters are resorting to degrading and racist slogans to depict their frustration with state officials. In Illinois, an unidentified woman was photographed;Friday at a “Re-Open Illinois” rotest with a sign that read: “Arbeit Macht Frei, JB” allegedly referring to Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, who is of Jewish descent. The sign written in German refers to the phrase “Arbeit Macht Frei,” found outside of Nazi concentration camps including Auschwitz. It translates to “work will set you free.”

The photo, shared on social media, quickly went viral prompting a response from the official account of the Auschwitz Memorial Museum on Twitter. The museum called the action, a “symptom of moral & intellectual degeneration.” More than one million people were killed at the camp during the Holocaust. According to BuzzFeed News, the photo was taken by Dennis Kosuth, a nurse attending the protest as a counter-protester. Kosuth told the news outlet that when he asked the woman about the sign, she defended it saying she had Jewish friends

Read more at: Daily Kos

12/28/19

Iraq: Protesters force shutdown of Nassiriya oilfield in southern Iraq

Protesters force shutdown of Nassiriya oilfield in southern Iraq: ,

12/10/19

Iran protests 'a prelude to collapse of regime,' Nobel laureate predicts

The newest wave of unrest that has seized Iran in recent weeks has sparked an exceptionally brutal response that left thousands of victims in its wake.

Read more at:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/iran-protests-nobel-laureate-1.5388733

12/6/19

EU: France pension reform strikes: Transport chaos on day 2

People took to the streets in France for a second day of nationwide general strikes. Protests over Macron's pension proposals turned violent on Thursday with people starting fires and clashing with police.

Read more at:
https://www.dw.com/en/france-pension-reform-strikes-transport-chaos-on-day-2/a-51551486

10/7/19

The Netherlands: Climate Change: Climate activists block roads near Amsterdam Rijksmuseum

9/29/19

Russia: Fresh protest draws Russians out against Kremlin ′repression′

Thousands of Russians on Sunday chanted "Let them go" during a protest in central Moscow demanding the release of opposition activists jailed recently for dissent.

Demonstrators demanded a halt to "repression" against anti-government politicians and activists after some received sentences of up to four years. Many attendees held up photos of those being incarcerated.

Those detained were sentenced for taking part in illegal protests during the Northern Hemisphere summer, others are being prosecuted for crimes such as violence against police officers, which protesters say are trumped up.

Authorities said some 20,000 people took part in Sunday's rally, which was authorized by the mayor's office. There were no arrests.

"No one can get a fair hearing in Russian courts — injustice and lawlessness can happen to anyone now," opposition politician Lyubov Sobol told protesters over a sound system from a raised stage.

Read more: Fresh protest draws Russians out against Kremlin ′repression′ | News | DW | 29.09.2019

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