In Australia over the weekend, thousands protested against the government’s corona policy at an illegal demonstration. There was also violence. The protests were apparently also organized from Kassel.
Australia seemed to get off lightly in the corona pandemic for a long time. Strict border closings and strict local lockdowns in just a few Covid 19 cases resulted in very low infection levels. But then the contagion numbers also went up Down Under and made more far-reaching measures necessary. Almost half of Australia’s 25 million inhabitants are now in lockdown.
Sydney in particular has not been able to get an outbreak of the virus under control for weeks. In view of the increasing corona infections, the authorities of the state of New South Wales, whose capital is Sydney, declared a state of emergency last Friday. Prime Minister Gladys Berejiklian had previously indicated that the restrictions on public life that had been in place for around a month would probably continue to apply – which was then decided: The current measures would be extended until August 28, the authorities announced on Wednesday .
Police surprised at “the extent of violence”
However, the announcement was not well received by all residents of Australia’s most populous city. Several thousand people gathered in Sydney on Saturday for an unauthorized demonstration against the lockdown. There were also violent clashes with the police. Protesters had thrown bottles and flower pots at the security forces, as reported by AFP reporters. The police said they were surprised at “the level of violence people were willing to use” and arrested more than 60 people.
Local media and the Guardian also showed demonstrations against the Covid restrictions on Saturday in Melbourne, the country’s second largest metropolis, and other Australian cities.
According to the newspaper, the actions were coordinated by a loose network of conspiracy-oriented groups, some of which are said to have links to the extreme right. You have dubbed the protests as a “freedom” rally and advertised on Telegram, Instagram and Facebook. The calls for protests were spread by accounts that regularly posted false news about vaccines and conspiracy theories and that gathered tens of thousands of followers during the pandemic.
Conspiracy myths, Islamophobia, QAnon propaganda
As the “Guardian” reports, the network also has members in Germany. “The recent rallies have highlighted the role of a Germany-based group called Worldwide Demonstration, which has helped coordinate protests around the world, including in various Australian cities,” the newspaper writes.
Worldwide Demonstration has more than 45,000 followers and almost 40,000 likes or 70,000 subscribers on its main accounts on Facebook and Telegram alone, and even more on special accounts that have been set up for individual countries. The operators of the Facebook page call themselves “Free Citizens Kassel” and give an address in the north of Kassel in the imprint. According to the Guardian, the site is managed by two Germans and a third person from Great Britain.
The group’s various Facebook and Telegram pages are therefore full of anti-vaccine and corona conspiracy myths. There are also Islamophobic posts and propaganda from the QAnon cult there.
Although some of the organizers of the protests in Australia have links to right-wing extremist elements, it appears that these are by no means gatherings of right-wing extremists. Although there are elements of right-wing extremist rhetoric among the demonstrators, what they actually have in common is a certain degree of marginalization and distrust of authorities, extremism researcher Josh Roose of Deakin University in Melbourne told the newspaper.
“There are some substantive similarities and similarities with the extreme right, but these protests are not driven by the extreme right per se,” said Roose. What clearly differentiates this type of protest group from the far right is that they are very multicultural and made up not only of angry, patriotic men, but also of women.
“Both Melbourne and Sydney represent the people and areas that are particularly hard hit by the pandemic,” the Guardian quotes the scientist as saying. “There are also problems here with cultures and communities that often have a deep-seated distrust of the government, often for good reason.”
Only around twelve percent of Australians vaccinated
Indeed, the government of Prime Minister Scott Morrison is currently under increasing pressure over health policies. Although the number of infections is still at a low level compared to European countries, despite the increase in the number of corona cases, fundamental doubts about the authorities’ strategy of isolation and lockdown are growing. In addition, the vaccination campaign is getting off to a slow start: So far, only around twelve percent of people in Australia have been vaccinated – this is one of the lowest vaccination rates among richer countries.
Stephen Jones, Member of the Australian Parliament for New South Wales, believes the protests are totally unacceptable. He complained that the demonstrators were “selfish, ruthless idiots”. “Nobody wants the lockdown”, but because of such actions it will probably have to stay in place.
Swell: ,, Worldwide demonstration on Facebook, AFP
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