Hundreds of opponents of mandatory vaccination are still protesting at the parliament building in the New Zealand capital Wellington on Monday. An attempt to ward off the demonstrators with music has been unsuccessful. The protest has been going on for a week now.
Canada’s so-called “freedom convoys have inspired the demonstrators”. The participants set up tents and blocked access roads with trucks, campers and cars. According to an estimate by Radio New Zealand, about a thousand protesters are present on Monday.
A new strategy was tried on Sunday to disperse the activists at Parliament’s initiative. Songs were played through the loudspeakers to change the minds of the demonstrators. You’re Beautiful by James Blunt, Mandy by Barry Manilow, Macarena by Los Del Rio and the nursery rhyme Baby Shark were played on repeat.
However, the campaign was unsuccessful. The protesters responded by dancing and playing their own songs loudly. According to The Guardian, Twisted Sister’s We’re Not Gonna Take It could be heard.
Wellington Police Department Corrie Parnell says he is not happy with Parliament’s strategy, which appears to have bolstered the protestors’ determination. “These are certainly not tactics or methods that we would endorse. We would have preferred that this hadn’t happened,” he told Radio New Zealand.
The activists oppose the vaccination rules in New Zealand. Vaccination against Covid-19 is mandatory for people who work in health care, law enforcement and education. If you refuse, you risk being fired. A vaccination certificate must also be presented at sporting events and religious services in restaurants.