Hundreds rally against New Zealand lockdown amid calls for police crackdown on ‘gang members and cultists’ who disobey Covid rules – RT World News

The protesters – who numbered 1,000 to 2,000, according to local media – descended on the Auckland Estate on Saturday to demand an end to the blockades. A motorbike trailer led by Brian Tamaki – a vocal anti-containment activist who runs Auckland’s Pentecostal Destiny Church – was among the first at the scene, captured in videos as the motorcade made their way to the park.

Remaining peaceful for the duration of the event, the demo saw Tamaki deliver a fiery 40-minute speech denouncing the draconian stop orders, which remained in effect in Auckland for nearly two consecutive months.

“Now Auckland comes to 50 days – 50 days we’ve been in house arrest. It is the same that they give to prisoners who have committed a crime; it is an alternative to prison ”, he said. “I was locked up for over 50 days in my house and I did not commit any crime. I didn’t do anything wrong and I was punished. We are penalized.

I can’t go out because the neighbor might denounce me. I cannot drive on the road to buy milk and bread because the policeman could stop me.

While the police presence at Saturday’s protest seemed somewhat subdued, with no arrests or reported clashes, National Party MP Simeon Brown, spokesman for the party’s police, denounced the protest in no uncertain terms, s ‘by also taking to the police themselves.

“The rules are clear. Police rightly warned protesters in Auckland today – but we’re seeing our eyes closed on gangs breaking lockdown rules. Aucklanders want out of this lockdown – and that means the rules are applied consistently [sic], “ he said in a tweet, presumably referring to the motorcade as a “gang”.

Earlier this week, Brown denounced “gang members” – also bikers – after gathering for a funeral, which was quickly dispersed by police in West Auckland. He said the funeral was “Demoralizing for the more than 1.7 million Aucklandians” who did what they were told and scrupulously followed the dictates of their government.

“It’s just not good enough. The government must make it clear that the rules apply to gang members and if they break them, they will be treated like everyone else ”, he continued, calling for a tougher police response.