New Zealand Covid-19 anti-vaccine mandate protesters clash with police

[WELLINGTON] New Zealand police on Thursday started arresting people who have been camping outside its parliament building for the last three days to protest Covid-19 vaccine mandates and pandemic restrictions.

Inspired by the truckers demonstrations in Canada, hundreds of New Zealanders have blocked streets near the parliament in capital Wellington with their trucks, campervans, cars and motorbikes.

The "convoy for freedom" protesters arrived from all corners of New Zealand on Tuesday and gathered outside the parliament building, called the Beehive.

The protesters have camped on the lawns outside the parliament for the last two nights. Several people were arrested on Thursday as police moved in to end a tense stand-off after Speaker Trevor Mallard ordered the tents removed from the lawns, the New Zealand Herald reported.

Officers were seen taking many protesters away and were using loudspeakers warning them to take down their tents, according to footage on social media.

New Zealand has put in place some of the toughest restrictions for the last two years to deal with the coronavirus that have helped keep infections and deaths lower than in many comparable nations.

A country of five million people, New Zealand has reported just over 18,000 confirmed cases and 53 deaths since the pandemic began.

But the restrictions have frustrated many facing isolation and strict social distancing rules.

With borders still closed, tens of thousands of expatriate New Zealanders are cut off from families while tourism businesses are struggling to stay afloat. REUTERS