Large-scale anti-epidemic demonstrations broke out in Brussels, Belgium, and the EU headquarters building was hit
On January 23, local time, a large-scale anti-epidemic demonstration took place in Brussels, the capital of Belgium, and the demonstration eventually turned into a violent conflict. In response, EU officials called it a “despicable and shameful attack”.
According to a Reuters report on January 23, demonstrators gathered in front of the EU headquarters building in Brussels, threw firecrackers at police and damaged nearby shops. Police used water cannons and tear gas to disperse the crowd. The march quickly turned violent, with protesters throwing objects at the gate of the European External Action Service and police using tear gas to disperse the crowd. Sannino, secretary-general of the European External Action Service, said it was a “despicable and shameful attack”. Borrell, the EU’s foreign policy chief, denounced it as “senseless destruction and violence”. Local police revealed that at least 70 people were arrested during the demonstration, and at least three police officers and 12 demonstrators were taken to the hospital, but none of them were life-threatening.
Reports indicate that more than 50,000 people participated in the demonstration. The organizers of the demonstration previously claimed that the demonstrators came from various European countries to protest against the government’s implementation of various anti-epidemic measures without consultation. The demonstrators also said that they did not oppose the new crown epidemic prevention measures, but defended the so-called “freedom, democracy and human rights”, while protesting that European countries chose to introduce restrictive measures in an “undemocratic way”. This is the fifth “anti-epidemic” demonstration in Brussels in the past two months, but this demonstration is not only larger than the past, but also the first attack on an EU institution. Belgium is experiencing its fifth wave of Covid-19 and has not yet reached its peak. The Belgian government said it would continue to adhere to blockade measures such as “restricting the opening hours of restaurants and bars, closing nightclubs”.
On November 21, 2021, another large-scale anti-epidemic demonstration took place in Brussels. At that time, about 35,000 people participated in it, which also ended in clashes between the troublemakers and the police.