Berliner Boersenzeitung - Canada protesters dig in with military-style proficiency

EUR -
AED 3.996506
AFN 72.900955
ALL 98.308217
AMD 421.18485
ANG 1.962247
AOA 992.329453
ARS 1080.181434
AUD 1.648531
AWG 1.958544
AZN 1.857939
BAM 1.951173
BBD 2.198287
BDT 130.111476
BGN 1.956591
BHD 0.410043
BIF 3149.991364
BMD 1.08808
BND 1.432642
BOB 7.540328
BRL 6.302264
BSD 1.088718
BTN 91.571688
BWP 14.498022
BYN 3.563249
BYR 21326.366401
BZD 2.194656
CAD 1.511963
CDF 3094.499133
CHF 0.940172
CLF 0.037633
CLP 1038.41996
CNY 7.73222
CNH 7.746362
COP 4803.87284
CRC 558.775019
CUC 1.08808
CUP 28.834118
CVE 110.603516
CZK 25.336699
DJF 193.3737
DKK 7.458603
DOP 65.774638
DZD 144.733286
EGP 53.392866
ERN 16.321199
ETB 131.77079
FJD 2.476416
FKP 0.832565
GBP 0.839508
GEL 2.975906
GGP 0.832565
GHS 17.800855
GIP 0.832565
GMD 77.8544
GNF 9390.129613
GTQ 8.412053
GYD 227.985681
HKD 8.458929
HNL 27.278588
HRK 7.495815
HTG 143.28025
HUF 408.070771
IDR 17161.033261
ILS 4.081584
IMP 0.832565
INR 91.532868
IQD 1425.384693
IRR 45813.605196
ISK 148.925795
JEP 0.832565
JMD 172.032073
JOD 0.771557
JPY 165.731956
KES 140.362613
KGS 93.357036
KHR 4433.92573
KMF 492.35874
KPW 979.271681
KRW 1500.402352
KWD 0.333431
KYD 0.907373
KZT 532.008489
LAK 23872.473319
LBP 97491.960445
LKR 319.203098
LRD 208.748593
LSL 19.05177
LTL 3.212817
LVL 0.658168
LYD 5.233375
MAD 10.714325
MDL 19.43545
MGA 5021.488734
MKD 61.626889
MMK 3534.041131
MNT 3697.295593
MOP 8.716771
MRU 43.523418
MUR 50.084443
MVR 16.759449
MWK 1888.364769
MXN 21.88825
MYR 4.748922
MZN 69.534196
NAD 19.052337
NGN 1788.575322
NIO 40.014105
NOK 11.970859
NPR 146.514621
NZD 1.818666
OMR 0.418924
PAB 1.088848
PEN 4.100157
PGK 4.362659
PHP 63.604756
PKR 302.322999
PLN 4.35896
PYG 8574.667539
QAR 3.961265
RON 4.975758
RSD 117.039324
RUB 107.716482
RWF 1484.141009
SAR 4.086665
SBD 9.037832
SCR 14.742944
SDG 654.466525
SEK 11.670305
SGD 1.435493
SHP 0.832565
SLE 24.726642
SLL 22816.488369
SOS 621.293686
SRD 37.980509
STD 22521.057486
SVC 9.526411
SYP 2733.833729
SZL 19.052206
THB 36.642724
TJS 11.595724
TMT 3.819161
TND 3.371955
TOP 2.548391
TRY 37.375003
TTD 7.380702
TWD 34.80169
TZS 2933.325215
UAH 45.127108
UGX 3984.551734
USD 1.08808
UYU 45.362435
UZS 13943.744408
VEF 3941626.666042
VES 46.573125
VND 27577.385532
VUV 129.179066
WST 3.047912
XAF 654.423259
XAG 0.032257
XAU 0.0004
XCD 2.94059
XDR 0.817883
XOF 653.386429
XPF 119.331742
YER 271.856803
ZAR 19.061414
ZMK 9794.022753
ZMW 29.20655
ZWL 350.36129
  • CMSC

    0.1100

    24.64

    +0.45%

  • RBGPF

    66.4100

    66.41

    +100%

  • SCS

    0.1100

    12.25

    +0.9%

  • NGG

    0.1900

    64.45

    +0.29%

  • RYCEF

    0.0100

    7.11

    +0.14%

  • VOD

    -0.0300

    9.32

    -0.32%

  • RIO

    -0.3200

    65.01

    -0.49%

  • CMSD

    0.1103

    24.92

    +0.44%

  • RELX

    -0.0200

    47.06

    -0.04%

  • BCC

    0.0500

    134.26

    +0.04%

  • BCE

    -2.9800

    29.12

    -10.23%

  • JRI

    0.0500

    13.1

    +0.38%

  • GSK

    0.0900

    36.97

    +0.24%

  • AZN

    0.0100

    71.43

    +0.01%

  • BP

    0.5000

    29.73

    +1.68%

  • BTI

    0.0400

    35.11

    +0.11%

Canada protesters dig in with military-style proficiency
Canada protesters dig in with military-style proficiency

Canada protesters dig in with military-style proficiency

With support from ex-police and military intelligence officers, American funding, and stockpiles of food and fuel, "Freedom Convoy" protesters are hunkered down for a long stay in the Canadian capital.

Text size:

Their numbers have fallen from a peak of almost 15,000 when the truckers first rolled into the capital two weeks ago. At first the goal was to protest Covid restrictions although this has morphed into a broader outcry against the government.

The protesters remain firmly entrenched, despite growing calls for them to end what Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Friday was an "unlawful" demonstration and threats of jail and steep fines after a local state of emergency was declared.

Outside parliament, supporters serve up coffee, eggs and sausages to bleary-eyed truckers, while others provided them with beds to sleep in, hot showers and even laundry services. Nearby, kids played while their parents huddled by campfires to stay warm.

"Every day I come here to get my coffee, to get my emotional support, my spiritual support," said protester George Dick.

"These guys are awesome! I couldn't do it without them," he says of the volunteers.

Elian Renaud, an 18-year-old mechanic, has been manning a grill since 4 a.m. (0900 GMT), saying the truckers are very happy "to be eating a good dinner, not just small snacks."

Nearby a plastic table is close to buckling under the weight of water bottles and soda cans, while protesters continue to ferry fuel in wagons to keep the big rigs roaring -- despite efforts by police to cut off the convoy's diesel supplies.

Ottawa police Chief Peter Sloly has said this is "an entirely sophisticated level of demonstrators."

"They have the capability to run strong organization here provincially and nationally, and we're seeing that play out in real-time," he told a briefing.

- Base camp -

A few kilometers away, an encampment at a baseball stadium is being used as a staging area. An AFP journalist saw barbecues, saunas and stockpiles of food and fuel, as well as rows of portable toilets.

Daniel Gagnon, sporting a goatee and small round glasses, set up a booth to sell signs for Can$20 dollars (US$16) to raise funds for the truckers.

"If a truck driver needs something, no problem, we find it," he says. "Everywhere, there is food. It's free. If anything is missing, people can call, we'll help them out."

Canadian authorities' freezing of millions of dollars raised online for the protesters seems to have had little impact as donations of goods pour in.

Started at the end of January, they had raised more than Can$10 million on GoFundMe, before the donation page was removed for violating the crowdsourced fundraising site's terms of service that "prohibit user content that reflects or promotes behaviour in support of violence."

A subsequent campaign launched on the Christian site GiveSendGo raised several million dollars, before it too was frozen by the Superior Court of Ontario.

Scott Holt, 58, who's been sleeping in his truck since the protest began, shrugged it off.

"I'm getting financially supported... I need food, I've got that. I need fuel, the organization supplies the fuel. Somehow, someway they always get me fuel. What more do I need?" he said.

On Friday, Trudeau indicated that half of the donated funds supporting the trucker convoy has come from US sources.

From the start, the protestors received the backing of American conservatives, including former president Donald Trump and Texas Senator Ted Cruz, who called the protesters "heroes" and "patriots."

- Tripping up authorities -

Marcel Chartrand, a professor at the University of Ottawa, told AFP the protesters "appear to be getting some direction from groups in the United States."

But there are still a lot of unanswered questions, he said. "How's this organization being supported? How is it influenced? Who are the people behind it... and where is it going?"

Among the protestors are a number of retired cops and soldiers -- more than 150 with "boots on the ground," according to Police on Guard, a group opposed to Covid health restrictions. It also broadcasts videos of the demonstrations, according to its website.

Daniel "Danny" Bulford, a former Mountie on the prime minister's security detail, told a news conference he's been sharing his "extensive experience in protective operations for large scale events" in the capital including "tactical planning" with protest organizers, and helping to liaise with authorities.

He quit the RCMP last year over mandatory Covid vaccines, he said.

Chartrand noted that the protesters don't use "mainstream social media" and rely instead on walkie-talkie app Zello to evade police barricades, or secure messaging app Telegram to plan solidarity protests, for example, and they shun mainstream media.

"It makes it hard to follow them," he said, and has allowed the protesters to circumvent efforts by "intelligence agencies and police" who too often have been "finding out a bit too late to react and put a stop to, for example, the closing of the Ambassador Bridge," a key Canada-US trade corridor.

(H.Schneide--BBZ)