(ANSA-AFP) - BERLIN, 18 NOV - Police on Wednesday fired water
cannon to disperse thousands of unmasked protesters who had
massed in central Berlin to demonstrate against government
measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus. After repeated
warnings for the crowd to put on their nose-and-mouth coverings
went unheeded, police said they would take action to clear the
protest and "detain violators". As water was sprayed on the
crowd, protesters chanted "shame, shame", refusing to leave the
site. Around 5,000 radical activists massed at the Brandenburg
Gate, after the German government banned rallies outside
parliament over police warnings the demonstration could turn
violent. Protest organisers accused the government of trying to
establish a "dictatorship" with shutdown measures that were
tightened this month to slow infection rates. Demonstrators
carried posters showing German political leaders including
Chancellor Angela Merkel in prison garb and emblazoned with the
word "guilty". (ANSA-AFP).
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