Organizers of a Black Lives Matter (BLM) rally that is set to be held next week in Sydney say that about 4,000 people will go out despite the fact that Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and New South Wales (NSW) Premier Gladys Berejiklian demand its cancellation, The Guardian Australia reported on Wednesday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd July, 2020) Organizers of a Black Lives Matter (BLM) rally that is set to be held next week in Sydney say that about 4,000 people will go out despite the fact that Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and New South Wales (NSW) Premier Gladys Berejiklian demand its cancellation, The Guardian Australia reported on Wednesday.
Earlier in the day, in an interview with Sydney radio station 2GB, Morrison slammed the protest as "appalling," adding that demonstrators will break the law by participating in the rally, as the NSW Supreme Court banned the BLM protests due to the coronavirus restrictions. Meanwhile, Berejiklian said that the protest could not go ahead amid the pandemic, especially with new clusters detected, therefore police would try to stop it.
According to the newspaper, organizer Paul Silva said the protest would "most definitely" proceed, adding that the authorities use the pandemic as an "excuse to silence" demonstrators, as NSW has allowed gatherings at football matches, hotels and in shopping centers.
Silva added that BLM protests were safe, as they were conducted outdoors and organizers handed out sanitizers and protective masks, the newspaper reported.
On Monday, NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller said in an interview with Sky news Australia that he intended to go to the Supreme Court to ban the BLM protests in Sydney. The police commissioner added that it was not a time to be selfish, as there were always other ways to protest, be it online, "in forums or even through the media you can get your voice."
The protests against racism and police brutality have sparked across the globe following the death of African American man George Floyd in the police custody on May 25, despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Australia had its own BLM demonstrations that started in early June, in the face of objections from the authorities and the court ban.
With protests ongoing, Australia has confirmed so far more than 12,800 cases of the coronavirus, including 128 fatalities, with the states of Victoria and NSW being the leaders in terms of number of infections.
