HK democracy protest camp shutdown looms
AP, Hong Kong :
Hong Kong pro-democracy activists have until Thursday morning to leave a sprawling protest camp that’s blocked traffic in the Chinese financial hub for more than two months before authorities clear it out, a lawyer said Tuesday.
Authorities are set to move in after a court order authorized the removal of barricades, tents and other obstructions from the Admiralty district, site of the protesters’ main camp downtown, setting the stage for one last showdown with activists demanding greater democracy.
Workers will dismantle the protest camp starting at 9 a.m., said Paul Tse, a lawyer for the bus company that took out the injunction.
“What I would like to do now is to perhaps make a public plea to the students to stay away from the scene when there is plenty of time,” he told reporters, adding the company wanted to give protesters enough time to pack their belongings and leave the site.
He said the court order, which was published in newspapers Tuesday, would be posted at the Admiralty site in the afternoon.
About 3,000 police officers would be deployed for the operation, the South China Morning Post newspaper reported, citing unidentified police sources.
The student-led protesters have been occupying streets for 73 days to press their demands for greater democracy.
Another protest site in the rough-and-tumble Mong Kok neighborhood was shut down late last month by authorities enforcing a separate court order. The aggressive police operation sparked several nights of violent clashes in the neighborhood’s tight grid of streets, resulting in about 160 arrests.
Hong Kong pro-democracy activists have until Thursday morning to leave a sprawling protest camp that’s blocked traffic in the Chinese financial hub for more than two months before authorities clear it out, a lawyer said Tuesday.
Authorities are set to move in after a court order authorized the removal of barricades, tents and other obstructions from the Admiralty district, site of the protesters’ main camp downtown, setting the stage for one last showdown with activists demanding greater democracy.
Workers will dismantle the protest camp starting at 9 a.m., said Paul Tse, a lawyer for the bus company that took out the injunction.
“What I would like to do now is to perhaps make a public plea to the students to stay away from the scene when there is plenty of time,” he told reporters, adding the company wanted to give protesters enough time to pack their belongings and leave the site.
He said the court order, which was published in newspapers Tuesday, would be posted at the Admiralty site in the afternoon.
About 3,000 police officers would be deployed for the operation, the South China Morning Post newspaper reported, citing unidentified police sources.
The student-led protesters have been occupying streets for 73 days to press their demands for greater democracy.
Another protest site in the rough-and-tumble Mong Kok neighborhood was shut down late last month by authorities enforcing a separate court order. The aggressive police operation sparked several nights of violent clashes in the neighborhood’s tight grid of streets, resulting in about 160 arrests.
