The story does not say if they wear earplugs, but it may be in times like these that Wellington police officers regret having chosen this profession.
Read alsoFlorida: a mayor broadcasts the song “Baby Shark” on a loop to scare away the homeless
On Sunday, by order of Parliament, authorities used sprinklers and tried to stun anti-vax protesters by blasting out hellish music, including
Baby Shark
,
Macarena
and
Manilow's
Mandy .
But the hundreds of protesters, inspired by Canada's self-proclaimed
"freedom convoys,"
danced in the mud to tunes meant to force them to disperse.
Worse, they retaliated by playing their favorite hits through their sound system, taking the police between two terrible fires.
Superintendent Corrie Parnell, Wellington's police chief, did not appreciate this facetious tactic by Parliament, which appears to have strengthened the resolve of the protesters.
“These are certainly not tactics or methodologies that we would endorse, and we would have preferred this not to have happened
,” he told Radio New Zealand, again urging protesters to move blocking vehicles always the streets.
"It's not
(...)
to arrest people to get out
of this situation
," he said, however, calling on the organizers to negotiate.
Read alsoAll over the world, “freedom convoys” demonstrate against health measures
Police have taken a non-violent approach since an attempt to forcibly clear the lawns on Thursday, which led to violent clashes and more than 120 arrests, but only hardened the resolve of protesters.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern declined to comment on Sunday's musical jousting, but opposition figures did not hesitate, lavishly blaming Speaker of Parliament Trevor Mallard for approving the measure.
Read also“Freedom convoy”: the demonstrators failed to reproduce the Canadian model
“Mallard's actions are inglorious, embarrassing and ineffective
,” tweeted National Party MP Chris Bishop.
"Not only are Mallard's antics immature, not only are they ineffective, but they have made a serious situation much worse
," said David Seymour, leader of the opposition ACT party.
Before adding:
“His petty behavior only encouraged the protesters.”