'Freedom' rally cancelled this weekend

Saturday 20 March 2021

Protesters calling for 'the truth' will not be holding a rally this weekend, after it was cancelled at late notice.

A number of people were aiming to stage a protest today called the ‘World Wide Rally For Freedom & Democracy’. It’s tagline? #wewillallbethere. Drop this hastag into Twitter and you’ll find people around the world demanding ‘the truth’.

The rally was promoted as an opportunity for 'like minded individuals' to meet and march for 'transparency, truth, trust and health'. However, to avoid the Covid restrictions, it has been postponed to a later, unspecified date.

Organisers behind the local event say it was going to focus on "what's going on in our world behind the scenes and how we can improve our situation and wellbeing - which is clearly being suppressed online."

Pictured: Guernsey Police was intending to "watch the event closely" according to the Chief Executive of the States of Guernsey, Paul Whitfield.

The global rally has been promoted on an encrypted messaging service called ‘Telegram’ by a number of QAnon supporters.

The organisers allege that their views are being "suppressed". The Head of the CCA, Deputy Peter Ferbrache, disagreed with this sentiment when Express put it to him during the latest media briefing.

"We live in this wonderful thing called a democracy, people must have the right to express their views whether we agree with them or not. I don't see any difficulty with it [the rally] at all."

The rally will still be held at hundreds of locations across the globe today. A Facebook page for a Guernsey rally was created and subsequently removed.

Prior to the event's cancellation, Bailiwick Law Enforcement said it was being "closely monitored" and that officers have been engaging with organisers. 

"The event is set to take place while we are still in stage 2 of our exit from lockdown," said a BLE spokesperson at the time. 

Pictured: "We live in this wonderful thing called a democracy," said Deputy Ferbrache.

"Therefore the organisers have been strongly encouraged to make sure all of the Covid-19 lockdown restrictions are followed.

"Generally, Bailiwick Law Enforcement supports the public's right to protest, and always does what it can to make sure this can happen in a safe way."