Page 10 - ARUBA TODAY

A10 WORLD NEWS
Wednesday 14 august 2019
Riot police, protesters clash briefly at Hong Kong airport

By YANAN WANG and KA- ers and police have been
TIE TAM hurt, including a woman
Associated Press reported to have had an
HONG KONG (AP) — Riot eye ruptured by a bean-
police clashed briefly with bag round fired by police
pro-democracy protesters during clashes Sunday.
at Hong Kong's airport Tues- Police said they are investi-
day night in a chaotic end gating the incident, which
to a second day of demon- protesters have taken up
strations that caused mass as a rallying cry. Some in
cancellations and disrup- the airport occupation
tions at the Chinese city's wore gauze bandages
busy transport hub. dyed with artificial blood
Calm eventually returned, over one eye.
with most of the protesters The U.N.'s top human rights
leaving the airport hours official condemned vio-
after officers armed with lence around the protests
pepper spray and swinging and urged both sides to
batons tried to enter the settle their dispute through
terminal, fighting with dem- "open and inclusive dia-
onstrators who barricaded logue."
entrances with luggage Rupert Colville, spokes-
carts. Protesters said they man for U.N. High Com-
planned to return to the air- Policemen in riot gears arrest a protester during a demonstration at the Airport in Hong Kong, missioner for Human Rights
port early Wednesday. Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2019. Michelle Bachelet, said her
The burst of violence also Associated Press office had reviewed evi-
included protesters beat- dence that police are us-
ing at least two men they showed at least 120 can- Kong raised the prospect the thousands in the past ing "less-lethal weapons in
suspected of being under- cellations and it advised of greater violence and the 10 weeks. ways that are prohibited
cover agents and came people not to come to the possible suspension of legal President Donald Trump by international norms and
the same day Hong Kong's airport, one of the world's rights for those detained. tweeted that U.S. intel- standards." That includes
pro-Beijing leader warned busiest. Hong Kong leader Car- ligence believes that the firing tear gas canisters into
that the demonstrators had More than 200 flights were rie Lam said the instability, Chinese government is crowded, enclosed areas
pushed events onto a "path canceled Monday and chaos and violence have moving troops to its border and directly at individuals,
of no return," highlighting passengers were forced to placed the city on a "path with Hong Kong. He also "creating a considerable
the hardening positions on stay in the city while airlines of no return." tweeted that "Everyone risk of death or serious in-
both sides. tried to find other ways to The black-clad demonstra- should be calm and safe!" jury," Colville said in a state-
Police took away several get them to their destina- tors have shown no sign He provided no additional ment.
people they caught out- tions. of letting up on their cam- details. In a sign of rising tensions,
side the arrival hall and The airport disruptions es- paign to force Lam's admin- While China has yet to protesters in the evening
eventually retreated. calated a summer of dem- istration to respond to their threaten using the army detained two men they
Police said they were try- onstrations aimed at what demands, including that — as it did against pro-de- claimed were undercover
ing to help ambulance many Hong Kong residents she step down and scrap mocracy protesters in Bei- police from mainland Chi-
officers reach an injured see as an increasing ero- proposed legislation under jing in 1989 — the Shenzhen na. They tied his wrists with
man whom protesters had sion of the freedoms they which some suspects could exercises were a sign of its plastic strips and poured
cornered and detained for were promised in 1997 be sent to mainland China, ability to crush the dem- water over his head. Airport
about two hours on suspi- when Communist Party- where critics say they could onstrations, even at the security guards did not ap-
cion of being an undercov- ruled mainland China took face torture and unfair or cost to Hong Kong's repu- pear to be able to stop the
er agent from mainland over what had been a politically charged trials. tation as a safe haven for crowd.
China. Rescuers eventually British colony.The protests Lam has rejected calls for business and international Sally Tong, an 18-year-old
succeeded in getting him have built on an opposi- dialogue, part of what an- exchange. Images on the protester, said they need-
to an ambulance, local tion movement that shut alysts say is a strategy to internet showed armored ed to hold him as evidence
broadcaster RTHK report- down much of the city for wear down the opposition personnel carriers belong- that mainland Chinese au-
ed. seven weeks in 2014 before movement through po- ing to the People's Armed thorities are in Hong Kong
Protesters then detained it eventually fizzled and its lice action while prompt- Police driving in a convoy to monitor the demonstra-
and beat a second man leaders were jailed on pub- ing demonstrators to take Monday toward the site of tions. Tong said the man
whom they also suspected lic disturbance charges. more violent and extreme the exercises. was dressed in black and
of being an undercover The central government in actions that will turn the The People's Liberation wore a mask to look like
agent. Beijing has ominously char- public against them. Army has a garrison in one of them.
After a brief period when acterized the current pro- At the airport, protesters Hong Kong, which recently "We want to keep him here
planes were able to take off test movement as some- discussed among them- released a video showing and investigate," Tong said.
and land early in the day, thing approaching "terror- selves whether they should its units combating actors Protesters said the man
authorities were forced ism" that poses an "existen- simply block all access to dressed as protesters. Hong dropped his wallet when
to cancel the remaining tial threat" to citizens. the facility. Kong police also put on a he was running away from
flights. The airport author- While Beijing tends to de- Meanwhile, paramilitary display of water cannons. them, and they found ID
ity suspended check-in ser- fine terrorism broadly, ex- police were assembling Police have arrested more cards from mainland China
vices for departing flights as tending it especially to non- across the border in the city than 700 protesters since and also found his name
of 4:30 p.m., with departing violent movements oppos- of Shenzhen for exercises June and say they have on a list of police officers
flights that had completed ing government policies in that some saw as a threat infiltrated the movement, online.
the process able to contin- minority regions such as Ti- to increase force against leading to concerns that Protesters also bound the
ue to operate. bet and Xinjiang, its use of the mostly young protest- officers were inciting vio- hands of the second man
The airport's website the term in relation to Hong ers who have turned out by lence. Scores of protest- they captured. q