treaties across the region and as a member of that group, his lawyers argue the former president has immunity from criminal prosecution, mcgriddle, apollo al jazeera. and a quick reminder you can catch up any time with our website. the address that is al jazeera dot com ah top stories on how to 0 brushes. defense ministry says some troops have finished exercises now you cranes border and returning to their bases. but they have been few details, and the announcement was greeted with skepticism by ukraine and the west nato chief ins. stockton bo said it was not seen any sign of de escalation on the ground. he warned that russia is known to leave military equipment behind the rapid use later, the russian government continues to deny its planning and evasion. regrettably, i'd say we will go through a number of combat readiness events including training have been accomplished in

accordance with plans. as soon as combat readings, events get finished, troops as always will march to their permanent, based on so many units of the southern and western military districts which have accomplished their mission, have already begun boarding trains and trucks, and we'll start moving to their military garrisons later today in the club, meanwhile, the russian and germany does have met in moscow with vladimir putin insisting he does not want war. all of shots said courageous action is needed. the 2 spiritual arms, however difficult the current situation seems. i refused to describe it as hopeless, courageous, and responsible action. these now require from every one. this is what i want to say. thus volitional from our generation of war in europe has become unthinkable. and we must ensure that it stays that way. russian president vladimir putin biggest political opponent is back on trial and could have his jail time extended by more than a decade. alexandra valley is accused of stealing more than $4700000.00 of

donations to his political organizations. in what human rights groups have branded a sham trial. and the u. k. is prince andrew has reached an out of court financial settlement with his sex abuse accuser, but junior ju frayed. she had filed a lawsuit accusing him of abusing her 20 years ago when she was 17 years old. the prince, who is queen elizabeth son, denied the allegations you fray said she was trafficked by the billionaire peter fall. jeffrey epstein, who died in jail in 2019 on a waiting trial. there's the top stories to stay with us. the news continues after the stream and to pay north catch up on a website and with your dot com. i've no ah

ah, i as i me okay, you watson the stream at the end of january truck has in canada was so upset with the vaccine mandates. they had a deity that they drove to ottawa and started a protest that protest is still continuing on monday. this is what joshua big a had to say about why he was still out on the streets. i've also lost more friends the last 2 years for suicide. my whole entire life, my brother walker jobs, i know friends lost your job. so i'm here to stand together for peace, love, unity, remote freedom. as long as i can drop is our mandate. oh, i don't know, moon freedom convoy, we are unpacking what is going on in canada and also

a power spreading around the world. we are doing that. we've justin and thank you so much and to me for being part of our show today. just in please introduce yourself global audience. tell them who you are. what you doing. my name is justin ling. i'm a, i'm a freelance journalist who reports variety about what i've been writing for for the guardian. but a co or by student number. the other outlets from i'm currently in auto. i probably curious as to why i'm sitting in the passenger seat of a car just on a reporting trip here in ottawa. some of the conway locations just outside the city didn't make it back in time. so i'm sitting here holding in the field from his vehicle adjusting. we appreciate you doing that for us. i'm all welcome to the stream. introduce yourself to our audience. tell them who you are, what you do. yeah, thanks for having me. i'm a assistant professor in the school of religion and the department of political studies at queens university. in ontario, canada, i study social movements,

extremism and terrorism. have been my lamb. welcome to the store, introduce yourself to audience. thank you really, but to my name is man and good time. the publisher with all to the megs in reserves, canada salvation drug in community. we are part of the new club to supply chain and to wish i could to have all 3 of them just all right, so we'll watching this on the 2 equally part of this discussion. i know you, siemens headlines. i know you've seen some of the footage on out to sierra coleman and questions, put them right here and i comment section and you can be part of today's show. i want to start with just a reminder for a wider audience about how this all started and we're going to go back to january the 29th when truckers from all over canada, they converged in ottawa around about 3000 trucks. 15000 protesters over the following 2 weeks, but as this blocked, us can aid canadian border crossings. and then on february, the 14th i just earlier this week, i'm lester,

just intrude. i invoke c emergency at given the police sweeping powers to tackle blockades and also occupations as well. just thing that brings us up to day hates. how is this protest going on for so long? yeah, i actually think it's really important to note that it's very origin, this convoy was occupation. it's not about vaccine mandates for fucker. we know it's not because the organizer, the participants keep telling us, that's not what it's about. they repeatedly said, this is about all vaccine mandates across the country. this is about all public health measures this about mask bad bit. this is about, in many cases, the safety and the efficacy of vaccines themselves. and in some cases, this is the and that the prime minister and the government resign or be removed from office, right? those employees actually know what these people are saying. they're here for. there is a predominant prevalent anti vaccine misinformation. at this occupation,

there is a preponderance of people who would like to see the prime minister arrested and tried to reason for crimes against humanity. there is a belief here that covert 19 is being overblown and hyped up in order to restrict our freedoms and potentially to remove our democratic way of life. so this process is about so much more then vaccine mandates for truckers. and the reason people are still here is because the grievance is one, so deep and are so broad mile. and go ahead. i see you nodding your head. absolutely. you know, but i do agree that the cocktail that there are so many different waited in groups . joining the truckers truckers at large have been police needed in canada as well . canada trucking lines more than 80 percent. 8590 percent of truckers have him call. you back and actually the other one was still ensuring that our supply chain

is intact. you know there is food enough on our goals. he says that everything along with so truckers they there is a minority of crackers which is part of this freedom conway. but there are so many other groups of people which are frustrated. we all are sick and tired of pandemic distinction locked down so you know, so definitely that is a cocktail of vested interest. hope man, this is i remember you can help me clear this up and just to do jump in and i'm always well is that if it's not truckers, where does the 3000 trucks come from and january the 29th when it'll it's not that there are no truckers out there, there are truckers involved but not necessarily all of them are and directors, they already know that they don't believe in recognition. it's basically they want to come get rid of vaccine mandate specially the cost border, the $6.00 of them. it came into post on january 15th from canadian side, and then followed by a week later from the u. s. site. so the messaging is quite makes, and that is why you will find

a different idea of groups joining the freedom. but that's, that's exactly right. and you know, i've spoken to some people who are here. we have brought trucks. i've looked at some of the trucks that are here, i trucks that cross the west, canada border, the truck that will be impacted by this back to the mandate. they actually have a special number on the side that helps you a den, a fight that they are in fact cross border vehicles. and maybe one half of the vehicles have this us dot number. you speak to some of the truckers who are here and they'll admit readily, they don't cross the border but not even impacted by the vaccine mandates or so there are a lot of vehicles here that are not impacted by the mandate. there are vehicles here that are in the middle is quite right, but there are people here who have would get emit grievances and grievances that are not extreme in nature that are not necessarily conspiratorial. but again, you know, i've wandered through this protest, i've spoken to the protesters, i've spoken to the organizers, i've looked at the social media b. i can tell you that the prevalence of conspiracy theories of misinformation is

really, really acute. i'm how can i throw this at in, this is from twitter and of from one of our broader community who knew we were having this conversation to day. so on my laptop t o m t says, i've been really frustrated as to why media hasn't be focusing on the organizes intentions. partial organizers, canada unity had explicitly stated and desire to remove democratic authorities. yet media or government has fell to really examine that. can you unpack the truth of that tweet, that story and, and, and the direction that, that twitter is going? yeah, i mean i, i disagree a little bit that it hasn't been focused on. i mean, i think we've been talking about quite a bit, but i do, i mean, to underscore with justin was saying, i think there is a difference between the organizers of this protest and what you're seeing on the ground, right. the organizers of this protest are ones that organize the earlier united we roll campaign and we're part of the yellow vest movement in canada early on. so

a lot of them are outright white. nationalists conspiracy theorists are kind of part of militia movements. one of them went on a kind of nation wide holocaust denial campaign. and these are the people who are behind the organizing element of the campaign of the convoy. and i do think though that the people on the ground and many of them might have been swept away by the kind of call that conspiracy theories that we saw after march 2020. but i think as one of the person interviewed at the beginning of your clip, made clear, i think there is genuine anxiety and grievance there. road, a lot of people have lost their businesses. the mental health children have suffered. and so there is a kind of genuine pushback to mandates and lock downs, but that i think that has to be separated from the organizers who are cd characters that we've known about for some time. i think when i'm as with mental practice that we cover when we get seen to international lose,

that's always multiple reasons why protestors are actually out on the street and why the protest of grown. i want to bring it man be a barge because what he's fascinating is that most truckers in canada all vaccinated and most canadians support vaccinations. and yet you have a protest going on that he's got global attention. i want to bring him mandate, but he is a trucker as having a i don't support what they were doing at the border. and also the other border is across canada, where they're disrupting commerce flow between the us and canada. initially just pack up cologne. as a professional driver myself, it'll see me going out there and do anything like that. i believe in these mandates issue with the program and get back to it, but don't disrupt any of our commerce while they're trying to make their statement went on, is that the majority view of professional drivers truck has do you think?

absolutely. and when be definitely speaking on behalf of those majority of truckers, those who have been back to needed and those who continue to keep our supply chain busy. and that is by the government of the day, was supposed to take some some measures because when the international trade and commerce comes to an haul, dean's protest spreading out a different board of the government has to come into picture because we cannot mistake the flow of goods, especially, you know, when we want to come out of pandemic, you know, we really want to make sure that our supply chain domains intact and with the internet obligation. canada has to take some stick measures so that these protest the illegal blockades had many of those of and they can be to i have so many questions. yeah. you go 1st just another 2nd. go ahead. go ahead. yeah. you know, i actually think it's interesting that one of your viewers has not seen this notion in the media that some of these elements, some of the organized or some of the organizations calling for other extreme things,

represent the sort of spirit coil paranoid element. canadian society because a large screen are quite right, the media has been really slow to acknowledge a lot of these ties. some happened, i've been doing my best to focus on the organizers since before they even arrived an odd one. some of my colleagues have as well, but by and large, the media has been really unprepared to tackle the reality of all right, extreme, this conspiratorial anti government organizations in this country writ large. and that's been particularly acute when it comes to this convoy. and he is doing occupation just a couple days ago includes alberta, the blockade of the border crossing there with the united states, lead to more than a dozen arrests and discovery of a stockpile of weapons. there's a real concern that the occupiers here in ottawa were, i mad also have some, some access to weaponry as well, potentially some areas where they may be staffing weapons. that's exactly why i'm

sitting in this car right now. we've been out trying to find a couple of those locations. so there is a real concern here that not only are the elements of this occupation of the past that are extremists in nature, but also that some of the organizers are using this to cover. for some kind of occupation, some kind of complication with the government. there is concerns here that some of these people are not going to go home, even if police force and are willing and able put a line in the sand and to defend themselves. police here are numbered their own guns. they are prepared to maneuver and you know, there's really no telling when this could end or how this could i have so interested. i have some questions for i'm, i'm going to shake you gentlemen with our audience who are asking these questions. we'll ask you to do it rapid fire, who can get in as many as possible? so can says i'm from canada, these guys are the dangerous right wing. they have the they've been found with guns

and ammunition. amal, have you seen that? have a do you know that? yeah, i mean, like i was saying, i think the organizers are definitely dangerous people and i just mentioned the quotes, the quotes border which is now cleared. it looks like it was largely brought to an end because the r c, m p came in after they found stashes of weapons, a massive, quite a large stash of weapons as well as arrested 13 or so people. and, and so that there's, there's no doubt that other elements in other, other cities are similarly armed or just not openly yet. i think that was part of the reason why they brought in the emergency act as well. the public safety minister just said, you know, we may not have all the facts, meaning public may not have all the facts. and i think that's kind of what he was hinting at when i go ahead to consult on that. yeah, you know, i was just going to mention that it is very disappointing to see that when it is called a freedom con wide organized by because we're not getting the real issue. the genuine

actual initials being used by truckers, whether you name the infrastructure, deaf is a dog getting on our highways, lack of wind. i was up in the north, you know we need immigration to farms. they know they've been based api shows. safety and compliance, not enough prestige has all these other issues which are impacting every truck out there. but have you seen a single placard or no? no man, i'm saying i because this is a whole new the out of the hasn't even reach the streets. so maybe rather than the entire world is looking at you bad global media is looking at drugs. there's, nobody was talking about the real issue. you know, i think that is the missing point. and that is where the, you know, disappointing comes in. let me little some more thoughts are just on, and i'm a man from you cheap and opinion. i'm really interested in your opinion back to have you. it's not only about track as this practice is about government and not being able to force people to put things into that,

but they don't want. is that an opinion a fort jefferson on the right? of course, i mean, there's plenty of people here who do not believe the vaccines are safe. you don't want to be forced to put to take the vaccine who object to the science who are misinformed about the science. we do not trust. government does not trust pharmaceutical industries, but the reality is no one's forcing them to get the vaccine. they're saying, if you want to keep work, if you want to come to work every day, if you want to go meet your coworker here to go pick up. you know, if you're going to go pick up a delivery, you're going to cross the border. if you're going to travel, then yes, you have to be vaccinated. you, you can choose to be vaccinated if you want. there will be consequences. this is how society work. this is the compromise we have to live in a society where there is health care and roads and police services. you can't drive around with the driver's license. you can't drive around with a seat belt. you can't bring your gun around if it's not in the holster or we don't have a permit for it. there are rules. we have to abide by. what are those rules?

you have to get back stages against a deadly virus to make sure that you don't pass it on to others to make sure you don't qualify for health care system which is already under spring. that is the reason we have this mandate. if you don't like it, that's, that's fine, you don't have to vaccinate it, but there will be consequences for it. there's also this bizarre idea that i've heard a few times that you know, that they seem to be think thinking that there are no regulations whatsoever. and there are no kind of vaccine mandates already, like my daughter before she can go to daycare, has to have a whole slew of vaccines and already have and we have vaccine passport. it's a little yellow card that we have to show the school before anyone's allowed to go to school there. so this idea that this is some new thing that just invented by the trudeau government to stifle freedoms. i think it's a, it's a major problem enlarge, and a lot of that comes from this kind of what, what w, rachel has called the info democrat. this kind of pandemic of misinformation and

disinformation and conspiracy theories around the pandemic. the lockdown of the mandate, which has been very prevalent since about march 2020 onwards. and so that's kind of colored a lot of what people these people have decided. but you know, this faxing is, are this pandemic is that it's the hope that it's the kind of plot by the deep state elite to control them and so on. and so i think a lot of these ideas have been building for some time. and now we're kind of seeing the combination of that and i was going off you briefly about a post that terran top, paying off the stream to investigate for us. i'm going to do that by you. karen says, the canadian special forces operators have been in convoy protests and varying supplies to auto occupation. it's concerning that radicalization and a unit that may be called upon to protect the pri minister. that conspiracy theory doesn't have any water any weight to it. what's going on there? i'm a this is a story i think a day or 2 ago,

there were some individuals being investigated for being involved in the convoy. i think maybe just to have some more info on the details of it. but i think this is, this is been a concern for a long time, not just with this protest, but we saw, you know, the patrick matthews, a few years, few months ago or years ago now arrested for being part of several far right movement into this fear of far right elements within our military, it really got going after january 6 insurrection in the u. s. and has also been a concern in canada for some time now until i think we're just seeing some of those elements bubble to the surface. i want to bring it doesn't the reality of that that report is wilderness characterize that's not at all. what's happening. there are a handful of members of the cane. our forces were under investigation. it is wrong to say special forces are bundling or ferrying supplies to the occupation. it is wrong to say the canadian armed forces or any unit thereof,

supports the occupation or is or is assisting in it. that's just not at all what's happening back again. are there readily seriously or investigating any of their members thought to be dissipating or helping at all? did with police forces across the country with really any major organization. i know that there is a lot of internal anxiety in any police force in any military unit of anyone there thought to be even supportive of this, of this occupation. they recognize it for what it is with with isn't a legal occupation of the capital. and in some cases, the boarders, and i don't think there's gonna be a lot of tolerance for anyone who's passed up holding the law dissipating in a violation of this thing. you probably asked adjusting trudeau. he, if i mind is going to push on, cuz i just got a few minutes left at the emergency act was, was brought into play elm fabri, the 14th. so just about 24 hours ago, they says prime minister today,

we're not using the emergencies act to call in the military. we're not suspending fundamental rights or overriding the charter of rights, be freedoms. we are not limiting people's freedom of speech. we are not limited freedom of peaceful assembly. we are not preventing people from exercising their right to protest. legally. we are reinforcing the principles, values and institutions that keep all canadians free. dustin seen any difference yet now that the majesty act is when it is now in play? no, none, none whatsoever. i anticipate people have have left i'm sure one or 2 trucks have pulled up steaks and got home. but we were just chatting with some folks who are manning the sort of satellite locations supplied the boat outside the city and they

said they don't. they don't care whether their insurance gets suspended, whether the license gets revoked when their bank accounts get frozen. whether the police are lame or fines the party yesterday or the day before a bunch of the protesters flushing the fines that received down the port a potties. they set up with us, i being camp and not none of this has just weighted them. none of this has had been something twice. these people are here for the long haul. they believe, you know, i'm not going to everybody here believes this. there are, are definitely a core contention of people here who believe the government is legitimate corrupt, to get them spreading. it's putting lies about the vaccines or, or beyond. there is a, there is this has become a home and hub or all manner of this information and the government, this information said reboot. and folks who don't want to see things continue the way they are and will stay here until changes. i'm going to try to do the end s on and i do, and i do think that, you know,

people really need to understand that many of these, that restrictions, that they are potentially regulated. you know, they just seem to, the federal government has nothing to do with what's happening here in ontario and alberta. for that matter, we need to know that those restrictions, if there are any they are based upon healthcare limitation. the city where i live in brampton, we had them health care didn't see declared, he went back to kobe dino, and we'll do it in march 2020. we are still living in an emergency, so there is no shortage of has to do than many of the largely, you know, populated areas shortage, all health care workers. we had, i don't mean to be called in for getting of our long term care doesn't. and so yeah, there are 2 reasons between the need to be handled effectively, timely, by all levels of well, i'm just now, so please watch intervals. i want to show you a couple of videos. this is israel here on my laptop. this is a look alike. protest ok, inspires my offer. so

a convoy in israel that where i'm going to go now to new zealand. protests in new zealand inspired by the freedom convoy at one more just to show you. and this is in finland. this isn't in housey. how thinking, when you look at lowing that it started in ottawa, what do you think? very normal things are no different in so many countries where there have been some of the strictest high shows logged on conditions. people don't want to be dictated what to do, what not to do. there has to, people want to come out and leave their normal life once again, but every time they try to, there is a new gradient of concern. there are international obligation, their international distinctions. so yeah, it's more of frustration, it's more of a pretty, but we really need to know that the w actual world had organization has still not called it off unless they call it off many of the global restrictions. i'm not going to go with that easily whether the or, you know, conway is here in ottawa,

canada, in any part of is really good gentlemen to speech you because there's a lot of conspiracy theories out there. you've helped us understand man, and from the truck has point of view, i'm out, you've been studying like when groups for a long time, so you've helped us understand that. and just then you're out there in the thick of things and you're correcting some of the thoughts and opinions that are coming through from our audience. and i really, really thank you. it's been such an educational and useful 25 minutes. and it went really fast gentlemen. thank you for being on the steering, appreciate all of you. thank you figured each of comments and questions. i will see you next time. take everybody. ah

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[000:00:00;00] ah, ah, americans are increasingly saying authoritarianism might not be so bad. there were several steps along the way where the chain of command, if you like, tried to cover what your take on why they've gotten this so wrong. that to me is political mouth for the bottom line on us politics and policies, and the impact on the world on al jazeera, as pensions intensify along the russian crane border. u. s. presidential white threatened president with severe economic sanctions saying if conflict occurs,

it could be the largest invasions world, war 2 kinds of nomadic talks, a few possibilities, what we live for moscow to win the latest development on al jazeera. ah. ready hello, i'm north tanner, under the top stories are now to sierra. russia's defense ministry says some troops and finished exercises near ukraine's border under returning to their bases. but there been a few details, and the announcement was greeted with skepticism. nato says it's not seen any sign of de escalation on the ground. the russian government continues to deny its planning and invasion. a number of combat readiness events including training have been accomplished in accordance with plans. as soon as combat readings,