BY POPPY JOHNSTON for AAP
Four people have been arrested as protests in Melbourne’s CBD turned scrappy.
Tensions began to flare mid Saturday morning between police and masked protesters in black believed to be rallying in opposition to a nearby demonstration for “women’s sex-based rights”.
Some members of the media were also caught in the fracas outside the state’s parliament house and surrounds as cameras and other equipment were targeted by masked activists.
Victorian Police said pepper spray was used and four arrests were made, including a man in his early 20s who hit an officer with an umbrella.
Two protesters were charged with allegedly possessing flares and a fourth for failing to move on.
Three officers were injured, Victoria Police said, though none needed to be taken to hospital.
A group of about 80 gathered to counter-protest a scheduled Women Will Speak demonstration against Victoria’s anti-vilification laws.
Roughly 50 attended the Women Will Speak rally, cordoned off and guarded by police, where “restore women’s sex-based rights” was among the slogans adorning banners.
The two groups were separated with water-filled barriers and a heavy police presence, a decision made by police after “disruptive behaviour” in April when similar protests took place.
Riot unit and mounted police were among the officers deployed on Saturday.
At one point during the rally, photographer Luis Ascui tried to intervene to stop a colleague’s camera equipment from being damaged by a protester.
“They have a right to protest, but they don’t have the right to attack us when we’re doing a job,” he told AAP.
A neo-Nazi group was also reportedly planning on crashing the rally, but it was unclear if any individuals turned up.
I see it was transgender rights – missed reading the photo caption.
Both groups should tolerate rather than resort to violence.
Who were the ‘other’ activists that gatecrashed the women’s rally?
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