Praveen Menon

WELLINGTON, (Reuters) – New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda ardern stated Monday that she believes demonstrations against a COVID-19 mandate are an “imported phenomenon” and unlike anything else she has seen in her country.

Hunderts of protesters continue to take up residence on the grounds of the distinctive Beehive Parliament for seven days, disregarding repeated police orders to evacuate and unflawed rain over the weekend.

Protesters also blockaded several streets surrounding parliament, drawing inspiration from Canadian truckers who protested against the vaccine mandate.

Ardern stated that it felt like an “imported protest” to him in an interview with state broadcaster TVNZ.

“I’ve been able to see Trump flags at the forecourt. I have seen Canadian flags at the forecourt,” she stated, in reference to the images of Donald Trump that were carried by demonstrators and the current Canadian situation.

Ardern claimed that the protesters did not want to engage in dialogue.

Ardern stated that “if you see signs calling to execute politicians, that doesn’t really mean that they want to engage in political dialog.”

While the initial protest was against mandatory vaccines, many groups now call for COVID-19 to end. These restrictions are a rejection of vaccinations. At their peak thousands were involved in the demonstrations.

Ardern stated that many people brought their children along to protests.

To provide safety and reassurance, police stated that officers would continue to be visible within the Parliament grounds.

New Zealand is a country with five million inhabitants. It has the lowest COVID-19 number in the world due to its coronavirus-related border restrictions and social restraints.

However, Daily Omicron variants cases are on the rise, and they reached nearly 1,000 by Monday as domestic restrictions were lifted.

The borders of the country are however still sealed off with thousands of New Zealanders who have moved to New Zealand.

A group of expatriate New Zealanders filed a complaint against the government on Monday. They accused it of unlawfully denying citizens entry to the country.