For the second day in a row, anti-war demonstrators have blocked city streets in central Melbourne, causing traffic congestion and demanding an end to a weapons convention.
With another week of protests planned, police are braced for potential flashpoints.
In anticipation of the largest protests in the history of the city, police have already built a giant steel fence around the Melbourne Exhibition and Convention Centre.
In order to keep an eye on the area, 1800 policemen have been diverted from their regular duties to conduct round-the-clock patrols.
Tanks were led into the expo in the dark. The Australian government should cease subsidising the war machine, according to protestors.
Protester Brad Homewood declared, “There is no place for weapons in our town and people are calling for peace around the world.”
Residents are cautioned that there may be more disturbances in store, since there have already been arrests during the last 24 hours.
As demonstrators descended, Montague Street off-ramp towards South Wharf was crawling by 2:00 pm yesterday. Specialised police were sent in to free an activist who was locked onto a car.
Following a two-hour disturbance, she was taken into custody along with a lady in her twenties. But other drivers were enraged by their passion.
“I think the demonstrators ought to get employment. “I’m sure they can find work, I just finished work,” a driver remarked.
The organisers anticipate 25,000 protestors at the Convention Centre on Wednesday, so these kinds of demonstrations will intensify over the next few days.
The largest protest Melbourne has witnessed in 24 years, according to the police, may occur.
With almost a thousand cops stationed to monitor the area, the force is determined to close them down.
Additionally, police will have the authority to move on by using their unique powers in the centre to search people for weapons, move on civilians, and order demonstrators to remove their masks.
