Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1313317
MATTHEW AGIUS A group of demonstrators yes- terday gathered in Valletta to protest against COVID-19 meas- ures, as well as the COVID-19 vaccine but also mobile teleph- ony masts, amongst other issues. "We are organising a protest as an open debate to discuss hu- man rights, civil liberties and the right of patients in the wake of the management of the COVID crisis. A number of rights have been limited, a number of human rights also," said lawyer Rudolph Ragonesi, one of the organisers. "The Constitution of Malta says that these rights cannot be limit- ed unless for reasons deemed to be reasonable. If policies are to be deemed to be reasonable by a Constitutional court they need to be based on science. Unless based on science then you cannot say it is reasonable," he said. "You'd sound crazy with a leg- islator saying you have a right to fresh air," Ragonesi told the crowd of around 60 gathered at Triton Square as he railed against the imposition of mask use even in isolated, public spaces such as the beach. In a rambling sermon of over an hour and a half, he touched upon a number of conspiracy theories, questioning the science behind the COVID-19 vaccine, wireless internet frequencies and face- mask use. Ragonesi, who recently filed a judicial protest in the name of demonstrators questioning the science behind the mandatory face-mask, asked for the publi- cation of studies on the safety of vaccines. He also claimed that internet data routers and wireless hot- spots were giving off dangerous electromagnetic frequencies, saying the authorities were not giving full information on these issues. "For almost five years our po- sition has been that we have not been protecting the population from electromagnetic radiation," Ragonesi told MaltaToday. "The Council of Europe issued reso- lution 1815 calling upon mem- bers states to impose much more stringent standards to protect citizens from EM radiation. We are calling on government to im- plement this resolution. Because if that does not happen, the in- creased exposure is going to cause a lot of health issues." A deep-rooted suspicion to- wards the information being disseminated by the authorities and the mainstream media was leading to confusion. "We don't know who is right and who is wrong," Ragonesi said, denounc- ing the handling of the crisis. "We have every right to ask doc- tors why." Some of the protestors were booked by the police for not wearing face masks or visors in contravention of anti-COV- ID-19 measures. Some demonstrators hand- ed out flyers about how the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation, Microsoft and the Rockefeller Foundation wanted to "integrate a biometric ID system along with a record of vaccination will em- ploy Quantum Dot Tattoo tech- nology, that utilises Luciferase to emit a signal in the infrared range, thereby connecting the subject of such medical tattoo to the Blockchain via the cloud"… and linking it to the Book of Rev- elation. Some of the organisers were keen to dismiss the label of "an- ti-vaxxers", explaining that their opposition to any vaccine was that it was "not properly test- ed" before being rolled out. One protestor, carrying a home-made placard denouncing the World Health Organisation as corrup- tors of government, swab tests as 'fake' and the mass media as 'fake news' had his placard snatched out of his hands by some of the organisers. The protestors' arguments were "based on science" they said, pointing repeatedly to the "50,000 doctors and medical sci- entists around the world" who signed the Great Barringdon Declaration – widely considered a cognogen, a belief based on the false premise that governments intend to lock-down society, cherry-picking facts to support it. Those protestors spoken to by MaltaToday were unmoved by the suggestion that there were far more doctors and scientists who had discredited this declaration. The issue is essentially always one: the right to enjoyment of personal property, Ragonesi told the crowd of supporters, going on to say that electromagnetic pollution from mobile service providers was causing people to be denied the right to enjoyment of their personal property. "A message to the general pub- lic: we are making no allegations. We are asking questions and have a right to their answers. How can it make sense that you have 50 people in a restaurant without masks but if I'm on a beach alone I'd have to wear a mask? "We are not here to be incon- siderate to the vulnerable. It's an insult to us to say we aren't con- siderate to the vulnerable. But let me tell you that the World Eco- nomic Forum is trying to make children feel guilty that if they aren't following the regulations, they are responsible for their grandparents' welfare. They put them on a guilt trip." 4 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 29 NOVEMBER 2020 NEWS COVID-sceptics mount anti-facemask protest