Erling Marthinsen 
Ordføreren i Calgary Naheed Nenshi mener de som protesterer mot koronatiltakene er hvite nasjonalister. Foto: REUTERS/Jack Cusano /NTB
Naheed Nenshi er ordfører i byen Calgary. Han hevder at protester mot nedstengninger og munnbind skyldes en «dårlig skjult hvit nasjonalistisk overlegenhet».
Nenshi ble i 2010 valgt til ordfører i Calgary, og den første muslimen som fikk en slik rolle i en storby i Canada.
I et TV-intervju med Global News sa Nenshi følgende:
“Those people at those anti-mask protests, let’s not kid ourselves. They’re not people who [are protesting because they] need to eat. They are people who are marching in thinly veiled white nationalist supremacist anti-government protests.”
Nenshi’s kommentarer kom omtrent samtidig som politiet i Calgary arresterte pastoren Artur Pawlowski og hans bror for å ha oppfordret folk til å delta i gudstjeneste.
You thought it would be OK to say nothing and just agree, right?https://t.co/Vx7Ylf3woB
— Sebastian Gorka DrG (@SebGorka) May 10, 2021
En film av Pawlowski, som jaget politiet fra sin kirke, gikk viralt i april. Gestapo er ikke velkommen her, ga Pawlowski uttrykk for den gangen.
“Can you imagine, those psychopaths,” Pawloski said to the camera as the officers walked away. “Passover. The holiest Christian festival in a year, and they’re coming to intimidate Christians during the holiest festival — unbelievable!”
Pawloski chastised them as “Nazis” and declared that “Gestapo is not welcome here” as they straggled out, largely in silence, with the ineffective attempts at talking left to the sole female officer among them.
Også pastor James Coates fra GraceLife Church of Edmonton ble arrestert i februar. Rettssaken mot pastor Coates startet nylig.
The trial for Pastor Coates began last week, with Coates arguing that the provincial lockdown restrictions are a violation of freedom of religion and freedom of assembly.
The Canadian Anti-Hate Network (CAHN), a group funded by the government of Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau to the amount of $268,400 CA ($221,600 U.S./£156,600), has also linked the anti-lockdown protests to far-right extremism.
On Twitter, the group reacted to the detention of Pastor Pawlowski by claiming the arrest would be used to “grift” and raise money, alleging: “These people love being martyrs.”
