209 arrested for Hong Kong street protests

Hong Kong, Dec 12 (EFE) A total of 209 people were detained during the dismantling of the Hong Kong pro-democracy protest campaign, including politicians and student leaders, many of whom were released Friday.

The police operation to end the civil disobedience campaign in the central business district of Admiralty lasted for 12 hours and was carried out peacefully.

The arrests were made following the protesters' refusal to leave the site. However, the detainees did not resist arrest, eyewitnesses said.

The police also took personal data of some 900 other people who remained at the site, ignoring several police warnings.

Once the officers took the arrested demonstrators away, hundreds of police began clearing the area with the help of municipal cleaners who loaded 10 trucks with all that the protesters had left behind.

Roads became functional again after 75 days of blockades following a judicial order for their reopening.

An encampment in the Causeway Bay district will also be dismantled in the next few days, the police added.

Social media postings urged a second wave of protests when, after being evicted, several activists called on the demonstrators to continue their protests on the streets.

Large banners and placards reading "We'll be back" and "It's just the beginning" could be seen before the end of the so-called Umbrella Revolution.

Protesters first took to the streets in September to demand changes in the voting system for Hong Kong's municipal elections scheduled for 2017.

--IANS/EFE

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