WATCH: Denied Entrance And Citing Sette Giugno, Protesters Set Up BBQ In Valletta Over Restaurant Entry Rules
As Maltese restaurants begin asking diners for proof of their vaccination to grant entry to their establishment, a group of demonstrators have set up an impromptu BBQ at the entrance of Valletta in protest over the new rules.
Saying they were inspired by similar protests in France, protestors carried thermoses and food with them as they sat around Valletta’s entrance, with some even ordering food for delivery in the jovial atmosphere.
Having originally wanted to set up their BBQ outside restaurants in protest over the fact that they are following the new law, they instead opted for the entrance of the capital city.
Police were seen on scene speaking to some of the organisers, before leaving.
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As of today, diners need to show evidence of being vaccinated if they want to enter restaurants, gyms and bars.
Organisers told Lovin Malta – under condition of anonymity as they were afraid of reprisal – the event was spread purely by word of mouth among the unvaccinated or those that didn’t take the booster, the reason being that they didn’t want other groups “hijacking” their protest.
One protestor said he was concerned with Maltese health authorities concealing information about the side effects of the vaccine, noting that a friend of his had fallen over and hurt his nose, seemingly without any explanation.
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Protestors believe that restaurants should not open up under these new rules, with some saying the Malta Hotel and Restaurants Association should have instructed all establishments to close until this rule is scrapped.
One organiser said he would be boycotting restaurants from now on.
“You deny me entry, why should I come back to you? Then see what happens to the economy.”
He went on to citee a number of protests in Maltese history – from Sette Giugno to the Imnarja protests to the 2019 anti-government protests – saying that “things only happen in this country when the people stand up”.
The group was made up of a mix of Maltese and foreign people. One man, who said his mother lived in Soviet Russia, said that his mother had told him she’d never seen anything this extreme.
Earlier today, a leading restauranteur opened up about the position his business had been put in, with him and his 60 full time employees facing pressure to close shop by diners who cannot enter it.
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