BEIJING Hong Kong police said Tuesday that they would clear the citys main pro-democracy camp later this week, setting up a possible final showdown with protesters after a court order authorized the sweeps.
The operation, set to begin Thursday, reflects the waning support for demonstrators after more than two months of civil disobedience and clashes over Beijings role in directing elections in the former British colony.
Sympathy for the student-led protests was high at the outset, especially after police used tear gas on activists. But the prolonged occupation and the more-confrontational tactics of the radical fringe, whose members tried to break into government offices, eroded that support.
Authorities will begin clearing the main site, in Hong Kongs Admiralty district, at 9 a.m. Thursday, according to a lawyer representing a bus company that brought the court action.
Although the court order did not cover the entire protest site, police said they would take the opportunity to clear all the occupied areas.
After we assist the bailiffs clearing the areas in the injunction, we will clear the rest of the occupied areas according to the law, the assistant police commissioner, Cheung Tak-keung, said at a news conference, telling protesters to pack their belongings soon and warning that police would arrest anyone obstructing the operation.
Police will not take actions if protesters stick to their original principles of peace and nonviolence, but we have seen violence being used, he said. Protesters should not step up their actions or police will have to use more force.
Numbers at the protests have dwindled sharply in recent weeks, and morale appears to be flagging. Some activists have begun packing their tents and removing artwork from the site in anticipation of the final clear-out.
Hundreds of people thronged the site late Tuesday to capture what could be the last photos of the protest. The movement represents the most serious challenge to Chinas control of Hong Kong since the territorys 1997 handover.
Police shut down a protest site in another Hong Kong district, Mong Kok, late last month after a separate court order, making about 160 arrests in several nights of clashes with demonstrators.
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Hong Kong democracy protesters brace for final camp shutdown