(ANSA-AFP) - BERLIN, 18 NOV - Police on Wednesday fired water cannon to disperse thousands of unmasked protesters who had massed in central Berlin to demonstrate against government measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus. After repeated warnings for the crowd to put on their nose-and-mouth coverings went unheeded, police said they would take action to clear the protest and "detain violators". As water was sprayed on the crowd, protesters chanted "shame, shame", refusing to leave the site. Around 5,000 radical activists massed at the Brandenburg Gate, after the German government banned rallies outside parliament over police warnings the demonstration could turn violent. Protest organisers accused the government of trying to establish a "dictatorship" with shutdown measures that were tightened this month to slow infection rates. Demonstrators carried posters showing German political leaders including Chancellor Angela Merkel in prison garb and emblazoned with the word "guilty". (ANSA-AFP).