By Arul Louis United Nations, Jan 27 : In reaction to the Republic Day farmer protest developments in Delhi, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for non-violence and for respecting peaceful protests. "As we say (in) many of these cases, I think it's important to respect peaceful protests, freedom of assembly and non-violence," his Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said on Tuesday in reply to a question about the Delhi violence during the protests. Scores of people were injured when the tractor protest by farmers protesting the new farm laws turned violent, clashing with police. The rioters stormed the Red Fort and damaged property at several places in the national capital. Police reacted with teargas and lathi charges, (Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in and followed on Twitter at @arulouis) /IANS