Thousands of protesters in London beat the pavement to denounce the police violence, Saturday June 6, 2020. – DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS / AFP
Global mobilization. From London to Sydney, thousands of people braved the pandemic this Saturday. coronavirus to end racism and police brutality, unprecedented worldwide outrage sparked by the death of the American black
George Floyd, asphyxiated by a white police officer in late May in Minneapolis.
In London, ignoring official instructions to distance themselves to counter the spread of the new coronavirus, their faces covered with a protective mask for some, hundreds of demonstrators gathered in front of the Parliament, holding up banners with the slogan ” Black Lives Matter “
‘This is the scene, right now, in central London.
‘Despite the rain, thousands are standing in solidarity with the family of George Floyd’⁰⁰#BlackLivesMatter protests are taking place throughout the UK today
More here: https://t.co/d2OpCxkMTo pic.twitter.com/oaTU6BZDuZ
– ITV News Politics (@ITVNewsPolitics) June 6, 2020
“The United Kingdom is not innocent,” said the protesters, clapping. As in the British capital, many in Manchester (north-west) also marched to recall that “being black is not a crime” and “ending racism”, another “pandemic”.
Racism, “a scourge that suffocates us”
Australia was the first on Saturday to open the ball of global outrage. Thousands of people demonstrated across the country, brandishing “I can’t breathe” banners, referring to the complaint made by George Floyd, whose neck was obstructed for nearly nine minutes by the knee of the police officer who l ‘had arrested for a minor offense.
A sea of closets over Brisbane’s Victoria Bridge @abcnews @abcbrisbane pic.twitter.com/PR6TgmPPkl
– Jessica van Vonderen (@jessvanvonderen) June 6, 2020
Protesters took the opportunity to denounce the very high imprisonment rate among the Aborigines, and the deaths of members of this community while they were detained by the police (more than 400 in the last thirty years). “The fact that they tried to stop us from scrolling makes people want to do it even more,” said Jumikah Donovan, among the crowd in Sydney.
In Tunis, around 200 people demanded “justice” and to be able to “breathe” in the face of racism, which “stifles”. “This scourge also exists in Tunisia Said an official with the Tunisian Minority Support Association, while migrants from sub-Saharan Africa often claim to be victims of verbal and physical assault in the country. In Liège, in the east of
Belgium, 700 people braved the ban and participated in a march against the
racism, according to the police.
“Amplifying the international solidarity movement”
Also in France, objects of recurrent controversy in recent years, accusations of police violence coupled with those of racismRebounded in the wake of global outrage over the death of George Floyd. In Paris, two demonstrations planned this Saturday against police violence, to “amplify the international movement of solidarity against the impunity of the police”, were prohibited because of the health crisis.
Despite the ban on assembly, many protesters against the #PoliciesViolence and the #racism found themselves on the place de la #Concorde at #Paris. An important device #police was put in place to block access to the Embassy of #United States. pic.twitter.com/6RaAwUua7Q
– Hakima Bounemoura (@KikiBounemoura) June 6, 2020
A few hundred people were, however, gathered in the early afternoon near the American embassy. Calls for rallies have also been launched in other cities in France, and more are scheduled for Sunday including London and Madrid.
Epicenter of anger, fueled by new examples of police brutality, The United States also expects massive rallies this Saturday. Tens of thousands of people are expected in Washington under a blazing sun.
Major rallies are also on the horizon in many American cities, including New York, Miami, or Minneapolis, where George Floyd died and where the riots began. After a first moving ceremony in Minneapolis on Thursday, a second tribute will be paid to him in Raeford, in his native state of North Carolina.
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