Saudi FM calls Indian, Pakistani counterparts to discuss developments    Al Hilal thrash Gwangju to reach AFC Champions League Elite semi-finals    Saudi Arabia cracks down on fraudulent Hajj campaigns, urges pilgrims to use official channels    Nammos Amala Resort to open soon with Saudi-Greek designs    Saudi Arabia completes 674 Vision 2030 initiatives, achieves 93% of KPIs as ninth-year milestone marked    Literature Commission inaugurates Saudi Pavilion at Muscat Book Fair    Saudi Minister of Culture holds talks with his Costa Rican counterpart in Jeddah    Alkhorayef praises advancements in Al-Kharj food industries sector    MHRSD: 80% of recruitment offices are non-compliant with regulations    At least 50 Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes across Gaza    Teenage girl killed in French school stabbing attack    Trump claims meeting with China after Beijing denies any trade negotiations    GACA chief chairs 16th meeting of the Steering Committee on aviation's strategy    Saudi Theater Commission launches its Work and Learn Project in UK    The season has begun — and one comment shook us all    Jennifer Lopez dazzles in Jeddah with a Formula 1 performance    Saudi Arabia open to expanded 64-team World Cup in 2034, says sports minister    Average life expectancy in Saudi Arabia rises to78.8 years    Film Commission launches 'Cinema' initiative to enhance content    Famed Philippine film star Nora Aunor dies at 71    Pakistani star's Bollywood return excites fans and riles far right    Veteran Bollywood actor Manoj Kumar dies at 87    Bollywood actress vindicated over boyfriend's death after media hounding    Grand Mufti rules against posting prayers and preaching in mosques on social media    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Thousands of anti-racism protesters turn out to counter far-right rallies in UK
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 08 - 08 - 2024

Thousands of anti-racism protesters have taken to the streets across the United Kingdom to counter a spate of far-right rallies planned to target immigration centers, seeming to thwart what looked set to be another day of rioting.
After days of violence spurred by disinformation around a deadly stabbing attack, police had braced for another night of unrest on Wednesday. Far-right groups on social media had called for protests to target visa processing centers and immigration lawyers' offices at more than 100 sites around the country at 8 p.m. local time (3 p.m. ET).
But by the early evening, thousands of counter-protesters had gathered at more than a dozen cities to guard the immigration centers and prevent them being targeted by the far right.
"There are many, many more of us than you," crowds chanted at the anti-racism demonstrations across the country, bolstered by a markedly stronger police presence than over the weekend, and with virtually no sign of any far-right supporters.
Whether Wednesday's counter-protests represent a turning point is not yet clear, but fears of another night of unrest have abated for now. The fizzling out of the planned protests will come as a major relief for the new Labour government, and for communities that had prepared for the worst.
It may also be a sign that many have been deterred from taking to the streets, after previous far-right protests turned violent and hundreds of rioters were arrested over the weekend, with some already receiving prison sentences.
Businesses in Walthamstow had boarded up earlier Wednesday, in preparation for planned far-right protests.
In Walthamstow, east London, the immigration center was entirely boarded up, protected by a heavy police presence and surrounded by around three or four thousand counter-protesters.
"We today have got such brilliant numbers in our community," an organizer shouted through a megaphone to a hastily organized crowd. "We have shown them whose streets these really are. These are our streets."
Ahmed Hussain, 31, said he had come out to support the counter-protesters because "when you don't, the fascists feel emboldened."
"In London you would never see them rioting on the scale that they have outside London," Hussain told CNN. "They're nowhere to be seen... it shows that when everyone comes out to support, their numbers dwindle."
The worst of the past week's violence was concentrated in the north of England. In Rotherham on Sunday, far-right rioters set fire to a hotel used to house asylum seekers as more than 200 people cowered inside. Large crowds of people shouting "enough is enough" and "get 'em out" were also seen clashing with police in several other cities.
In Sheffield, a city a few miles south of Rotherham, residents told CNN they had felt terrified by the outbreak of violence, which they said they felt had emboldened racist behavior.
"I normally walk through this city center all the time," said Nadeem Akhtar, 18, who has lived in Sheffield his whole life. "But now, recently, even my mum's been saying to me, don't be going out so much, because you never know what could happen."
Akhtar had gathered with friends midday Wednesday in the city center to demonstrate against a planned far-right protest. Unlike last week, where protests across the country were allowed to boil over into racist violence, the Sheffield demonstration was overseen by a huge police presence separating the protesters and counter-protesters.
At least three right-wing demonstrators were arrested during altercations between the two groups. As one man was escorted away by police, he called out: "I ain't done nothing. Double standards."
Anti-immigration protesters have often accused police of double standards in responding to their demonstrations, claiming that they are not treated fairly and giving Keir Starmer, the prime minister, the nickname "two-tier Keir."
CNN heard this nickname repeatedly in Sheffield and Rotherham. It has even been echoed by Elon Musk in a post on X, the website he owns. Musk claimed that "civil war is inevitable" in response to a post blaming the violent demonstrations on the effects of "mass migration and open borders."
At the counter-protest in Sheffield later Wednesday evening, one of the speakers criticized Musk's comments. "The richest man in the world is stirring the pot for a race war," he said. — CNN


Clic here to read the story from its source.