It’s simple to neglect in our present authorities racist local weather in the direction of asylum seekers that Britain has an extended historical past of giving sanctuary to political activists from world wide who’ve been compelled to depart their nations and there are a variety of statures, memorials and plaques across the metropolis that remind us of this.
After all our historic document is blemished; though we supported these striving for freedom from the rule of different European nations, makes an attempt in our personal Empire to realize independence had been met with typically unlawful, ruthless and horrific violence in addition to deliberate famines ravenous lots of the basic inhabitants – as in India, Eire, Kenya and elsewhere.
Regardless of more and more draconian legal guidelines enacted lately Britain stays a comparatively free nation. Protests are coming below growing restrictions, however we are able to nonetheless protest though it’s now somewhat extra probably we could find yourself in jail for doing so in any energetic approach – and protesters have even been jailed not too long ago for contempt of courtroom for trying to defend their actions.
Through the years I’ve lined many protests by communities from different nations residing within the UK, typically involving individuals who got here right here as asylum seekers. Most are protesting in solidarity with protesters and victims of their house nations and a few as a result of these at house are unable to protest.
The three occasions I lined on Saturday twentieth April 2013 had been going down for various causes however all concerned folks whose origins are in different nations and had been protesting about occasions in these nations, present or historic.
Armenians Keep in mind the Genocide
Armenians march by means of London yearly in reminiscence of the Armenian Genocide by Turkey. Starting in 2015, Turkey arrested round a thousand members of the Armenian neighborhood and murdered them, adopted by the killing of round 300,000 Armenian conscripts within the Turkish Arm after which “mass killings, deportations and demise marches of girls, youngsters and aged males into the Syrian Desert. Throughout these marches, lots of the weak or exhausted had been killed or died. Ladies had been raped. The deportees had been disadvantaged of meals and water. Hunger and dehydration grew to become commonplace.”
Many of the deaths got here in 1915, however massacres and deportations continued on a smaller scale till 1923, with round 1 – 1.5 million folks – roughly 70% of the Armenian inhabitants in Turkey – being killed.
Armenia has an historical cultural heritage, with the primary Armenian state relationship again to 860BC, and at instances its territory has included massive elements of its surrounding nations. It was invaded by many different nations and within the sixteenth century was divided between the Turkish Ottoman Empire and Persia (Iran.) Russia took over the Iranian space following a battle with Persian within the early nineteenth century.
The Armenian Genocide occurred in the course of the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. After the Turkish revolution of 1908 there had been a bloodbath of round 20-30,000 Armenians at Adana in 2009. Nevertheless it was in the course of the First World Struggle when Russia and the Ottoman Empire had been preventing one another that the genocide occurred, most likely as a response to Armenian volunteers preventing on the Russian aspect.
Turkey nonetheless denies that the genocide occurred, regardless of the incontrovertible proof, and say that the deaths had been the results of a civil battle though the Armenians had no weapons and no army organisation.
Though the UN Fee on Human Rights has described it as genocide and lots of nations world wide have formally recognised it as such, together with the US, France, and Germany and the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Eire parliaments, the UK authorities has as a substitute give you trivial excuses for refusing to do, together with the truth that the time period genocide was solely outlined in 1948. When the UN did so then, Raphael Lemkin who had coined the time period genocide, described it as “The form of factor Hitler did to the Jews and the Turks did to the Armenians.”
My London Diary describes the march by means of London to the Cenotaph, the place there have been speeches and wreaths had been laid. I left the march because it moved off to a service in St Margaret’s Church in Parliament Sq..
Armenians Keep in mind the Genocide.
Copts Say Finish Egyptian Persecution – Previous Palace Yard, Westminster
Across the nook from the church I joined UK Copts who had been protesting Towards the brand new Muslim Brotherhood led fascist regime in Egypt, which is attacking freedom, muzzling the press, undermining the authorized system and inspiring assaults on spiritual minorities.
The protest adopted an assault on April eighth on folks leaving a mass funeral in St Mark’s Cathedral, Cairo, for five Copts who had been killed in violent clashes within the northern suburbs of the town. Because the a whole lot of worshippers tried to depart they had been attacked with stones and Molotov cocktails thrown from close by buildings and needed to retreat again into the cathedral.
Clashes continued exterior the cathedral, Egyptian safety forces fired pictures into the constructing and police fired tear fuel. One Copt was killed and 84 folks together with 11 police had been injured.
After the assault President Morsi spoke with Pope Tawadros II and issued a press release that he had given orders that the police guard the cathedral and that the state would shield the lives of each Christians and Muslims. However this was simply one among many assaults on Copts in Egypt and so they really feel the authorities are encouraging violence in opposition to them.
The Copts see this as a part of a rising Islamicisation which can be undermining Egypt’s judicial system, and as a deliberate assault on all opposition, together with the liberal and left political opposition in addition to all minority spiritual teams. The stress their protest was not in opposition to Muslims however to influence the British authorities to cease supporting the present fascist regime in Egypt and to place strain on the Egyptian authorities to uphold human and civil rights.
Copts Say Finish Egyptian Persecution
Stand Off at Venezuela Embassy – South Kensington
Following the demise of President Hugo Chávez on 5 March 2013, elections had been held in Venezuela on 14 April 2013 which resulted in a detailed victory with a majoirty of round 223,600 votes for Nicolás Maduro, the successor chosen by Chávez to face for the United Socialist Social gathering.
Opposition candidate Henrique Capriles refused to simply accept the consequence, demanding audits – which confirmed he had misplaced. Venezuela has a extremely subtle and automatic voting system that left no room for cheap doubt that he had misplaced.
Center-class Venezuelans who oppose Maduro and are available alongside to protest on the embassy, and a wider group of individuals, primarily South People however not all from Venezuela, had come to defend it.
As I commented:
Maduro’s help comes largely from the employees in Venezuela, for whom the Chavez ‘revolution’ has seen actual positive factors, together with a lot improved healthcare. A lot of those that had been there to help him immediately had come to Britain as refugees – largely on account of US-backed army coups of their nations. Their help for Chavez, and after him Maduro is hardly shocking.
Extra in regards to the protest on My London Diary: Stand Off at Venezuelan Embassy
Tags: Armenia, Armenian Genocide, Armenians, Capriles, Cenotaph, Chavez, Chávez, Christians, Copts, Egypt, Egyptian safety forces, election, fascist regime, freedom of faith, genocide, human rights, Islamicisation, London, loser, Maduro, march, Center-class Venezuelans, Muslim Brotherhood, Muslims, Nicolás Maduro, peasants, peter Marshall, police, President Morsi, Presidential election, protest, recount, spiritual minorities, tear fuel, Turkey, Venezuela, staff, wreaths
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