Anti-Racism Protests Across the UK Draw Thousands Amid Far-Right Riot Concerns
London, The Gulf Observer: Thousands of people participated in anti-racism protests across the United Kingdom on Saturday, in response to a wave of recent riots in several cities, which have been attributed to far-right agitators.
The violent disorder, which erupted nearly two weeks ago, was reportedly fueled by misinformation on social media, claiming that the suspect in a knife attack that killed three young girls in northwest England was a Muslim asylum seeker.
Saturday’s Protests
Large crowds gathered in major cities including London, Glasgow, Belfast, Manchester, and other towns across the UK for the second time in a week. Despite concerns, anticipated violent confrontations with anti-immigration protesters did not materialize.
In London, hundreds of anti-racism demonstrators assembled outside the office of Brexit architect Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party before marching to Parliament. Farage and other far-right figures have been criticized for inciting the riots through anti-immigrant rhetoric.
In Newcastle, in the northeast of England, shop owners boarded up their businesses in anticipation of potential far-right protests. However, a small group of anti-immigration protesters that gathered in the city’s Bigg Market was met by a much larger anti-racism demonstration. Both rallies were eventually dispersed by police under a dispersal order, leading to fourteen arrests.
Protests in Scotland and Northern Ireland
In Scotland, hundreds of protesters rallied outside the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh and in Glasgow’s George Square. Meanwhile, in Belfast, Northern Ireland, as many as 15,000 people took part in the United Against Racism rally, carrying placards with pro-migrant messages.
In a disturbing incident early Saturday morning, a petrol bomb was thrown at a mosque in a town east of Belfast, but it failed to ignite. Police are treating the incident as racially motivated.
The protests reflect widespread concern over the rise of far-right sentiments and the need to counteract racism and xenophobia across the United Kingdom.
