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General => Politics => Topic started by: PippaJane on August 01, 2020, 05:59:54 PM
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https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8583555/Dozens-protesters-aiming-lock-Brixton-march-London-streets.html
Dozens of protesters aiming to 'lockdown' Brixton march down London streets to join Afrikan Emancipation Day demonstration that police slapped with curfews
A coalition of demonstrators marched through Brixton to 'make themselves heard' by the UK government
Groups attending included Stop The Maangamizi and the Afrikan Emancipation Day reparations committee
Groups urge Government to form Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry for Truth & Reparatory Justice
Extinction Rebellion activists were also in attendance and said the event was to promote the necessity of stopping the genocide and ecocide of African people and their environments
By Katie Feehan For Mailonline
Published: 16:36, 1 August 2020 | Updated: 17:27, 1 August 2020
Dozens of demonstrators brought Brixton to a halt as they marched through London to mark Afrikan Emancipation Day. The coalition of action groups led by Stop The Maangamizi: We Charge Genocide/Ecocide and the Afrikan Emancipation Day reparations march committee took the drastic action to 'make themselves heard' in a bid for reparations from the UK government. Other groups involved included the Forever Family Force and the Rhodes Must Fall Oxford campaigners. A number of demonstrators temporarily blocked Brixton Road at the junction with Acre Lane, forcing cars and buses to stop and turn around. Protesters, including some from Extinction Rebellion, occupied the middle of the junction until they were told to get back on to the curb by police officers. Three people holding signs saying 'mask up' and wearing visors handed out face masks and hand sanitizer to those attending. Protesters then began marching down Brixton Road towards Max Roach Park, blocking the road and stopping traffic. The event marks the passing of the 1833 Abolition of Slavery Act, which came into force on 1 August 1834. Campaigners argue that the millions of pounds in compensation paid to former slaveholders as a result of the Act, without similar recompense for freed slaveholders, cemented and increased racial injustices that are still felt today. Antoinette Harrison, who lives in nearby Clapham, attended the event to march with her cousin and her cousin's children. On why she joined the event, the 38-year-old said: 'We are tired. And I was just saying, our parents have gone through, we're going through this, and I don't want our next generation too. It's got to come to an end.'
She added: 'What's lovely about it is there's such unity. It's not just the one race like it was back in the day, now it's whites, blacks, Hispanics everyone.'
Asked if she had any concerns about coronavirus while attending, Ms. Harrison, who has been protesting since earlier in the summer, said: 'This is pandemic racism and not having justice.'
The protesters aimed to lock down Brixton because 'WE/they are not being HEARD' in their demand for the UK Government to establish the All-Party Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry for Truth & Reparatory Justice. The event aimed to promote the necessity of stopping the genocide and ecocide of African people and their environments, Extinction Rebellion activists said. A curfew and other restrictions had been imposed on the planned demonstrations to stop people blocking main roads or planning illegal music events, Scotland Yard has said. The Metropolitan Police on Friday said that blocking the road will cause 'serious disruption' to Brixton and the surrounding area because it is used by hundreds of bus routes and thousands of motorists. It said that it is imposing a number of conditions on the demonstrations within areas such as Windrush Square, Max Roach Park, and outside Brixton Police Station. They must not spill into nearby roads and they must finish by 8 pm. The force said that the time limit was set so that officers could separate those attending the demonstrations from people attending other gatherings or unlicensed music events. Deputy Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor, speaking ahead of the event today, said: 'The decision to impose conditions on an assembly is never taken lightly and is made following a rigorous assessment of the information available to us. We have no intention of infringing upon a responsibly-organized community event. We only require that this is done in a way that makes use of Brixton's open spaces and leaves the main road through Brixton open to other Londoners. In recent weeks we have policed a number of UMEs (unlicensed music events) in which loud music is played at night, disrupting local residents and posing a real threat both to property and the officers who attend to disperse them. We received information that there are those intending to come to Brixton on Saturday to purposely cause disruption, and to confront police officers. This is in stark contrast to the feel of the events that will take place earlier in the day and is in opposition to the wishes of the local community.'
The Yard added that gatherings of more than 30 people will be in breach of the Health Protection (Coronavirus) Restrictions and its decision to impose conditions did not mean the assembly in breach of these regulations was authorized by the police.
Afrikan Emancipation Day Reparations March
The annual Afrikan Emancipation Day Reparations March is part of a campaign calling for the UK to make amends for the enslavement endured by generations of African people. The march this afternoon marks its seventh year as a means of drawing attention to their cause. The event marks the passing of the 1833 Abolition of Slavery Act, which came into force on 1 August 1834. Campaigners argue that the millions of pounds in compensation paid to former slaveholders as a result of the Act, without similar recompense for freed slaveholders, cemented and increased racial injustices that are still felt today.