Massive anti-racist rally held in London

News desk
shottobani

Londonঃ A protest of anti-racism campaigners and trade unionists took place on Saturday, 26 October, in Piccadilly. Then, marching down Trafalgar Square, carrying banners saying “Smash the Far Right,” they ended up in Whitehall.

The demonstration was organised by ‘Stand Up to Racism’ against Tommy Robinson and the English Defence League to prevent the far right from taking over the streets. Thousands joined after being urged to “take to the streets” in a “massive anti-fascist demonstration.” The far-right counter-demonstration was heard by speakers, including Jeremy Corbyn and Diane Abbott, as well as trade union general secretaries.

Police officers were drafted in from around the country to avert possible unrest. Britain saw days of rioting in towns and cities across the country at the end of July in the wake of the murder of three young girls at a dance workshop in Southport after misinformation on social media wrongly identified the suspected killer as a Muslim migrant. The unrest, which Prime Minister Keir Starmer described as racist and blamed on far-right thuggery.

The right-wing protesters who marched on Saturday describe themselves as “patriots”, and say Britain is under threat from migrants and Islamification.

Many Bengalis from all over London also joined the anti-racist march. From east London, under the banner of UNITED, a campaign against racism, fascism, and Islamophobia, anti-racist activists Nooruddin Ahmed, Rajonuddin Jalal, Ala Miah Azad, Syed Gulab Ali, Javed Akhtar, Ansar Ahmed Ullah, ex-Cllr Shahid Ali, Smrity Azad, Abdul Mukit, Maya Chowdhury, and Ahmed Fokor Kamal, amongst others, attended the demo and march.