'Night of Peace' brings relief to UK government
2024-08-09
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Our correspondent in the UK Ji Shuangcheng Our correspondent in the UK Wang Cong
"It was a successful night." The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) reported on the 8th local time, with the words of Mark Rowley, Commissioner of the London Metropolitan Police, saying that the protests on the night of the 7th were generally "peaceful" and no serious incidents occurred. Rowley also said that although 10 people were arrested, the public's concerns about far-right riots "have been alleviated." "Most of those arrested have criminal records and were arrested because they committed violent acts," Rowley added.
British Police Minister Diana Johnson said in an interview with the BBC on the 8th that she was "cautiously optimistic" about the calm last night. Johnson said that the police had intelligence on protests and marches in the coming days, and "mobilizing police forces across the country has produced good results." Rowley also said that the police were prepared for a new round of protests this weekend, and "anyone who participates in or commits violent riots will be arrested."
London Mayor Sadiq Khan posted on social media on the 8th, thanking the "brave police force working day and night" and "those who used peaceful protests to show that London is united against racism and Islamophobia." Sadiq Khan said: "I want to say to those far-right thugs who still intend to spread hatred and divisive ideas that you will never be welcome here."
"United." The Guardian reported with this title that the headlines of many British media on the 8th were all about the "confrontation" between the far right and thousands of anti-racism protesters. The Daily Mail believed that the night of the 7th was "a night of confrontation between anti-hate marchers and thugs", and said that "several far-right rallies were blocked by protesters" and that protesters faced "terrifying far-right thugs". The Guardian published a report titled "Thousands of people took to the streets to resist far-right threats". One of the photos showed that the crowd in Walthamstow, east London, waved placards with the words "Welcome refugees" and "Stop the far right". Some people also formed human shields to protect the refugee asylum center. The Independent published photos of three men who were jailed for participating in the previous Southport riots, and marked their sentences in bold under the title "The full force of the law", adding that they were "the first of many people to be jailed for violent incidents".
The violent riots that have lasted for a week in the UK have also attracted the attention of other countries. "British streets get a break from far-right riots." Agence France-Presse reported in this title that the British government and police could finally "breathe a sigh of relief" on the 8th because the far-right riots that were expected did not occur the night before. Thousands of anti-racism protesters gathered in cities such as London, Birmingham, Bristol, and Liverpool for rallies, and their demonstrations were "almost completely peaceful."
According to CNN on the 8th, during anti-racism demonstrations across the UK, crowds continued to chant the slogan "We are much, much more numerous than you are," and there were almost no signs of any far-right supporters. CNN said it was unclear whether the anti-far-right protests on the 7th represented a turning point, but concerns about another night of riots in the UK have subsided, and the riots that did not occur have given the Labour government and urban communities that had prepared for the worst a sigh of relief.
The New York Times said that due to concerns about possible violence on the evening of the 7th, many shops in Liverpool, England, closed early, and the staff also nailed wooden boards to seal the doors and windows. "Fortunately, the summer night that made everyone worried that it might escalate into large-scale violent clashes finally made people feel relieved, and the concerns about violence did not become a reality." The report said that most of the riots in the past week were triggered by false information on social media and calls for action issued by far-right groups on communication applications such as Telegram. In response, Telegram said on the 7th that the company is deleting channels and posts containing violent speech because such content is prohibited under its terms of service.
The latest survey released by polling agency YouGov on the 7th showed that after a week of riots, nearly half of British people regard far-right elements as a "huge threat" to national security and social development. This proportion has increased by 15 percentage points in 6 months.#Deep Good Articles Project#
