Anti-racism protests continue across the world

News Network

June 8, 2020

Hundreds of thousands of people across the world are joining the anti-racism demonstrations days after the killing of George Floyd in United Sates.

The protests are being held in cities including London, Manchester, Cardiff, Leicester and Sheffield.

Demonstrators attached ropes to the statue of Edward Colston before pulling it down to cheers and roars of approval from the crowd. Images on social media show the statue was eventually rolled into the city's harbour.

It was not the only statue targeted on Sunday. In Brussels, protesters clambered onto the statue of former King Leopold II and chanted "reparations".

The word "shame" was also graffitied on the monument, reference perhaps to the fact that Leopold is said to have reigned over the mass death of 10 million Congolese.

In London, thousands of people congregated around the US embassy for the second day running.

While protests were mainly peaceful, there were some scuffles near the office of Prime Minister Boris Johnson and outside the Parliament gates.

In Hong Kong, about 20 people staged a rally in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement on Sunday outside the US consulate in the semi-autonomous Chinese city.

"It's a global issue," Quinland Anderson, a 28-year-old British citizen living in Hong Kong, told The Associated Press news agency.

"We have to remind ourselves despite all we see going on in the US and in the other parts of the world, Black lives do indeed matter."

Several dozen demonstrators took part in a Black Lives Matter protest held in Tel Aviv's central Rabin Square.

A rally in Rome's sprawling People's Square was noisy but peaceful, with the majority of protesters wearing masks to protect against coronavirus. Participants listened to speeches and held up handmade placards saying "Black Lives Matter" and "It's a White Problem".

In Spain, several thousand people gathered on the streets of Barcelona and at the US embassy in Madrid.

Many in Madrid carried homemade signs reading "Black Lives Matter", "Human rights for all" and "Silence is pro-racist".

"We are not only doing this for our brother George Floyd," said Thimbo Samb, a spokesman for the group that organised the events in Spain mainly through social media. "Here in Europe, in Spain, where we live, we work, we sleep and pay taxes, we also suffer racism."

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‘Land of the Free’ or ‘Land of Fear’?: U.S. turns campus crackdown into deportation machine

Agencies

April 6,2025

In a country that brands itself the “Land of the Free,” pro-Palestine students are being treated like enemies of the state. The United States—once hailed as a beacon for academic freedom—is now using deportation threats, visa revocations, and AI surveillance to silence dissenting voices on its university campuses. What started as peaceful protest against the genocide in Gaza has turned into a full-scale purge of international students who dare to speak out. As global outrage grows, America's hypocrisy on free speech has never been more glaring—or dangerous.

Point-by-Point Summary:

• Momodou Taal Forced Out:
British-Gambian activist and former Cornell PhD student Momodou Taal has left the U.S. after facing threats of deportation. His only “crime”: suing the Trump administration for policies targeting pro-Palestine students.

• Bold Words from Exile:
Taal called out the U.S. for suppressing dissent and ignoring its own laws:
“Is imprisoning those who speak against genocide the kind of nation you want?”

• 300+ Visas Revoked:
Trump-era directives have led to mass deportations of foreign students who participated in or supported Gaza solidarity protests.

• Rubio's Harsh Justification:
Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended the move, calling student protesters “lunatics” and stressing the government’s right to “remove you from our country.”

• ACLU Slams Hypocrisy:
ACLU's Ben Wizner warned that the U.S. is now driving away the world’s brightest minds by criminalizing intellectual dissent.

• Targeted Individuals:

• Iranian student Alireza Doroudi arrested without cause.

• Turkish student Rumeysa Ozturk lost her visa for an op-ed criticizing the Israeli regime.

• Indian scholar Ranjani Srinivasan fled after agents showed up unannounced.

• Korean resident Yunseo Chung, a green card holder, is still fighting deportation.

• Professor Rasha Alawieh was deported despite holding a valid visa.

• AI Used for Surveillance:
Reports confirm U.S. authorities are using artificial intelligence to flag students based on social media activity—even likes or shares.

• Selective Freedom:
No pro-Israel lobbyist or supporter has faced deportation, even amid cases of inciting violence and harassment.

• Global Consequences:
Calls to boycott U.S. universities are growing. The crackdown has undermined America’s status as a hub of academic freedom and global talent.

• Final Warning:
The U.S. now risks not only its academic integrity but its moral standing. In defending a genocide abroad, it’s committing a slow-motion purge at home.

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