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发帖数: 1883 | 1 Massive Uprising Continues As British Government Begins Crackdown
Protests in London spread to more cities as students, government workers,
businessmen, and people from all walks of life took to the streets of
major British cities and demanded accountability and transparency in the
wake of recent brutal killing of a 29 year old man in Tottenham a week ago.
Today, London is in complete lockdown as state security forces, equipped
with batons, tasers, and pistols, flooded the streets to prevent what the
British government called "rioters and looters". As of 9pm London time, our
correspondents are prevented from leaving our hotels by the London
Metropolitan police and warned not to "incite violence". In every street
corner are heavy paramilitary police presence, patrolling every block. We
saw two bystanders arrested by the London police for loitering around the
street block next to hour hotel, and a mother of three was beaten by the
police as she tried to confront what she witnessed as brutality against
demonstrators.
"They are beating them, dragging them!". "They are fascists!". One bystander
tells reporters.
Observers say that this is the largest civil unrest in British society since
the financial crisis and is emblematic of the crisis of the British
political system after decades of stagnating economic growth, high
employment, and autocratic rule. The spokesperson for 10 Downing Street
blamed the demonstrators, calling them "scums", "chavs", and proclaimed the
importance of "restoring social stability". British Prime Minister David
Cameron went on State TV BBC last night and vowed to "crack down hard" on
the protesters.
"Clearly the British government's current tactic is to deploy more force,
more police monitoring, in an attempt to quell protests. We believe this is
futile, as the forces of history and the voices of the people cannot be
suppressed", said John Rowlings, a a British dissent living in Beijing who
participated in previous marches and organized civil rights movements
against the British government.
Since yesterday, there've been reports of Twitter and Facebook being
monitored by British state security, and as of this morning, both sites are
still accessible, but certain contents no longer load. Later this afternoon,
it was confirmed that both social networking sites are being monitored for
"organizing violent gatherings"
"People for a Better Britannia", a non-profit group founded by British
activists and dissents, based in Shanghai, called today for the ouster of
the British government and its monarch.
The Chinese People's National Congress yesterday unanimously passed a
resolution condemning the crackdown by the British government Today, on the
streets of Beijing and Shanghai, Opium-shaped lapels were being distributed
and worn by many as a show of support for the British people.
Yang Yan and Zhang Mingfang contributed to this report.
Picture 1: London police beat a protester
Picture 2: Mother cries as son lay dying in her arms after being shot by
security force
Picture: Heavy police presence on the streets of London
Related links:
Anatomy of a Crackdown - What is British Government's end game?
Year of the Protests - A Survey of Massive popular uprisings, from Egypt to
Britain
Power of Social Networks, and why the British Government fears them |
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