Events: Worldwide Honors George Floyd

Text by: RFI Follow

The United States expects massive rallies against racial inequality and police brutality on Saturday June 6. A new ceremony will also take place in memory of George Floyd. His death during his arrest sparked a historic protest movement that spread worldwide.

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"  My skin should not be synonymous with capital punishment!"  ","  The lives of aborigines count  "or"  Tolerating racism is racism  "... In Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and many other Australian cities, tens of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets to protest against the racial inequalities . Parades in honor of George Floyd also exposed the injustices suffered by the Aborigines of Australia . In the past 30 years, more than 400 of them have died in detention and today a third of Australian prisoners are members of the indigenous community, while they represent only 3% of the national population.

"  I'm not going to be silenced. I therefore fight against police violence, deaths in detention and torture suffered by members of the Aboriginal community. The fact that we have yet to demonstrate is proof that racism still exists. We are afraid, we feel ashamed, which should not be the case,  ”said ABC Sheney Donovan, a young Aboriginal woman who demonstrated in Sydney.

Listen: Washington from here - [Original podcast] Death of George Floyd: America is ablaze

In Tokyo, protesters marched not only in support of the "Black Lives Matter" movement, but also to denounce the treatment of a Kurd claiming that he was brutalized and tackled by the police during his arrest . Several dozen South Koreans and foreign residents gathered in Seoul. Some wore black masks on which was written in Korean "I cannot breathe", thus taking up the last words spoken several times by George Floyd while he was pressed on the ground .

The people of the whole world mobilized

In France also calls to demonstrate against police violence were launched for this Saturday in front of the United States Embassy very close to the Élysée Palace and on the Esplanade du Champ de Mars, near the Eiffel Tower, in Paris. The prefecture of police has prohibited these gatherings because of the health crisis linked to the new coronavirus, but also because of the incidents which occurred Tuesday, June 2 in the north of the capital during a demonstration in memory of Adama Traoré, a young 24-year-old black man died in 2016 in controversial conditions during a police operation that his relatives compare to the death of George Floyd.

► To read: Assa Traoré: "As long as there is no justice, we will not stop"

In the United Kingdom, a rally is planned in front of the Parliament in London, then in front of the American embassy on Sunday, the government asked the British to refrain from demonstrating. "  Please, for the safety of your loved ones, do not participate in large rallies, including protests, of more than six people,  " said Health Minister Matt Hancock on Friday. Other events must also take place in Spain, Germany or the Netherlands.

Signs in support of George Floyd are multiplying in Tahrir Square in Baghdad, Iraq, reports our correspondent Lucile Wassermann . For some of these protesters, the American demonstrations echo those of Iraq: they too have risen in recent months to demand their rights. They also saw peaceful demonstrations turn into riot in certain neighborhoods and at certain times of the revolt. Above all, they too have suffered a crackdown on the particularly lethal police forces in Iraq. These young demonstrators therefore feel in solidarity with those Americans.

In Latin America, the faces of victims emerge in the demonstrations.

In Mexico for example Giovani Lopez is presented as the national George Floyd. The young man was arrested because he was not wearing a coronavirus mask. Detained overnight, his family found his body swollen and injured by a bullet in the knee. Despite death threats, his relatives call on Mexican citizens to rise up and take action against the fear of the security forces.

In Colombia, his name is Anderson Arboleda. The young man was also arrested on the street outside his house because he did not respect the rules of confinement. He then received several batons on the head which led to his death. For his family, the death of this black boy is a new act of racism.

And in Brazil it was a 5 year old boy who fell from the ninth floor of a building; His mother worked there as a servant. She had entrusted her son to her employer. Today she accuses the latter of neglect. Friday, June 5, hundreds of Brazilians gathered in the city court of Recife, chanting: "  the life of blacks counts  ".

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• United States
• Racism
• Australia
• France

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