Protests over George Floyd's death expose raw race relations worldwide
Skip to main content
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Splash
  • Features
  • Videos
  • Long Read
  • Games
  • Epaper
  • More
    • COVID-19
    • Bangladesh
    • Infograph
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Thoughts
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Subscribe
    • Archive
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
    • Supplement
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard
WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2022
WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2022
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Splash
  • Features
  • Videos
  • Long Read
  • Games
  • Epaper
  • More
    • COVID-19
    • Bangladesh
    • Infograph
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Thoughts
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Subscribe
    • Archive
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
    • Supplement
  • বাংলা
Protests over George Floyd's death expose raw race relations worldwide

World+Biz

Reuters
03 June, 2020, 12:05 pm
Last modified: 03 June, 2020, 12:10 pm

Related News

  • BNP to sit with political parties for united movement today
  • US considering $4B additional support for India
  • Bangladesh’s ‘deft’ balancing of US, China and India ties stands out, writes South China Morning Post
  • Quad Summit will review progress of initiatives, says Indian PM ahead of Japan visit
  • Protesters clash with police ahead of Davos meeting

Protests over George Floyd's death expose raw race relations worldwide

With violent clashes between protesters and authorities raging in the United States, anti-police-brutality activists gathered by the thousands in support of the Black Lives Matter movement in various European and African cities

Reuters
03 June, 2020, 12:05 pm
Last modified: 03 June, 2020, 12:10 pm
People wearing protective face masks hold up signs during a protest against the death of George Floyd who died in police custody in Minneapolis, Liverpool, Britain, June 2, 2020/ Reuters
People wearing protective face masks hold up signs during a protest against the death of George Floyd who died in police custody in Minneapolis, Liverpool, Britain, June 2, 2020/ Reuters

Images of a white police officer kneeling on the neck of African-American George Floyd, who then died, have sparked protests from Amsterdam to Nairobi, but they also expose deeper grievances among demonstrators over strained race relations in their own countries.

With violent clashes between protesters and authorities raging in the United States, anti-police-brutality activists gathered by the thousands in support of the Black Lives Matter movement in various European and African cities.

Peaceful protesters highlighted allegations of abuse of black prisoners by their jailers, social and economic inequality, and institutional racism lingering from the colonial pasts of the Netherlands, Britain and France.

"If you want to believe that we in the Netherlands do not have a problem with race, you should go ahead and go home," Jennifer Tosch, founder of Black Heritage Amsterdam Tours, told a crowd in Amsterdam, from where the Dutch West India Company operated ships estimated to have traded 500,000 slaves in the 1600s and 1700s.

Tosch and others drew a comparison between Floyd's death and the treatment of slaves centuries ago. "We have seen this image before as white persecutors and enslavers held down the enslaved and branded them with an iron."

In London, a protester held a placard reading "The UK isn't innocent," while in Berlin around 2,000 people protested outside the US embassy and two Bundesliga soccer players wore "Justice for George Floyd" shirts on Monday.

A similar message came from Dominique Sopo, president of French NGO SOS Racisme, which organised a small protest outside the US embassy in Paris on Monday.

"This issue of police racism is also, albeit with a lower level of violence, an issue that concerns France," he said.

Police in northern Paris fired tear gas on Tuesday to disperse demonstrators protesting over the 2016 death of a young black Frenchman in police custody - an incident that has drawn parallels with Floyd's killing.

Adama Traore's family have blamed excessive force used during his arrest, when the 24-year-old was pinned down by three gendarmes. Successive pathology reports have reached conflicting conclusions over whether his death two hours later resulted from asphyxiation or other factors including pre-existing conditions.

Amid a coronavirus lockdown, French activists also say there have been a number of police brutality cases in low-income neighbourhoods where many originate from Africa.

Clashes In Turkey

In Istanbul, more than 50 people clashed with police officers minutes after beginning a protest over Floyd and what they called police brutality in Turkey.

At least five people were detained after scuffles with officers holding shields, after which other protesters gave speeches denouncing lethal police force and bans on demonstrations in Turkey during the pandemic.

In Nairobi, protesters at the American embassy held signs reading "Black Lives Matter" and "Stop Extrajudicial Killings".

Organiser Nafula Wafula said violence against blacks is international and cited the killing of prisoners in Kenya.

"The system that allows police brutality to happen in Kenya is based on class. In America, it's race and class."

Protests are planned in coming days in Gambia, Britain, Spain and Portugal.

In Spain, protesters will mark the death of Floyd and "all sisters and brothers who have died at the hands of institutional racism on our streets," the African and Afro-descendant Community CNAAE said.

Portugal's gathering will address "the myth that Portugal is not a racist country".

But not all in Europe side with the protesters.

Spain's far-right Vox party and the Netherlands' anti-Islam Freedom Party called those protesting Floyd's death "terrorists" and backed US President Donald Trump.

"Our support for Trump and the Americans who are seeing their Nation attacked by street terrorists backed by progressive millionaires," Vox wrote in a Tweet.

In the Netherlands, the Freedom Party's Geert Wilders tweeted: "White House under attack. This is no protest but anarchy by #AntifaTerrorists."

Even amid such racial division, Linda Nooitmeer, who heads the National Institute for the Study of Dutch Slavery and its Legacy, drew hope from Monday's protest in Amsterdam.

"We don't have the history of the civil rights movement in Holland, so what occurred yesterday was really something new. It is the start of real dialogue."

Top News

George Floyd / protest / US / worldwide

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • Now amnesty in the offing to bring back laundered money
    Now amnesty in the offing to bring back laundered money
  • India greenlights wheat exports to Bangladesh on G2G basis
    India greenlights wheat exports to Bangladesh on G2G basis
  • File photo of Chattogram port. Photo: Minhaj Uddin/TBS
    First direct container ship to China leaves Ctg port

MOST VIEWED

  • European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen delivers a statement before her meeting with the Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi at the headquarters of the European Commission in Brussels, Belgium 7 March 2022 Kenzo Tribouillard/Pool via REUTERS
    EU summit unlikely to find solution on Russia oil embargo, von der Leyen says
  • Photo: Collected
    Tata Steel says India export tax could alter output targets
  • The Ford logo is pictured at the 2019 Frankfurt Motor Show (IAA) in Frankfurt, Germany. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay
    Ford to pay $19.2 million over hybrid, pickup claims
  • The company logo for Oracle Corp. is displayed on a screen on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., September 18, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
    Oracle to win unconditional EU nod for $28.3B Cerner deal -sources
  • Tedros re-elected as WHO director general - German minister
    Tedros re-elected as WHO director general - German minister
  • Saudi Finance Minister, Mohammed al-Jadaan speaks during Saudi 2022 Budget Forum in Riyadh, December 13, 2021. REUTERS/Ahmed Yosri
    Saudi Arabia finalising extension of $3B deposit to Pakistan -finmin

Related News

  • BNP to sit with political parties for united movement today
  • US considering $4B additional support for India
  • Bangladesh’s ‘deft’ balancing of US, China and India ties stands out, writes South China Morning Post
  • Quad Summit will review progress of initiatives, says Indian PM ahead of Japan visit
  • Protesters clash with police ahead of Davos meeting

Features

The balcony railings of the Boro Sardar Bari in Sonargaon. Made of cast iron, these railings feature vertical posts with intricate designs on top. Photo: Noor-A-Alam

The evolution of railing and grille designs

17h | Habitat
A Russian army service member fires a howitzer during drills at the Kuzminsky range in the southern Rostov region, Russia January 26, 2022. REUTERS/Sergey Pivovarov/File Photo

3 months of Ukraine war : Miscalculations, resistance and redirected focus

19h | Analysis
Musk is denying the sexual harassment allegation that surfaced this week. Photo: Bloomberg

Elon Musk’s crazily banal week 

1d | Panorama
Asus Zenbook 14 Flip OLED: A touch of brilliance to your life

Asus Zenbook 14 Flip OLED: A touch of brilliance to your life

1d | Brands

More Videos from TBS

Bangladesh Bank relaxes rules to deal with dollar crisis

Bangladesh Bank relaxes rules to deal with dollar crisis

7h | Videos
Russia claims use of laser weapons, Ukraine denies

Russia claims use of laser weapons, Ukraine denies

8h | Videos
Celebrity Gallery in Rajshahi like Madame Tussauds

Celebrity Gallery in Rajshahi like Madame Tussauds

9h | Videos
Burger-lover student becomes self-dependent, provides employment

Burger-lover student becomes self-dependent, provides employment

9h | Videos

Most Read

1
Tk100 for bike, Tk2,400 for bus to cross Padma Bridge
Bangladesh

Tk100 for bike, Tk2,400 for bus to cross Padma Bridge

2
A packet of US five-dollar bills is inspected at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing in Washington March 26, 2015. REUTERS/Gary Cameron
Banking

Dollar hits Tk100 mark in open market

3
Bangladesh at risk of losing ownership of Banglar Samriddhi
Bangladesh

Bangladesh at risk of losing ownership of Banglar Samriddhi

4
BSEC launches probe against Abul Khayer Hero and allies
Stocks

BSEC launches probe against Abul Khayer Hero and allies

5
The reception is a volumetric box-shaped room that has two glass walls on both the front and back ends and the other two walls are adorned with interior plants, wood and aluminium screens. Photo: Noor-A-Alam
Habitat

The United House: Living and working inside nature

6
Illustration: TBS
Banking

Let taka slide

The Business Standard
Top
  • Home
  • Entertainment
  • Sports
  • About Us
  • Bangladesh
  • International
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
  • Contact Us
  • Economy
  • Sitemap
  • RSS

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - oped.tbs@gmail.com

For advertisement- sales@tbsnews.net

Copyright © 2022 THE BUSINESS STANDARD All rights reserved. Technical Partner: RSI Lab