Fight Racism! Fight Imperialism! supporters in Glasgow joined a protest of around 200 anti-racists in George Square called by No Evictions campaign on Wednesday 17 June in support of asylum seekers in the city who are demanding an end to their ‘lockdown’ detention in hotels under appalling conditions and at the behest of the Home Office and the contractor Mears. Their £35 per week asylum support has been stopped and the facilities prohibit social distancing and proper hygiene. One of those asylum seekers, a 30-year-old Syrian man, was found dead in the hotel he was moved into on Tuesday 5 May. See videos on our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/glasgow.frfi/posts/2616226841950838
Fascists and Loyalists mobilised in George Square prior to the start time and immediately attacked the demonstrators as they marched into the square together, throwing bottles and attacking individuals and small groups. The police took their time to respond, but eventually poured into the square, some in riot gear and on horses. The protest held its ground, chanting ‘no borders, no nations, stop deportations’ and a spokesperson for the asylum seekers talked about the conditions they have faced in the hotels since lockdown. There have been 6 arrests including 2 of the protestors in support of asylum seekers. The protest ended by marching out of the square along the road, surrounded by police and continuing to chant. This is the second demonstration in Glasgow to be disrupted by loyalists in less than a week. It is important to see that activists are prepared to take a stand despite the rising right-wing threat in Glasgow.
