The radial international union, Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) in Ireland have today rejected claims issued by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) in which they stated they could ‘not rescind BLM protest fines’ after deliberately targeting members of the Black, Asian and Ethnic Minority community and other activists during a Black Lives Matters rally on June 6th last year.
Following the brutal murder of George Floyd by white cops in North America solidarity rallies took place in Belfast and Derry.
“For ourselves and those of our members involved on the day, it was clear that the entire operation was an attempt to silence the voices of the Black, Asian and Ethnic Minority (BAME) community in both Belfast and Derry. Those who helped organise the events, just as those who took part in them were deliberately targeted by the cops, harassed and issued fines.
“The PSNI know little of freedom of speech or of human rights as can be clearly seen by their track record on such issues. Their response to the Black Lives Matter solidarity actions was not only an attempt to silence a community but to ensure that BAME communities remained under the radar, isolated and disorganised.
“The message that came out from the Black Lives Matters rallies on June 6th in Derry and Belfast was that 'we have had enough - we will never remain silent in the face of injustice, whether that is here on the streets of Belfast or on the streets of North America'.
“As a union, the Industrial Workers of the World continues to demand an end to attacks on the BAME communities by the state and its protection units. We demand an immediate end to their detention centres or internment camps and their racist deportation policies which have created them. Likewise, we also continue to demand an immediate end to all changes and fines brought against Black Lives Matter activists in Derry and Belfast.”
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