British Government Adopts More Repressive Measures in Aftermath of Rebellion

Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of the Pan-African News Wire, at Central United Methodist Church in downtown Detroit on February 17, 2007. Azikiwe was chairing a meeting to demand the withdrawal of funds for the occupation of Iraq. (Photo: Patricia Lay Dorsey)., a photo by Pan-African News Wire File Photos on Flickr.

British Government Adopts More Repressive Measures in Aftermath of Rebellion

Thousands of cops deployed to put down unrest sparked by police killing of Mark Duggan

By Abayomi Azikiwe
Editor, Pan-African News Wire

A four day rebellion swept through various regions of England between August 6-9 in response to police brutality and the worsening economic crisis facing the country. After the spark was lit in Tottenham, North London, by the third night of the disturbances, Black and working class youth had rose up in Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Bristol, Nottingham and other cities.

The rebellion proved to be an extreme embarrassment to the Conservative-Liberal Democratic coalition government in London which has imposed austerity measures on youth and the working class through increased lay-offs, cutbacks in social spending and the raising of educational costs.

Creating even more embarrassment for the political elite, many of the leading ministers in the government, including Prime Minister David Cameron, were on holiday when the cities erupted. They were forced to return to London after images of the “shopping for free” and the burning of businesses and police cars were shown across the world.

Although police actions that resulted in the death of 29-year-old African-Caribbean youth Mark Duggan sparked the demonstrations and unrest, law-enforcement agencies were completely overwhelmed by the sheer mass anger generated by years of pent-up frustrations stemming from an unjust racist and class society. The ongoing outbreaks across England not only forced Cameron to return to London but he was also compelled to convene an emergency session of the British Parliament on August 11.

Rather than acknowledge the deep social and racial cleavages that have historically plagued British society, the prime minister denounced the people involved in the rebellions, who were heavily Black and working class. Cameron said that there was no underlying economic and class issues involved in the unrest and that the actions of the people in the streets, who were also from other more affluent sectors of the population, deserved condemnation and criminal prosecution.

Cameron’s words were backed up by police measures placing 16,000 cops on the streets in London as well as thousands more in other cities. Mass arrests took place even after calm was restored by August 11.

By August 15, some 2,800 people had been detained in connection with the rebellion. Police used photographs and news reports to identify people to target in coordinated home invasions and arrests. Courts were kept in operation through the night in several cities so that people could be charged and imprisoned for various alleged crimes.

A report published in allheadlinenews.com stated that “About 1,300 people have been charged and more than 1,000 have appeared in court.” In further repressive measures that go beyond individual retribution, the Work and Pension Secretary Iain Duncan Smith has warned that “people convicted of involvement in the riots would lose their benefits even if they do not get a custodial sentence.” (August 15)

The Mayor of London Boris Johnson has requested that the government permit the courts to send youth aged 11-15 to pupil referral centers. At the same time the city of Manchester was reported to have prevented those suspected of being involved in the unrest from entering 400 stores in the downtown area.

People who have family members charged with participating in the rebellion are already being evicted from social housing. Cameron has pledged to wage what he calls an all-out war on “gangs” and is looking to the United States for consultation on how to profile and restrict targeted youth from exercising their rights to assembly and travel.

Racist and Class Biased Response to Rebellion

In Prime Minister Cameron’s address to the British parliament he dismissed any link between the outbreaks of demonstrations and rebellion with the social conditions prevailing inside the country. According to Cameron, “It is criminality pure and simple. And there is absolutely no excuse for it.” (Cameron speech before emergency session of parliament)

Cameron went on to say that “This is not about poverty, it’s about culture. A culture that glorifies violence, shows disrespect to authority, and says everything about rights but nothing about responsibilities.”

In this same speech the British leader also stressed that “we will not let any phony concerns about human rights get in the way of the publication of these pictures and the arrest of these individuals. It is for the courts to sentence, but I would expect anyone convicted of violent disorder will be sent to prison. We need to fight back and a fight back is underway.”

In efforts to clampdown on the demonstrations and unrest throughout the country, the British government is looking for assistance from the United States. Cameron has requested the consultation of the so-called “supercop” Bill Bratton known for his association with massive law-enforcement sweeps in New York and Los Angeles.

Cameron has said publicly that the police models used in Los Angeles during the 1990s and in Boston since then would be examined for application in Britain. These statements have increased existing tensions between the conservative-liberal democratic government and the police over the handling of the rebellion.

The Metropolitan Police in Britain have been under tremendous pressure with the emergence of the so-called “phone hacking scandal” where members of law-enforcement were accused of selling information to the tabloid press owned by Rupert Murdock. The police commissioner and his deputy were forced to resign several weeks ago amid revelations of corruption.

When Cameron addressed the unrest in London he criticized the police for not utilizing proper tactics to curb and suppress the disturbances. Several police officials took exception to his remarks.

In a commentary published on CNN.com, former British senior officer Brian Paddick pointed out that “Already bruised by politician’s criticism of the initial police response to the riots, Bratton’s invitation add insult to injury at Scotland Yard.” (CNN.com, August 15)

Paddick went on to say that “Bratton’s style of policing would probably not have stood up against the European Convention on Human Rights, which may be one of the reasons why some on the right wing of UK politics want to abandon the law. “ This emphasis on heavy-handed police tactics and blaming the victims of state policy and the economic crisis for the social ills of capitalist society has created an atmosphere of further racist impunity within British public opinion.

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) coverage of the rebellions has fostered increased hostility toward Black, Asian and working class communities in the wake of the unrest. Speaking over the BBC, London-based historian David Starkey used racist and class-biased slurs to denigrate the social character of millions of people living in England.

Starkey made these racist comments while appearing on the BBC’s News Night program during the week of the civil unrest. He indicated that he had been reading the-then British politician Enoch Powell’s 1968 “Rivers of Blood” anti-immigration speech where he predicted civil war in England if more people from the Caribbean were allowed to enter the country.

During the program Starkey said “What happened is that substantial sections of the Chavs (classist derogatory term for working class people without social skills and perceived to be without ambition) that you wrote about have become black. The whites have become black.” (NewsDay.co.zw, August 15)

On another BBC program, longtime African-Caribbean activist and writer Darcus Howe was insulted by network presenter Fiona Armstrong. During an interview on August 9 Armstrong said to Howe: “You are not a stranger to riots yourself I understand, are you? You have taken part in them yourself.” (The Telegraph, August 10)

Howe responded saying that “I have never taken part in a single riot. I’ve been part of demonstrations that ended up in a conflict. You sound idiotic—have some respect.”

The BBC was later forced to apologize as a result of the public outcry in response to the incident. A spokesperson for the government-controlled news service said “We’d like to apologize for any offense that this interview has caused.”

International Solidarity With the People of Britain

In response to the rebellion forces throughout the international community have commented on these outbreaks and some have expressed solidarity. In Tehran on August 14 hundreds of Iranian students protested outside the British embassy against what they called the “savage aggression” used by the police against the rebellion.

The Iranian students chanted “Death to England,” “Where Are Your Human Rights,” and “Protesters, We Will Support You.” The students had requested--but did not get--a meeting with the British ambassador to Iran to voice their concerns directly to the government in London.

In Libya, leader Muammar Gaddafi, who is fighting to defend the North African government against U.S., British and French fighter jets, drones and warships, called upon David Cameron to resign. Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe condemned the hypocrisy of the British government and urged London to “put out its fires first and to leave us alone.”

The Bail Out the People Movement (BOPM) issued a national call for demonstrations in defense of the people being arrested, prosecuted and imprisoned in connection with the rebellion. On August 15 a picket line was set up outside the British Consulate in New York.

A statement issued by BOPM points out that “Prime Minister David Cameron, whose government of bailouts for the rich and cutbacks for the poor has done so much to create an environment ripe for rebellion, called parliament into emergency session. Cameron and other establishment politicians are whipping up a lynch-mob atmosphere against rebel youths, urging people to turn in those they recognize from security camera footage of broadcast over the major media.”

This statement concludes rightly that “In conditions of deepening poverty, joblessness and racist repression, it is inevitable that people will rise up. What happened in London could happen tomorrow in New York, Los Angeles or any other U.S. city.”