The night of September 19th featured some of the ugliest scenes I've ever seen in Glasgow, as far-right British nationalists, fuelled by alcohol and triumphalism over the No victory in the independence referendum, took to George Square, for the past week a hub of Yes activity, and proceeded to perform Nazi salutes and verbally and physically attack anyone they perceived as being a Yes supporter, gay or "foreign".
One of the most powerful images to emerge from that night was that of two teenage girls bravely holding a saltire while surrounded by a baying mob of Britain First/EDL types. There's some particularly upsetting footage doing the rounds on Facebook of one of the girls being knocked to the ground by an overweight skinhead, who proceeds to rip the flag out of her hands, dragging her along the concrete in the process.
The girls' reward for staging that stand-off was to be carted off by the police to spend a night in the cells. They're now facing charges for "obstructing the police".
The actions of these girls were perhaps foolhardy, but I fail to see how they can possibly justify such a response. A petition has been set up demanding a public apology for the way they've been treated and calling on the Procurator Fiscal to drop all charges against them. Whatever your stance on the issue of Scottish independence, I think most would agree that the way they've been treated by the authorities is totally out of order, and I would urge people to sign:
https://www.change.org/p/police-scotland-public-apology-to-sarah-and-sophie
Signed
ReplyDeleteCheers!
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