A head of government kneeling to denounce racism and police violence, the picture is not trivial. This is the gesture made by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday during a demonstration gathering thousands of demonstrators in Ottawa.
A black mask on his face, Justin Trudeau knocked the knee down several times, the last for 8 minutes 46 seconds. Or the time that the torture of the African-American George Floyd lasted, died under the knee of a white policeman in the United States despite his pleas.
Justin Trudeau, one knee on the ground, pays tribute to George Floyd pic.twitter.com/vj1JPP4Dw0
- BFMTV (@BFMTV) June 5, 2020The Prime Minister joined the rally in front of the Parliament in tribute to this black father, whose death sparked a worldwide movement of revolt and protests. He was accompanied by the Minister responsible for the Family, Ahmed Hussen. White shirt, black pants, Justin Trudeau was holding in his hands a black t-shirt struck with the white inscription "Black Lives Matter" given to him by demonstrators.
"Discrimination must stop"
He did not address the crowd, but he nodded his head several times in approval, also applauding the speeches made on the microphone chanting "Black Lives Matter" and calling for "change now".
"In recent weeks, we have seen that a large number of Canadians have suddenly realized that discrimination is a reality experienced by too many of our fellow citizens and something that must stop," said earlier in Justin Trudeau Day.
“There is too much racism all over the world, in France, in the United States, in Canada. It is important to oppose it if we want it to change, ”commented Stéphane Kribodo, one of the demonstrators.
20 seconds of silence
Several thousand people also demonstrated in Toronto and other cities across Canada against racism and police violence. Toronto black police chief Mark Saunders also knelt on the ground as he met protesters in the downtown area. "We see you and we hear you," he said. Premier of Ontario Doug Ford hailed the Chief of Police for his “incredible leadership”.
Earlier this week, Justin Trudeau was speechless for more than 20 seconds, when pressured by a reporter to comment on Donald Trump's attitude toward anti-racism protests. Canadians are following the situation in the United States with "horror", he finally reaffirmed.
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