British police urged anti-racist protesters to follow a specific route and disperse early to avoid the risk of clashes with far-right activists planning a counter-demonstration on Saturday June 13 in London.
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Commander Bas Javid of the London police said he " understood " their desire to demonstrate but asked them not to go to London, stressing the risks of violence but also of transmission of the coronavirus, which had caused more than 41,000 dead in the country. Although the Black Lives Matter movement canceled the planned demonstration early in the afternoon in the center of the capital, police expect thousands of people to demonstrate.
Last weekend, the demonstrations, sparked by the death of the black American George Floyd, asphyxiated by a white police officer, had been " on the whole peaceful ", the police commander said in a statement but a " minority " of people attacked police and committed vandalism, particularly against the statue of ex-Prime Minister Winston Churchill, near parliament.
The inscription " was a racist " was tagged under the name of the famous conservative leader, accused of having made racist remarks, in particular against the Indians.
The statue of former Prime Minister Winston Churchill, near the Parliament of London, tagged: "Churchill was a racist" ISABEL INFANTES / AFP
While other statues symbolizing the country's colonial past have been targeted in the country, that of a slave trader having been debunked in Bristol, the statues of Nelson Mandela and Gandhi, near the parliament, have been protected Friday and that of Winston Churchill was sheltered in a metal box.
The same Churchill statue but protected for the protests this Saturday. TOLGA AKMEN / AFP
Winston Churchill's grandson and former Conservative Minister Nicholas Soames condemned the “ cowardly ” acts of the perpetrators. " The idea that the far right should stand guard around (the statue of) Churchill is absolutely repugnant, " he told The Telegraph on Saturday .
Interior Minister Priti Patel has asked that the Churchill statue be visible again. " We should free Churchill, a hero of our nation who fought fascism and racism in this country and in Europe, " she told the Daily Mail on Saturday.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Friday that it was " absurd and shameful " that the monument would be the target of attack. The conservative leader, like the Labor mayor of London, asked the population to stay away from the demonstrations.