Europe News Desk!!! The head of anti-monarchy campaign group Republic has been arrested during a protest in Trafalgar Square ahead of the coronation of King Charles III. The footage shows protesters wearing Not My King T-shirts being detained, including Republic CEO Graham Smith, reports the BBC. The group said that six protesters, including Smith, were arrested by police near the Coronation Procession route. Republic posted photos of them on Twitter while seeking details from the officers. So much for the right to peaceful protest, the group said. The officials would not give reasons for their arrest and confirmed that their CEO was among them. One of the people arrested, Matt Turnbull, said the placards holding the placards had been misunderstood, the BBC reported. To be honest, we were never going to be allowed to be a visible force here – he knew we were coming and he was going to find a way to stop it, he told the BBC.
The BBC later saw Turnbull being taken away in handcuffs. New legislation passed this week made it illegal to prepare to lock things like street furniture. The Metropolitan Police did not confirm the exact number of people detained, but said a number of arrests had been made along the Coronation Parade route. The BBC reported that several people were detained on suspicion of disturbing the peace at Carlton House Terrace near St James’s Park. Four people have been held on suspicion of conspiracy to cause a public nuisance in the area of St Martin’s Lane by Trafalgar Square, with lock-on devices confiscated, while three more people have been charged with causing criminal damage near Wellington Arch Arrested on suspicion of possession of contraband. On Friday, Smith said he had been talking to the Met since January to organize protests and was not concerned that he would be arrested, as the new laws would not apply to his plans. He told BBC Radio Leeds that the republic had virtually no intention of disrupting the proceedings.
We’ll be more visible, we’ll be loftier, we’ll be harder to miss, but the plan of procession and coronation will proceed unhindered by us. Republic said on Saturday morning that hundreds of their placards had been confiscated and asked the question: is this a democracy? Some people ask why we are protesting, the campaign group wrote. This is because we want to use the coronation to change the debate about the monarchy and show that we are not a nation of royalists. An anti-monarchy protest was held near Trafalgar Square in central London, with crowds chanting Not My King and Free Graham Smith. Thousands of people have gathered to watch the Coronation Procession, from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey, ahead of the ceremony. Around 13 Just Stop Oil protesters have been arrested at the mall, with a large group from the climate change campaign group seen in handcuffs.
Just Stop Oil has said that five protesters at Downing Street were also arrested. A spokesman for the group said that their plan was only to display T-shirts and flags, adding: “It’s a nightmare.” Non-profit campaign group Human Rights Watch said the arrests were something you would expect to see in Moscow not London. Its UK director, Yasmeen Ahmed, said in a statement: “The reports of people being arrested for peacefully protesting the coronation are incredibly alarming.
–IANS
World News Desk!!!
KC/ANM