The murder of the black American George Floyd, who died by the hands of four local police officers in Minneapolis, Minnesota in America, has led to global protests – including in the Nordic countries as well as in Asia.
In Asia there has been protest in Japan and the Philippines – and a virtual protest in Bangkok to unfold on Sunday 7 June 2020.
On 30 May in Tokyo, Japan, around 200 people peacefully protested against police brutality in the light of the murder of George Floyd and the beating by police of an ethically Kurdish man living in Tokyo, reported the Tokyo Reporter.
Filipino human rights organizations organized a protest of 4 June, where hundreds of people protested at the University of the Philippines Diliman. The protesters took a knee in solidarity with Black Lives Matter and the fight against police brutality.
In Scandinavia
Danish youth- and human rights organizations organized two peaceful protests in Copenhagen (31 May) and Aarhus (3 June). Both protests had several thousands of people attending and protesting, reported the Danish news sites Aarhus Stiftstidende and DR.
The Finnish news site Finland Today reported of a peaceful protest on 3 June with around 3.000 people gathered at Senate Square.
Between 3.500 to 5000 people gathered in Reykjavík, Iceland. Icelandic protesters stated that although police brutality is not an issue in Iceland, racism is. The protesters also held a ‘silent-protest’ for 8 minutes and 46 seconds to stress the period of time George Floyd were suffering of strangulation.
In Stockholm, Sweden thousands of people gathered in solidarity with the movement Black Lives Matter. According to the Swedish daily Expressen, the local police tried to shut down the protest – but were unsuccessful. The Swedish city Umeå had around 50 people demonstrating on 4 June. Thousands of people protested in the Southern Swedish city of Malmö.
Online protest in Bangkok
The rally in Bangkok (dubbed ‘Justice for George Floyd – Peacefully Paying Our Respects’) should have been physical, wrote the organizers in an update on their Facebook – but the current emergency decree due to COVID-19 has made it impossible to obtain a permit to hold a public rally. The organizers don’t want to risk the authorities showing up, in fear of police brutality. Over 1.000 people are planning on participating in the protest.
Instead, the plan is: Sunday 7 June 2020 at 14.15 until 15, there will be a virtual protest on Zoom. The link will be shared on their Facebook-account and the event. The protest will focus on the 8 minutes and 46 seconds of silence.
The organizers ask the attendants to wear all black so the protesters can look unified.
The online rally will run two campaigns (the picture below will describe the intention and how to participate). The organizeers will share the results of the campaigns with the US embassy in Bangkok, other black rights groups and will aim to deliver the results to George Floyd’s family.
