Anti-racism protests mount in US, Europe

WASHINGTON－A new wave of "Black Lives Matter" protests swept across the United States and Europe over the weekend, as councilors in the US city of Minneapolis pledged to dismantle the police department following the death of African American George Floyd in police custody.

Floyd was killed on May 25 when white police officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee on the unarmed man's neck for nearly nine minutes. Chauvin has been charged with second-degree murder and was expected to appear in court on Monday.

Following the killing of Floyd, massive "Black Lives Matter" protests against racism and police brutality took place in the US, as well as in European cities such as Brussels, Copenhagen, London, Madrid and Barcelona.

Over the weekend, tens of thousands of people took to the streets of European cities in support of the "Black Lives Matter" movement.

In Brussels, home to the European Union headquarters, more than 10,000 people demonstrated on Sunday in the city center. Protesters of all ages and ethnic backgrounds came from all over Belgium, chanting "No Justice, No Peace."

In the Danish capital of Copenhagen, more than 15,000 protesters gathered in front of the US embassy, shouting slogans and holding banners as part of the Danish "Black Lives Matter" demonstration.

According to Spanish TV station RTVE, an estimated 3,000 people took part in a demonstration in Madrid on Sunday, which also began outside the US embassy.

A further 3,000 people also marched in Barcelona. There were also demonstrations in cities such as Bilbao, San Sebastian and Vitoria in the Basque Region of northern Spain, as well as in Logrono and Murcia.

A second day

Across the English Channel, tens of thousands of people joined a second day of protests in British cities－including London, Manchester, Cardiff, Leicester, Bristol and Sheffield－despite officials advising against mass gatherings due to the coronavirus.

Thousands of people gathered in London, the majority donning face coverings and many with gloves, BBC reported.

In other demonstrations in London, some protesters held signs that made reference to the coronavirus, including one which read: "There is a virus greater than COVID-19 and it's called racism." Protesters knelt for a minute in silence before chanting "No Justice, No Peace" and "Black Lives Matter", the BBC said.

The protest was initially started in the US late last month, and protesters in the US began turning their outrage over the death of Floyd into demands for police reform and social justice.

Councilors in Minneapolis pledged on Sunday to dismantle and rebuild the police department, pushing the issue onto the national political agenda.

"We committed to dismantling policing as we know it in the city of Minneapolis and to rebuild with our community a new model of public safety that actually keeps our community safe," Council President Lisa Bender said during an interview, after a majority of councilors committed to the effort.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, however, is against getting rid of the department. The vow by the majority of councilors came a day after Frey was booed at and asked to leave a "Defund the Police" rally. He later told media that he supported "massive structural reform to revise this structurally racist system" but not "abolishing the entire police department".

Members of the Congressional Black Caucus, known as the CBC, said they would introduce legislation in the House of Representatives on Monday to make policing more accountable.

The legislation is expected to make it easier to sue police officers over deadly incidents, to ban the sort of choke holds that led to Floyd's death, and to establish a national database to record police misconduct.

"We're in a real moment in our country," Karen Bass, CBC chairwoman, told CNN.

"It is time for police culture in many departments to change," she said, voicing her belief that the legislation will make "a major step forward" in that direction.

Xinhua - Agencies