Category Archives: Protest

Fighting tyranny with milk tea: the young rebels joining forces in Asia

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Activists in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Thailand have formed a novel international alliance to defy authoritarian rule

The language, the demands and the backdrop were different, but the protests across central Bangkok last week would have looked familiar to anyone who followed the mass demonstrations that roiled Hong Kong for a year from June 2019.

Crowds of young protesters, dressed in black and wearing hard hats, poured through the streets to locations announced at the last minute on social media. As the police closed in and the protesters prepared for confrontation, hand gestures and human chains ensured supplies including protective masks and water reached the front lines.

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Teargas deployed at anti-lockdown protest in Naples on day of new curfew – video report

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Angry over a newly imposed 11pm to 5am regional curfew, demonstrators in the southern Italian city of Naples threw stones and bottles at police on Friday evening. The authorities responded with teargas. The stricter measures are an attempt to curb the spread of coronavirus, which has killed more than 37,000 people in Italy since the start of the pandemic

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Thousands join Poland protests against strict abortion laws

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Protests follow ruling that law allowing abortion of malformed foetuses is incompatible with constitution

Thousands of people marched in cities across Poland on Saturday in the third straight day of protests against a near-total ban on abortion, with some promising further action in the coming days.

The protesters were reacting to Thursday’s ruling by Poland’s highest court that an existing law allowing the abortion of malformed foetuses was incompatible with the constitution.

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Poland braces for more protests over abortion ban ruling

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Demonstrations planned amid anger over court decision banning almost all abortions

Protests are planned for various Polish cities this weekend amid public anger over a ruling banning almost all abortion in the country.

Poland already has some of the most draconian abortion laws in Europe, and on Thursday a constitutional tribunal ruled that one of the few exceptions to the ban – cases of severe foetal impairment – should also be made illegal. These cases, which hardline Catholic anti-abortion activists have called “eugenic abortion”, made up almost all of the small number of abortions performed legally in Poland.

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‘They just acted like animals’: anger after protesters shot by security forces in Nigeria

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Demonstrators were braced for a confrontation but hail of bullets still left them – and the world – reeling

In the minutes before the shooting began, hundreds of mostly young protesters at a toll gate in Lagos, were sitting on the hot ground on a Tuesday evening, waving Nigerian flags, singing the national anthem and defying the government.

Protesters had braced themselves, prepared for when security forces would surely arrive, said 21-year-old Shola Abdul, a kitchen assistant, to enforce a 24-hour curfew across the state that effectively banned mass protests against police brutality.

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Nigeria: security forces in Lagos open fire on protesters fighting against police brutality – video

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Nigerian security forces have opened fire on hundreds of protesters in Lagos, as rallies against police brutality continued in defiance of a 24-hour curfew. Footage shared on social media shows shots being fired in the Lekki district of Africa's largest city. Demonstrators continued their protest against the notorious Sars police unit, now dissolved but long-accused of extra-judicial killings, torture and extortion. The government has adopted measures including judicial panels to investigate abuses and compensation for victims, and officials have called for protesters to suspend the demonstrations to give the government time to make good on its pledges

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Nigeria protests: security forces open fire on protesters in Lagos

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Crackdown as rallies against police brutality continue in defiance of government curfew

Nigerian security forces have opened fire on hundreds of protesters in Lagos, as rallies against police brutality continued in defiance of a 24-hour curfew imposed by the government earlier in the day.

Graphic scenes posted on social media showed protesters fleeing as security forces, including soldiers, shot live rounds towards the crowds.

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Churches burned amid tense anniversary protests in Chile – video

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There were tense scenes in the streets of Santiago as demonstrators clashed with police on the first anniversary of mass protests over inequality that left more than 30 dead and thousands injured. The rallies were largely peaceful early on, but were later marred by the incidents of violence and confrontations with police. Protesters threw fireballs and rocks in the direction of police, with officers responding with teargas and water cannon. Two churches were set alight including San Francisco de Borja, used regularly by the Carabineros police force for institutional ceremonies. Demonstrators are also calling for Chileans to vote in favour of a new constitution in a referendum next weekend

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Thousands of Thais defy crackdown on protests in Bangkok

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Police use of water cannon fires up more demonstrators on streets of capital and other cities

Tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets of Bangkok and other Thai cities on Saturday, defying a crackdown against a pro-democracy movement that has challenged both the king and the prime minister.

Youth-led rallies have spread across Thailand over recent months, with protesters making public demands for reform of the country’s monarchy, which is protected by a harsh lese-majesty law and which, until recently, was considered untouchable. They have also called for changes to the constitution, and the resignation of the prime minister, Prayuth Chan-ocha, who first came to power during the 2014 coup.

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Pressure grows on Zimbabwe to free detained student leader

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International groups join calls for the release of Takudzwa Ngadziore, held for protesting against Mnangagwa’s regime

A campaign focusing on the detention of 22-year-old Takudzwa Ngadziore, who has been held for 30 days in a remand prison, is gaining momentum in Zimbabwe, putting pressure on President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government to release the student.

Ngadziore, president of the Zimbabwe National Students Union (Zinasu), was arrested and jailed last month for protesting outside a car hire company, Impala Car Rental. The company has been under pressure from campaigners to release details of the alleged use of one of their vehicles in the suspected abduction of another student activist, Tawanda Muchehiwa.

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Thai pro-democracy protesters confront royal visit to Bangkok

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People call for reforms to monarchy and resignation of prime minister during king’s visit

Thai pro-democracy protesters chanted “my taxes” and raised a symbolic three-finger salute at a passing royal motorcade in a historic show of defiance against the country’s monarchy.

Thousands of people took to the streets of Bangkok on Wednesday to call for democratic reforms, including curbs on the power and wealth of the monarchy. Royalist supporters mounted counterprotests, saying they had assembled to welcome King Maha Vajiralongkorn, who is attending a ceremony in Bangkok to mark the end of Buddhist Lent.

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On the ground with Penguin, the Thai protest leader risking jail – video

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The Guardian follows Parit Chiwarak, known as Penguin, one of Thailand's prominent protest leaders as he helps organise one of the biggest anti-government rallies in years. He and many other young people are risking prison to demand a significant democratic overhaul: they want the power and wealth of the monarchy curbed. Parit said he already faced 18 charges, including sedition, for his involvement in previous demonstrations. More rallies are expected in Bangkok on Wednesday 

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#EndSars: why Nigerians are protesting against police brutality – video explainer

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After days of fierce protests against police brutality, Nigeria's government announced the dissolution of the infamous "Special Anti-Robbery Squad", commonly called Sars, a police unit plagued with allegations of extrajudicial killings, theft and abuse. 

The Guardian's west Africa correspondent, Emmanuel Akinwotu, explains what sparked the #EndSars demonstrations across the country, how the movement trended internationally on social media, and why demonstrators do not trust promises of reform

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‘We’ve had so many wins’: why the green movement can overcome climate crisis

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Leaded petrol, acid rain, CFCs … the last 50 years of environmental action have shown how civil society can force governments and business to change

Leaflets printed on “rather grotty” blue paper. That is how Janet Alty will always remember one of the most successful environment campaigns of modern times: the movement to ban lead in petrol.

There were the leaflets she wrote to warn parents at school gates of the dangers, leaflets to persuade voters and politicians, leaflets to drown out the industry voices saying – falsely – there was nothing to worry about.

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Threat of home demolitions sparks protests among Egypt’s poorest

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Amnesty International says two killed in unrest over law demanding residents pay fines to legalise homes

Rights groups say two Egyptians have been killed and hundreds more detained in a recent wave of protests as anger mounts against a law some of those hit hardest by the economic fallout from coronavirus say now threatens their homes.

The protests, mostly in impoverished remote areas, were spurred on by a growth in anti-government sentiment, in particular over a law demanding residents pay fines to legalise homes built on agricultural land. Many say they cannot afford the fine, despite government threats to demolish the homes of those who can’t pay.

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Charges against Tsitsi Dangarembga must be dropped, argue writers

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The Zimbabwean novelist, shortlisted for this year’s Booker prize for This Mournable Body, is accused of intending to incite public violence in Harare

Authors including Kazuo Ishiguro, Carol Ann Duffy and Philippe Sands have called for charges against the Booker prize-shortlisted writer Tsitsi Dangarembga to be dropped ahead of her latest appearance in a Zimbabwe court this week, saying that any other conclusion would be “an outrage”.

The Zimbabwean novelist was arrested during anti-corruption protests in Harare and charged last month with intention to incite public violence. She was freed on bail and required to appear before the court on 18 September. The hearing has been delayed twice, after prosecutors failed to appear on both occasions, with a new date set for 7 October.

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Kyrgyzstan protesters storm parliamentary building over election result

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At least 120 injured in clashes between demonstrators and police in Bishkek over claims parliamentary poll was rigged

People protesting against the results of a parliamentary election in Kyrgyzstan have broken into a parliamentary complex and security headquarters in the capital, with papers seen scattered across the pavement outside and reports parts of the building were on fire.

The break-in took place on Tuesday after opposition supporters took to the streets and called for the pro-Russian president, Sooronbay Jeenbekov, to resign after at least 10 political parties called for a re-run of Sunday’s election amid widespread claims of vote-buying.

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US police used British anti-riot gear at Black Lives Matter protests

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Revelation contradicts official assurance that no UK-made equipment was used to repress peaceful demonstrations

US law enforcement officers used British anti-riot gear to strike protesters during their controversial policing of Black Lives Matter demonstrations, despite assurances from the Conservative government that no UK-made equipment was used to repress peaceful protest.

Officers deployed at demonstrations in Washington DC hit protesters and in one case a journalist using shields made by the British-based firm DMS Plastics. Video and photographs suggest, and a lawsuit alleges, that officers charged at protesters, rather than acting in self-defence. US forces deny the allegations.

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Chilean police throw boy, 16, off bridge during protests

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Apparent serious assault is latest in series of alleged human rights abuses by Carabineros

Less than a month before Chile votes on whether to replace its Pinochet-era constitution, police have brutally repressed demonstrators in the capital, Santiago.

On Friday evening officers of the Carabineros police force used plumes of teargas and high-pressure water jets to disperse protesters congregating in Plaza Italia, where pockets of violence flared amid a heavy police presence.

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