At a Palestine demonstration in Cardiff cops were out doing what cops do best: being racist, ableist tools of the racist, ableist state.
Cardiff comes out for Palestine
On Monday 3 June, pro-Palestine protesters turned out to demonstrate against Israel’s abhorrent genocide in Gaza:
HAPPENING NOW! WE WILL NOT REST UNTIL PALESTINE IS FREE! 📣
We make this country ungovernable as long as this country is committed to funding the genocide of the Palestinians! 🇵🇸 pic.twitter.com/oJjt2Baeqe
— Black Lives Matter Cardiff&Vale (@BLMCardiff) June 3, 2024
As Wales Online reported, protesters blockaded a Cardiff city centre A road, bringing rush-hour traffic “to a standstill”. Students from the Cardiff University encampment joined members of the community to rally against Israel’s ongoing assault on Gaza.
In particular, they instigated the blockade in response to Israel’s massacre of displaced Palestinians in Rafah.
As the Canary previously reported, on 26 May, Israel rained down fire and death on displaced Gazans in a refugee camp. Naturally, the repentless murderous state did so just days after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Israeli war criminals, including prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Co-chair of Stop the War Cymru Lujane Abdalla told Wales Online that was precisely why protesters were there. She reminded the outlet that Israel has CONTINUED bombing Rafah with impunity:
The reason there was an emergency protest today and there was an emergency protest last week is because Israel has now started bombing Rafah, the only designated safe-zone in Gaza, and it’s the only safe-zone that Israel has asked the Palestinians to move to – they told them they will be safe and there will be no bombing there and no killing there.
What they did after the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu (Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime minister) was attack the refugee camps in Rafah and they were bombing makeshift tents, with innocent women and children in these tents.
What we have to say is that nine months on, this isn’t OK. It doesn’t matter if you’re Palestinian or Arab, wherever you come from, we should all be appalled at what is going on. This is why we’re coming out, to tell people that they should also be coming out, demanding the UK stops arming Israel and demanding that the UK calls for a ceasefire, just like so many other countries have.
Violent policing of peaceful protest
Of course, where pro-Palestine protesters appear, racist cops are never far behind. People on X reported how the police arrested between 15 to 17 peaceful protesters blockading the road:
Free them all
South Wales police were brutal in their treatment towards protestors tonight. Pushing and throwing protestors of the stairs.
They’ve arrested 15 peaceful protestors https://t.co/OSnE6G9MKd
— ح (@hm808shb) June 4, 2024
police in cardiff tonight arrested 17 protestors of palestinian genocide, including 7 students, in what was an entirely peaceful protest , and they arrested them brutally . this country’s institutions have blood on their hands and i want that to be KNOWN . acab . https://t.co/RsWjEC2jl1
— rowxn♣️🌑🖤 (@RowxnBuriedIt) June 4, 2024
In classic cop fashion, the police targeted a disabled protester. Reports vary, but between eight to ten police violently arrested the protester as he was moving off the road:
CALL TO ACTION! OUTSIDE CARDIFF BAY POLICE STATION NOW! 🚨🚨
DISABLED CARDIFF PALESTINE ACTIVIST ARRESTED BY 8 POLICE OFFICERS!
Protestors were retreating from the road when suddenly the police grabbed the activist from behind! They then proceeded to push all the protestors 📣 pic.twitter.com/pZKp1ZCvS0
— Black Lives Matter Cardiff&Vale (@BLMCardiff) June 3, 2024
one of those arrested last night was a disabled man who requires a cane to walk, and these pigs needed 10 of them just to arrest him. fuck cardiff cops 🐷🐷🐷 https://t.co/2Qs41XAr0h
— are those dogs fresh (@deernah_) June 4, 2024
Unsurprisingly, as per usual, the police’s raging institutional ableism was on show. Despicably, they forced the pro-Palestine protester to walk without his mobility aid:
Typical cops: forcing someone to walk without their aid. https://t.co/uJcFA2YTpq
— John Urquhart 🎄 #AintAsking 𓅿 (@TheDryhtscipe) June 3, 2024
Predictably, the police were ready to make up any old drivel to arrest him too:
from behind by 8 police officers (last slide) when we had retreated and were ready to leave. In fact the speech just before the arrest had actually told the police we were leaving. Their justification was he was using the megaphone to shout in the officer’s ears. pic.twitter.com/FJWLi1hMpL
— Black Lives Matter Cardiff&Vale (@BLMCardiff) June 4, 2024
Did I forget to mention rampant misogyny and Islamophobia? Because Cardiff cops had that covered too, naturally:
SOUTH WALES POLICE ARE OUT OF CONTROL! THEY WILL NOT INTIMIDATE US! 📣📣
THEY HAVE BARRICADED THE STATION AND THROWN NUMEROUS WOMAN TO THE FLOOR AS WELL AS ARRESTING A PALESTINIAN ACTIVIST. 🇵🇸 pic.twitter.com/xiEUZB4LiZ
— Black Lives Matter Cardiff&Vale (@BLMCardiff) June 3, 2024
In the second video they aggressively escalate a situation with four young women who were only requesting not to be pushed – the response of the police was to grab a five foot student and drag her into the building. They also attempted to pull the hijab of one of the protestors.
— Black Lives Matter Cardiff&Vale (@BLMCardiff) June 4, 2024
On top of this, according to Black Lives Matter Cardiff & Vale, police ramped up their racist abuse in holding cells. Of course, this was out of sight of the cameras:
Inside the building they dragged protestors to cells and we are told we’re far more aggressive with the Black protestors in the building, where you can see them literally throw a young Black activist to the ground.
This is unacceptable.
— Black Lives Matter Cardiff&Vale (@BLMCardiff) June 4, 2024
Systemic bigotry
Yet while the state’s fascist pigs had numerous officers to protect the daily motorist rat-race, it somehow had none spare to stop motorcyclists literally attempting to ram through the crowd:
During this very protest, aggressive motorcyclists sought to run into our crowds made up students, women, children, and elderly
And they were allowed to intimidate and assault protestors
Yet, a peaceful protestor with a visible disability is arrested
DEFUNDTHEPOLICE https://t.co/OSnE6G9MKd
— ح (@hm808shb) June 4, 2024
Predictably, the state’s Zionist propaganda machine-come-local media conveniently omitted this detail:
Absolutely no mention whatsoever that a motorcyclist attempted to drive through the protest and threatened to run people over, obviously, but there’s room to whine about late buses. https://t.co/pXXlfQddHU
— John Urquhart 🎄 #AintAsking 𓅿 (@TheDryhtscipe) June 4, 2024
However, as one poster rightly pointed out, the cops behaviour is neither unusual, nor anything new:
The idea that somehow the police outside of England (or London really…) are less shite because of broader power dynamics b/t Scotland, Wales and England should be thrown into the bin. Scottish police are shite. just like welsh police are shite just like met police are shite. https://t.co/2eXqppWCpS
— aerin اٍرين #CeasefireNow 🐝 (@penwingcries) June 4, 2024
Because ultimately, it’s not just a case of a few “rotten apples”, as the toxic establishment and its corporate media sycophants would have you believe. Rather, the bigotry is systemic:
Read this thread. The stories in our report “In Our Millions” only go up to 1 May but campaigners’ experience of repressive policing continues. https://t.co/LWndyi7Aw5
— Netpol (@netpol) June 4, 2024
Specifically, Netpol referred to its report from May which found that:
there is ample evidence supporting the accusation of racist and Islamophobic policing. This was significantly more intense during protests in late 2023. Overall, there has been a pattern of racial profiling at demonstrations that has included not only the targeting of Palestinians or Arabic-speaking protesters but also Black and brown children and young people in a way that has reinforced established patterns of racist policing
There’s a four letter acronym for this phenomenon, which one X poster dared not spell out in letters, lest old Musk-y boy threw a hissy on his pet Zionist-amplifying hell-site. Though we did catch that numerical cipher:
If I say what I want to say about tonight, Elon will kick me off this app. 1312. https://t.co/x6hYdMVNyy
— harriet (@harrietceridwen) June 4, 2024
Don’t worry though, the Canary isn’t a media site to hedge on injustice, and isn’t about to equivocate now: ACAB.
Rattled the cops
Following the arrests, the good pro-Palestine people of Cardiff stepped up the solidarity. Folks flooded the police station in support of Neezo, the disabled protester who the police had violently arrested:
Disgusting that Neezo has been arrested. I’ve met Neezo at the Swansea marches. He is a lovely man. A humanitarian whose only crime is wanting the death to stop. #FreePalestine
— Muck Spout Skippy (@skippy_c) June 4, 2024
Clearly, protesters showing up rattled the cops, because they quickly closed ranks around the station:
SOUTH WALES POLICE ARE OUT OF CONTROL! THEY WILL NOT INTIMIDATE US! 📣📣
THEY HAVE BARRICADED THE STATION AND THROWN NUMEROUS WOMAN TO THE FLOOR AS WELL AS ARRESTING A PALESTINIAN ACTIVIST. 🇵🇸 pic.twitter.com/xiEUZB4LiZ
— Black Lives Matter Cardiff&Vale (@BLMCardiff) June 3, 2024
from behind by 8 police officers (last slide) when we had retreated and were ready to leave. In fact the speech just before the arrest had actually told the police we were leaving. Their justification was he was using the megaphone to shout in the officer’s ears. pic.twitter.com/FJWLi1hMpL
— Black Lives Matter Cardiff&Vale (@BLMCardiff) June 4, 2024
Time and again, the cops keep showing their supremely racist ass on Gaza. However, they can’t, and won’t stop people turning out for Palestine. Until it is finally free, protesters of principle everywhere will continue risking their liberty regardless.
Featured image via Black Lives Matter Cardiff and Vale – screengrab
