Repression used against royal protesters

Some people are showing dissent towards to the royals

Boos, heckles and calls for a republic were heard during the pomp and ceremony of the king’s proclamation and other events.  Samira, who protested at the ceremony with her sister in Edinburgh, told Socialist Worker, “The arrests show that dissent during this period is being cracked down on.

“Many who say the royals don’t have any power, they’re just symbolic and for tourism have been proven wrong.” Samira held a sign reading, “End the monarchy, up the workers,” before it was torn from her hands by someone who proceeded to shout racist abuse at the siblings. 

A man was surrounded by police for allegedly holding eggs by the queen’s casket cortege route in Aberdeen. Whether he intended to throw them is unknown.  Two protesters were arrested for calling to abolish the monarchy at proclamation ceremonies in Edinburgh and Oxford.

Peace campaigner Symon Hill was arrested in Oxford after shouting, “Who elected him”? Hill was pushed around by security guards before being handcuffed, put in a police van and driven home.

He wrote that he “seemed to have been arrested for nothing more than expressing an opinion in public.” Also in Edinburgh, one woman was detained outside St Giles’ Cathedral—where the former queen Elizabeth’s coffin is due to be held.

She raised a sign reading, “Fuck imperialism, abolish monarchy.” The police claim this individual protest was a breach of the peace. Despite being in a flood of pro-monarchists, both the crowds still queried the arrests. 

In Edinburgh, one person shouted, “Let her go. It’s free speech,” and in Oxford, people questioned the police saying, “Surely he’s got a right to his views.”