Tens of thousands take to the streets in London against gang crimes
Tens of thousands of people took to the streets in London, chanting "killer state, murderer police" after the murder of 17-year-old Kurdish youth Ali.
Tens of thousands of people took to the streets in London, chanting "killer state, murderer police" after the murder of 17-year-old Kurdish youth Ali.
North London comes to the fore with increasing levels of murder, extortion, drugs and attacks on almost a daily basis.
The stabbing to death of a 17-year-old Kurdish youth named Ali Baygören on 18 June was the last straw.
Although a 15-year-old boy, who was detained as the suspect of Ali's murder, was arrested, residents said that the main responsible for these murders is the state and the police.
Tens of thousands of people gathered in front of Tottenham Stadium responding to a call by the Democratic Forces Union, which includes the Kurdish People's Assembly, Day-Mer, Gik-Der, Alevi organizations and local associations, with the slogan "No gangs".
The crowd, who often chanted slogans such as "Murderer state murderous police", "Shoulder to shoulder against gangs", marched towards the Metropolitan Police Headquarters in Edmonton.
Young Ali's father, Ibrahim Baygören, was at the forefront of the march.
People was angry at the attitude of the police and the government towards the immigrants.
The people closed the roads completely to traffic during the march, and held a 5-minute sit-in in the Angel Corner area.
The crowd protesting the police in front of the Edmonton Metropolitan Police Station shouted the slogan "Killer state murderer police" in unison.
In front of the police station, Migrant Workers Association (Gik-Der) President Ibrahim Avcil, Ercan Akbal on behalf of the Kurdish People's Assembly, Day-Mer President Ahmet Sezgin, British Alevi Federation President Dilek Incedal, former BAF President Israfil Erbil and youth organizations addressed the crowd.
The speeches underlined that the main source of insensitivity and insolvency towards gangs is the attitude of the British state, government and police, and pointed out that this is especially the case in areas where immigrants live.
BAF chair Dilek Incedal emphasized that they emigrated due to economic and political problems and said: “We face many problems here. Maybe we found money, but money is not the solution. Our life is precious. The solution to this is to protect our values.”
The co-chair of the Kurdish People's Assembly Ercan Akbal pointed out that the British state has shed blood in the Middle East, countries with its arms sales, and noted that society should develop its own self-defense instead of relying on the capitalist system.
Speaking on behalf of Gik-Der, Ibrahim Avcil said that the police and the state, which did not prevent the gangs, were the real killers of Ali.
Ali’s father, Ibrahim Baygören, thanked the community for its solidarity and sensitivity and said: "I raised my son with values and principles. Let this community take care of each other."
After the speeches, a delegation of the democratic organizations held a meeting with the police station officials.