Police in riot gear stormed an apartment in southern China on Friday where about 40 student activists and others supporting factory workers seeking to form a labour union were staying, according to activists who said they received a video of the raid as it was taking place.

The video footage, which was shared with Reuters, showed police armed with shields and helmets bursting into the activists’ accommodation and scuffling with the occupants.

The footage appeared to show an apartment where the students were staying in Huizhou, near the southern city of Shenzhen, that had been previously visited by Reuters. The video could not be independently verified.

It was not immediately clear what happened to the activists. Calls to police in the area and five activists who had been staying at the apartment went unanswered. Labour activists in other parts of the country who are following the case and had been in touch with various activists on the scene said they were unable to contact them.

The raid is the latest step by the Chinese authorities to clamp down on a growing labour movement in the southern province of Guangdong that started brewing last month when workers at a welding machinery company, Jasic International, were fired when they tried to create a union.

Labour activism is viewed as a challenge by the ruling Communist Party, which opposes independent unions and punishes protesters.

On July 27, police detained 29 people, including laid-off workers, their families and supporters. Fourteen people remain in detention.

Since then, support has poured in, with about 50 labour activists, most of them students, travelling to Guangdong to back the workers.

An activist who shared the footage of the raid with Reuters said the raid Friday took place just after 5 a.m. The activist, who declined to be identified because of the sensitive nature of the footage, said the images were received directly from students in the room when the police entered.

GROWING PRESSURE

Pressure had been mounting on the activists.

In interviews with Reuters a day before the raid, 15 activists involved in the Jasic case described a multi-pronged effort to force them to disengage from the workers’ cause.

The authorities have flown many of the young activists’ parents to Guangdong and put them up in hotels to undergo “training sessions” about how to raise their children, according to interviews with several students.

Authorities lectured the parents on text messages to send to their children. They also arranged to have parents show up at various places where their children were, including the apartment and shopping areas where protests have been staged, they said.

The Ministry of Education issued a notice five days ago to universities across the country telling them to stop students from travelling to Guangdong to participate in the protests, according to screenshots of messages sent by universities to students.

The universities gave a range of explanations to students about why it was unsafe for them to go to Guangdong including an approaching typhoon and the risk of being recruited into a pyramid scheme, several students said.

Reuters was unable to verify the order and the ministry did not respond to faxed questions.

The hashtag “What’s up with Guangdong?” started trending on Weibo as the Ministry of Education notice spread.

Several of the students’ university advisers had apparently also flown to Guangdong to try to persuade them to leave, according to some of the activists.

The protests have spread to Beijing where, on Wednesday and Thursday, a group of 20 students, activists and two worker representatives from Jasic submitted petition letters at the headquarters of the All-China Federations of Trade Unions and the All-China Women’s Federation.

Canadian Muslims travelling to the Hajj pilgrimage face delays coming back due to a diplomatic dispute with Saudi Arabia that is also prompting thousands of students from the kingdom to scramble to sell their assets and return home to meet a month-end deadline.

As the stalemate continues, Canada is reaching out to its allies, including the United States and European Union, to rally support, and talking to Saudi Arabia to resolve the dispute.

Riyadh abruptly severed diplomatic and trade ties earlier this month in response to Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland’s tweet demanding the release of civil society activists in the kingdom. Riyadh also ended state-backed educational and medical programs in Canada, resulting in Saudi students hustling to return home.

In Halifax, the Ummah Masjid organised yard sales to help students sell their furniture, electronics and even cars.

“Some of them, they only come one week ago and they are prepared to leave,” said Abdallah Yousri, the mosque’s imam. “Some of them, they were in Saudi Arabia for summer vacation, and they just came to sell their products and then [leave].”

As of the end of June, there were more than 5,100 Saudi students with valid study permits for post-secondary institutions in Canada.

Many Canadian Muslims had booked flights with Saudia, the Kingdom’s official airline, to perform the Hajj pilgrimages in the Saudi city of Mecca, which takes place from August 19 to 24 this year.

While Saudia trips to Mecca before August 13 were not affected, returns home prove to be a concern for many.

“We’re nervous as a family because we don’t want her to be stranded in an airport,” Jawad Chaudhry, a real estate broker in Hamilton, said of his mother, who is travelling via Saudia for Hajj.

SILENT ALLIES

Freeland has spoken with officials of the European Union, Germany, Sweden and the United Arab Emirates in an effort to find support, a spokesman for the foreign minister told Reuters.

“We have a dialogue that is continuing with the Saudis, that’s encouraging, we know that we need to maintain an open dialogue with them to resolve this issue,” he added.

But silence from Canada’s traditional backers has sparked some soul-searching in Ottawa.

The big issue is the future of foreign relationships in a world where Canada can no longer count on support from its major allies, said Roland Paris, a former foreign affairs adviser to Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

“We’re getting a glimpse of what the world looks like when the United States isn’t a strong advocate of human rights, one in which liberal democracies are keeping their heads down,” Paris said.

The U.S. State Department last week urged Canada and Saudi Arabia to use diplomacy to resolve their dispute, which did not come up during a phone call between U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Monday.

Bob Rae, former leader of the federal Liberal party, said Canada has to be more strategic about how to push its human rights agenda.

“There needs to be a clearer sense of strategy about why we are intervening in some situations and not in others, and how one would ever expect countries to take criticism without responding,” Rae told Reuters.

Hundreds of students and left-wing activists took to the streets of Charlottesville, Virginia, on Saturday, as a rally to mark the anniversary of last year’s white nationalist gathering turned largely into an anti-police protest.

With chants like, “Cops and Klan go hand in hand,” the protesters’ criticisms of both police and the University of Virginia underscored the resentment that still exists a year after torch-bearing neo-Nazis marched through campus, shouting anti-Semitic messages and beating counterprotesters.

Several students said they were angry that the police response was far larger this year compared with last year, when people carrying tiki torches the white nationalist rally went mostly unchecked.

At one point on Saturday, dozens of officers in riot gear formed a line near where the rally was taking place, prompting many protesters to rush over yelling, “Why are you in riot gear? We don’t see no riot here.”

The standoff ended without any clashes as organizers urged the crowd to move away and begin marching off campus. Police, who appeared to be avoiding a confrontation, rode bicycles ahead of the march to stop traffic.

The newly installed president of the University of Virginia, James Ryan, apologised for the school’s inaction last year while speaking at an event to memorialize the anniversary.

Saturday’s march capped a day of hope, grief, anger and remembrance in Charlottesville, one year after the “Unite the Right” rally brought racially charged street violence to the scenic college town.

The organizer of last year’s rally, local blogger Jason Kessler, has planned a sequel for Sunday in Washington after being denied a permit in Charlottesville.

With hundreds of police maintaining a tight security perimeter around a 15-block downtown area, Charlottesville’s normally bustling business district was relatively quiet on Saturday. The buzz of a police helicopter overhead was a constant throughout the day.

The massive police response was not welcomed by everyone, including some residents and business owners who complained that the restrictions were an overreaction.

The result, however, was a day largely devoid of conflict. Authorities arrested three men for minor offences, including a 64-year-old disabled man who appeared to deliberately challenge the prohibition on certain items in the secured area.

The man, John Miska, who was wearing a handgun in a shoulder holster, visited a drugstore and purchased razor blades, which qualified as contraband under the city’s emergency declaration. The gun, however, was not banned, based on state law.

When he refused an officer’s request to take the razors to his car, he was arrested for disorderly conduct.

“This is the loss of our constitutional rights here in Charlottesville,” he shouted, as officers led him away in plastic hand ties.

A group of anti-fascist protesters, sometimes known as “Antifa,” marched in the afternoon, carrying signs with messages like “Good Night White Pride.” They stopped to pay their respects at the corner where a local woman, Heather Heyer, was killed when an Ohio man drove his car into a crowd of counterprotesters following last year’s rally.

While some businesses closed for the weekend, many merchants remained open in a show of solidarity.

“It’s my town, and I’m not afraid,” said Karen Walker, whose floral shop Hedge was open on Saturday even though she did not expect much business. Outside her front door, a bucket of freshly cut flowers was available for passersby to take for free.

Many local residents also made a point of coming downtown to mark the anniversary. Kathe Falzer, 67, changed a flight to California so she could spend Saturday in town.

“I felt the need to be here and support the businesses,” Falzer said as she ate lunch at a diner on Main Street.

We have received a report of an assault against a Muslim female student who was part of the ‘Discover Islam Awareness’ week which is held by the King’s College London Islamic Society (ISoc).

Muslim women who were at the stand outside the Strand campus were there to try and break down misconceptions about Islam and to respond to questions members of the public may have around Islam and Muslims.  They were approached by two men who disrupted the stall and the activities of the women, leading to an assault on a Muslim woman, where her niqab was pulled.

We have spoken to a witness on the Strand Campus of King’s College London and Roar News also reported that two men have been arrested for “using racially aggravated threatening words and behaviour.”

The incident has caused some anger with Muslim students who approached us at Tell MAMA and who stated that the security on campus did not intervene when the hate incident was taking place and that in their view, the inaction emboldened the perpetrators. According to witness, a handful of students had to intervene to stop the anger and abuse against Muslim women that was targeted by two males who approached the stand. Furthermore, Roar News also has highlighted the following comment from a student called Fatima Ali:

“security only called the police when the animal rights activists said the men were being aggressive but not when someone complained about a Muslim woman’s niqab being pulled down”.

The student news site also highlighted the following statement that King’s put out earlier on Friday evening. They stated:

“two security managers and a senior member of staff arrived on the scene and positioned themselves between both parties and attempted to defuse the situation. The two men were asked to leave the area but they refused. The police were called by security at 1.10pm and arrived at 1.50pm.”

Tell MAMA will be writing to King’s College London on this incident to provide further re-assurance to Muslim students on campus and to provide guidance to students both on and off campus around personal safety and security. Given the rise in anti-Muslim hate incidents over the last few years and a more visible set of anti-Muslim hate incidents nationally, it is imperative that university campuses work with ISoc’s or other agencies in ensuring that students get basic advice and support to reduce the risk of being targeted.

The post Strand Campus in King’s College the Centre of an Islamophobic Hate Incident appeared first on TELL MAMA.

We have received a report of an assault against a Muslim female student who was part of the ‘Discover Islam Awareness’ week which is held by the King’s College London Islamic Society (ISoc).

Muslim women who were at the stand outside the Strand campus were there to try and break down misconceptions about Islam and to respond to questions members of the public may have around Islam and Muslims.  They were approached by two men who disrupted the stall and the activities of the women, leading to an assault on a Muslim woman, where her niqab was pulled.

We have spoken to a witness on the Strand Campus of King’s College London and Roar News also reported that two men have been arrested for “using racially aggravated threatening words and behaviour.”

The incident has caused some anger with Muslim students who approached us at Tell MAMA and who stated that the security on campus did not intervene when the hate incident was taking place and that in their view, the inaction emboldened the perpetrators. According to witness, a handful of students had to intervene to stop the anger and abuse against Muslim women that was targeted by two males who approached the stand. Furthermore, Roar News also has highlighted the following comment from a student called Fatima Ali:

“security only called the police when the animal rights activists said the men were being aggressive but not when someone complained about a Muslim woman’s niqab being pulled down”.

The student news site also highlighted the following statement that King’s put out earlier on Friday evening. They stated:

“two security managers and a senior member of staff arrived on the scene and positioned themselves between both parties and attempted to defuse the situation. The two men were asked to leave the area but they refused. The police were called by security at 1.10pm and arrived at 1.50pm.”

Tell MAMA will be writing to King’s College London on this incident to provide further re-assurance to Muslim students on campus and to provide guidance to students both on and off campus around personal safety and security. Given the rise in anti-Muslim hate incidents over the last few years and a more visible set of anti-Muslim hate incidents nationally, it is imperative that university campuses work with ISoc’s or other agencies in ensuring that students get basic advice and support to reduce the risk of being targeted.

The post Strand Campus in King’s College the Centre of an Islamophobic Hate Incident appeared first on TELL MAMA.

We have received a report of an assault against a Muslim female student who was part of the ‘Discover Islam Awareness’ week which is held by the King’s College London Islamic Society (ISoc).

Muslim women who were at the stand outside the Strand campus were there to try and break down misconceptions about Islam and to respond to questions members of the public may have around Islam and Muslims.  They were approached by two men who disrupted the stall and the activities of the women, leading to an assault on a Muslim woman, where her niqab was pulled.

We have spoken to a witness on the Strand Campus of King’s College London and Roar News also reported that two men have been arrested for “using racially aggravated threatening words and behaviour.”

The incident has caused some anger with Muslim students who approached us at Tell MAMA and who stated that the security on campus did not intervene when the hate incident was taking place and that in their view, the inaction emboldened the perpetrators. According to witness, a handful of students had to intervene to stop the anger and abuse against Muslim women that was targeted by two males who approached the stand. Furthermore, Roar News also has highlighted the following comment from a student called Fatima Ali:

“security only called the police when the animal rights activists said the men were being aggressive but not when someone complained about a Muslim woman’s niqab being pulled down”.

The student news site also highlighted the following statement that King’s put out earlier on Friday evening. They stated:

“two security managers and a senior member of staff arrived on the scene and positioned themselves between both parties and attempted to defuse the situation. The two men were asked to leave the area but they refused. The police were called by security at 1.10pm and arrived at 1.50pm.”

Tell MAMA will be writing to King’s College London on this incident to provide further re-assurance to Muslim students on campus and to provide guidance to students both on and off campus around personal safety and security. Given the rise in anti-Muslim hate incidents over the last few years and a more visible set of anti-Muslim hate incidents nationally, it is imperative that university campuses work with ISoc’s or other agencies in ensuring that students get basic advice and support to reduce the risk of being targeted.

The post Strand Campus in King’s College the Centre of an Islamophobic Hate Incident appeared first on TELL MAMA.

We have received a report of an assault against a Muslim female student who was part of the ‘Discover Islam Awareness’ week which is held by the King’s College London Islamic Society (ISoc).

Muslim women who were at the stand outside the Strand campus were there to try and break down misconceptions about Islam and to respond to questions members of the public may have around Islam and Muslims.  They were approached by two men who disrupted the stall and the activities of the women, leading to an assault on a Muslim woman, where her niqab was pulled.

We have spoken to a witness on the Strand Campus of King’s College London and Roar News also reported that two men have been arrested for “using racially aggravated threatening words and behaviour.”

The incident has caused some anger with Muslim students who approached us at Tell MAMA and who stated that the security on campus did not intervene when the hate incident was taking place and that in their view, the inaction emboldened the perpetrators. According to witness, a handful of students had to intervene to stop the anger and abuse against Muslim women that was targeted by two males who approached the stand. Furthermore, Roar News also has highlighted the following comment from a student called Fatima Ali:

“security only called the police when the animal rights activists said the men were being aggressive but not when someone complained about a Muslim woman’s niqab being pulled down”.

The student news site also highlighted the following statement that King’s put out earlier on Friday evening. They stated:

“two security managers and a senior member of staff arrived on the scene and positioned themselves between both parties and attempted to defuse the situation. The two men were asked to leave the area but they refused. The police were called by security at 1.10pm and arrived at 1.50pm.”

Tell MAMA will be writing to King’s College London on this incident to provide further re-assurance to Muslim students on campus and to provide guidance to students both on and off campus around personal safety and security. Given the rise in anti-Muslim hate incidents over the last few years and a more visible set of anti-Muslim hate incidents nationally, it is imperative that university campuses work with ISoc’s or other agencies in ensuring that students get basic advice and support to reduce the risk of being targeted.

The post Strand Campus in King’s College the Centre of an Islamophobic Hate Incident appeared first on TELL MAMA.

The University of Westminster Students Union has just reported that CCTV cameras have been installed in prayer rooms in Westminster University.

The Director of Faith Matters, Fiyaz Mughal, made the following comment to the Quintin Hogg, the online news-site for the Students Union.

“This is very concerning and utterly ludicrous, students who want to reflect and pray should have the ability to do so without intrusion.”

The installation of CCTV cameras raised the question of intrusion into the private space of students who simply want to pray and also brings into focus the fact that Muslim students who will probably use the prayer spaces more, will feel that they are being observed and ‘spied upon.’

Fiyaz Mughal also stated:

“The level of fear around cameras and ‘being spied upon’  within Muslim communities has been exacerbated by some groups who simply want to create a ‘them and us’ narrative. Therefore actions like this simply feed this narrative, however well-meaning they may be.

The University of Westminster did not comment on the piece that was sent to Students Union online site.