Manchester cops beat peaceful pro-Palestine protesters in crowd with elderly people and children

At yet another pro-Palestine demonstration, cops have been out enacting violence against peaceful protesters. This time, the Greater Manchester Police (GMP) force was the culprit.

As usual, the police appeared to be lying through their teeth to get out of it.

Manchester protests for Palestine

On Saturday, protesters in Manchester held a march in solidarity with Gaza, in central Manchester:

Now: Heavy rain in Manchester and 1000s out demanding freedom for Palestine & freedom for 5,000 Palestinians arrested in Gaza since October 07 who with 8000 arrested in the West Bank have suffered the most barbaric torture with over 60 tortured to death by their Israeli jailers.… pic.twitter.com/eYROs0UdWy

— MANPalestine Action (@ManPalestine) June 15, 2024

However, what started out as a peaceful demonstration, soon turned violent. Naturally, it was GMP that charged into the crowd and carried out the brutality, as protesters showed on X:

Police beat Manchester protesters for opposing the Gaza genocide and demanding the freedom of Palestinian political prisoners @_YFFP_ pic.twitter.com/DSasQQINng

— MANPalestine Action (@ManPalestine) June 15, 2024

Predictably, the GMP statement closed ranks in the usual way. Notably, the Manchester Evening News reported that four officers “suffered ‘non-serious’ injuries”. Perhaps a few officers strained a vein in their temples, because protesters highlighted that it was the actually the police that injured people on the demo.

In some staggering levels of spin, GMP said that:

Whilst public order policing is complex and challenging, we will not tolerate violence or threatening behaviour and will take action to protect ourselves and the public when necessary.

However, as one X poster pointed out, this is evidently simply the behaviour of a police force ‘protecting’ itself:

“What’s your badge number?”

“Fuck off, and move!” https://t.co/YW1Lv1Dz4e

— Muguruki 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🇵🇸 (@Muguruki1) June 16, 2024

It almost sounds straight from the deluded Zionist apologist’s playbook of the same old sycophantic mantra about Israel’s “right to defend itself”.

Manchester cops: endangering elderly people and children

People on X underscored that elderly people and children made up some of the peaceful demonstration. Of course, this didn’t stop the police from throwing some protesters to the floor and endangering them:

Why are protestors being beaten ? @gmpolice

Man with a stick and women being pushed and thrown to the floor. There are children present in the crowd.

These protests have been going on for 8 months and have been nothing but peaceful.

Serious questions need to be answered. https://t.co/47j2LtiBoW

— Siema Iqbal (@siemaiqbal) June 15, 2024

wasnt here yesterday but have been on majority of marches last 8 months and cannot believe this. these crowds are full of elderly people and children. seeing accounts of people having to pull toddlers out of the way of police. @AndyBurnhamGM answer for this. https://t.co/heuiCOIGS7

— jain edwards (@jain_edwards) June 16, 2024

Moreover, pro-Palestine campaigners have held eight months of non-violent protest in Manchester. By contrast, this wasn’t GMP’s first assault on their democratic rights to peaceful assembly:

CALL OUT: if you have any video of the police violence in Manchester yesterday, please send it to @GBCMANCHESTER at [email protected]

This is the same GMP unit, led by the same inspector, that assaulted legal observers in February, see: https://t.co/TzmKLsW1tZ https://t.co/U7h4iXX5cU

— Netpol (@netpol) June 16, 2024

In particular, Netpol referred to GMP officers previously assaulting two legal observers with batons. As it reported at the time:

One of the legal observers held up his hands as the police became more violent and informed officers that he was not a participant in any of the protests, but fell to the ground after he was struck painfully in the back, he believes by a police baton. He then described how three officers stood over him with their batons drawn before he was picked up – and thrown violently back onto the floor. He has bruising to his legs. This excessive use of force was captured on video, which also verifies the legal observer’s description of events.

The other legal observer, who was behind the police line some distance from this incident, told us how she was confronted by an inspector with an extended baton. She said she was pushed backward and struck twice before two other officers, one an ‘evidence gatherer’ (normally responsible for filming protests), came aggressively towards her with their batons drawn. This too has been verified by video footage. As a result of the police violence, she has a suspected perforated ear drum and received bruises to her face.

From Peterloo to Palestine

Of course, it barely needs pointing out after months of oppressive policing of Palestine solidarity protests, but this is the cops operating exactly as intended. That is, as a violent tool of the oppressive state. Many on X were quick to state this:

The British state doing what it does – attacking ordinary citizens who dare challenge its imperialism as genocide. “The enemy is at home”… https://t.co/KqDSfUWgKR

— GM Stop the War Coalition (@GMSTWC) June 15, 2024

The capitalist state and its enforcers don’t protect the rights of the oppressed abroad or the working class here. They protect their own power and the system of oppression they benefit from. We need our own self defence orgs.

Kick out the war criminals! Take back the streets! https://t.co/GNRab4cCCs

— Alex (@andamarxist) June 16, 2024

And as astutely highlighted by others, there’s a long history of police forces violently repressing the working class. In fact, in the very spot the pro-Palestine protesters marched, a paramilitary force protecting the interests of the Tory elite, enacted just such violence against pro-democracy and anti-poverty protesters. Only, that was the Peterloo Massacre in 1819:

theres a kind of fatalistic irony for this to happen in st peters square where peterloo took place. https://t.co/heuiCOIGS7

— jain edwards (@jain_edwards) June 16, 2024

Abolish the police

Independent socialist candidate standing for Cardiff West John Urquhart said the quiet part we’re all thinking out loud:

Abolish the fucking police. https://t.co/xR4RAgfYKM

— John Urquhart 🎄 #AintAsking 𓅿 (@TheDryhtscipe) June 15, 2024

It’s a reminder, if we still needed it, that the police exist to shield the interests of the state, and its capitalist elite. Since the political establishment is drenched in complicity of Israel’s genocide, it’s not surprising that its enforcers continue to turn on those showing solidarity with Palestine.

Feature image via Manchester Palestine Action – Twitter