Growing Calls for Army to Control London Streets -- 'British Police 'Corrupt'
Violence, despite heavy police presence
August 10 - (UPDATE: SL-USA) - As violence continued for the fourth day and unrest
spread to Liverpool and Manchester, there are growing calls from leading British
politicians, celebrities, and local residents for the British Army to be
deployed. “The police did nothing” is a
common complaint among shop owners whose stores have been looted and destroyed.
Home Secretary Theresa May drew angry response when she dismissed growing calls for tough action and the deployment of the army. She said: 'The way we police in Britain is not through use of water cannon. The way we police in Britain is through consent of communities.'
Sri Lankan journalist Peter Casie Chetty, who is based in Liverpool, said he sympathizes with the victims and agrees with the calls for Army to patrol the streets. “Home Secretary Theresa May has said she is fully confident that the police are in control. But I have no qualms refuting that. British Police are corrupt and are the "provocateurs" in these instances. They have now become very trigger happy because in British Law the police cannot be prosecuted when even innocent civilians are brutally murdered by mistake.” He cites the case of the young Brazilian Juan Charles de Menezes as a telling example. (Click here for more about the Menezes case.)
Casie Chetty adds that he is reminded of all the adverse publicity that the Sri Lankan police and the government faced in 1983 by the pro LTTE governments in the UK claiming that President Jayawardena did nothing to stop the disturbances. “Today the British Government is being accused of not being able to protect the people and their property and seeing and hearing all the reports I feel that people in glass houses should not throw stones.”
A Wall Street Journal reporter in London commenting on the failure of the British police to stop lawlessness writes: “As we speak, "it" [the violence] is spreading to Manchester, Birmingham, Nottingham, Wolverhampton.” Surveillance cameras, she says, are good for documenting criminal activity but don’t do anything to prevent them.
"Everything we pay here—taxes, rates, rents—it's all so expensive. And we can't even get the police when there are people robbing our shop,” the WSJ journalist quotes an angry London shopkeeper as saying. (Click here to read the WSJ story.)
The leader of Croydon Council Mike Fisher is among local leaders who have called on the government to deploy the army in the aftermath of riots in the West Croydon area of the city that left heavy devastation.
"Croydon cannot see this level of violence and disorder again - public lives are at risk. We need additional resources and that can be police if possible but if not then we should be looking at deployment of the army and other military," he said.
Related Links
So where WERE the police? Shopkeepers mystified at tactics that left them defenceless -Read more:
London-born Ferdinand calls for Army to patrol riot-torn streets of the capital
Home Secretary Theresa May drew angry response when she dismissed growing calls for tough action and the deployment of the army. She said: 'The way we police in Britain is not through use of water cannon. The way we police in Britain is through consent of communities.'
Sri Lankan journalist Peter Casie Chetty, who is based in Liverpool, said he sympathizes with the victims and agrees with the calls for Army to patrol the streets. “Home Secretary Theresa May has said she is fully confident that the police are in control. But I have no qualms refuting that. British Police are corrupt and are the "provocateurs" in these instances. They have now become very trigger happy because in British Law the police cannot be prosecuted when even innocent civilians are brutally murdered by mistake.” He cites the case of the young Brazilian Juan Charles de Menezes as a telling example. (Click here for more about the Menezes case.)
Casie Chetty adds that he is reminded of all the adverse publicity that the Sri Lankan police and the government faced in 1983 by the pro LTTE governments in the UK claiming that President Jayawardena did nothing to stop the disturbances. “Today the British Government is being accused of not being able to protect the people and their property and seeing and hearing all the reports I feel that people in glass houses should not throw stones.”
A Wall Street Journal reporter in London commenting on the failure of the British police to stop lawlessness writes: “As we speak, "it" [the violence] is spreading to Manchester, Birmingham, Nottingham, Wolverhampton.” Surveillance cameras, she says, are good for documenting criminal activity but don’t do anything to prevent them.
"Everything we pay here—taxes, rates, rents—it's all so expensive. And we can't even get the police when there are people robbing our shop,” the WSJ journalist quotes an angry London shopkeeper as saying. (Click here to read the WSJ story.)
The leader of Croydon Council Mike Fisher is among local leaders who have called on the government to deploy the army in the aftermath of riots in the West Croydon area of the city that left heavy devastation.
"Croydon cannot see this level of violence and disorder again - public lives are at risk. We need additional resources and that can be police if possible but if not then we should be looking at deployment of the army and other military," he said.
Related Links
So where WERE the police? Shopkeepers mystified at tactics that left them defenceless -Read more:
London-born Ferdinand calls for Army to patrol riot-torn streets of the capital