Sri Lankan Stores Attacked in London Riots
Riot police confront protesters in Tottenham
August 10 - (UPDATE: SL-USA) - Several Sri Lankan stores in London were among the scores of businesses attacked and looted as rioters took to the streets for the fourth day in succession following the fatal police shooting of a black resident in Tottenham, North London.
In Hackney (East London) where rioters battled police, set fire to vehicles, and looted shops, Sivaharan Kanbiah, a 39-year-old Sri Lankan immigrant who ran a convenience store said his business has been totally wrecked. "They did not just steal everything. They tore out the ceiling. They broke up the floor. They ripped out the shelves. I don't understand such hate."
Kanbiah who has a wife, two children, and a mother to support said he doesn’t know how he is going to restart his business. “I have no way to do it. They took my life and I can't replace it. We'll be turned out on the street. I want to know why. Why?"
A Sri Lankan Tamil eatery that serves traditional ‘thosai’ fare was also damaged as was another convenience store run by a man who identified himself as ‘Shiva.’
The riots began when a crowd gathered outside the Tottenham police station in North London for a peaceful vigil for Mark Duggan a local 29-year old father of four who was gunned down by police on August 4.
While police claimed self defense, an investigation by the Independent Police Complaints Commission has revealed that Duggan likely had never fired on police.
Stafford Scott, a community activist in Tottenham, who was one of the people who initially gathered at the police station on August 6 accused the police of failing to follow established procedures, such as informing family members of Duggan’s death. “We came to the station to have a peaceful demonstration, and it was largely peaceful. And what we explained to the police is that we wanted someone senior from the police service to come and explain to us what was happening,” Scott said in an interview on Sky TV. The highest ranking officer willing to meet with them was the chief inspector.
“We said that person wasn't senior enough - we wanted a senior ranking officer of superintendent or above. Eventually they sent for a superintendent, but by then it was too late.”
The first tweet that went out, from a local group said: “Riot taking place right now outside Tottenham cop shop about the guy killed by the pigs this week. 200 riot cops deployed.”
An eyewitness told BBC that the standoff outside the Totthnham station, where the crowd up to that point was only chanting and shouting, turned violent after an unarmed sixteen-year old girl who approached the police line ‘was set upon’ by cops with batons.
Looting and rioting quickly spread into other cities including Birmingham, Liverpool and Bristol. About 450 people have been arrested while 16000 policemen have been deployed to quell the riots. In the latest developments, the rioting has spread to Manchester while London is calm.
Tottenham saw major riots in October 1985 after local resident Cynthia Jarrett died of a heart attack when police raided her house. Tottenham a racially mixed community with a high concentration of Caribbean immigrants has been hit by recent government austerity measures in recent weeks.
Racial profiling, bullying, and stop and search tactics by local police are being blamed for the breakout of violence in Tottenham. A 51-year-old Tottenham resident named Danny was quoted by a local newspaper as saying: “It was triggered by the police really. They terrorize the boys in the area for no obvious reasons. They stop them and search them, it’s bullying really. You see them upset. ‘What the police man just scold me about?’.”
In Hackney (East London) where rioters battled police, set fire to vehicles, and looted shops, Sivaharan Kanbiah, a 39-year-old Sri Lankan immigrant who ran a convenience store said his business has been totally wrecked. "They did not just steal everything. They tore out the ceiling. They broke up the floor. They ripped out the shelves. I don't understand such hate."
Kanbiah who has a wife, two children, and a mother to support said he doesn’t know how he is going to restart his business. “I have no way to do it. They took my life and I can't replace it. We'll be turned out on the street. I want to know why. Why?"
A Sri Lankan Tamil eatery that serves traditional ‘thosai’ fare was also damaged as was another convenience store run by a man who identified himself as ‘Shiva.’
The riots began when a crowd gathered outside the Tottenham police station in North London for a peaceful vigil for Mark Duggan a local 29-year old father of four who was gunned down by police on August 4.
While police claimed self defense, an investigation by the Independent Police Complaints Commission has revealed that Duggan likely had never fired on police.
Stafford Scott, a community activist in Tottenham, who was one of the people who initially gathered at the police station on August 6 accused the police of failing to follow established procedures, such as informing family members of Duggan’s death. “We came to the station to have a peaceful demonstration, and it was largely peaceful. And what we explained to the police is that we wanted someone senior from the police service to come and explain to us what was happening,” Scott said in an interview on Sky TV. The highest ranking officer willing to meet with them was the chief inspector.
“We said that person wasn't senior enough - we wanted a senior ranking officer of superintendent or above. Eventually they sent for a superintendent, but by then it was too late.”
The first tweet that went out, from a local group said: “Riot taking place right now outside Tottenham cop shop about the guy killed by the pigs this week. 200 riot cops deployed.”
An eyewitness told BBC that the standoff outside the Totthnham station, where the crowd up to that point was only chanting and shouting, turned violent after an unarmed sixteen-year old girl who approached the police line ‘was set upon’ by cops with batons.
Looting and rioting quickly spread into other cities including Birmingham, Liverpool and Bristol. About 450 people have been arrested while 16000 policemen have been deployed to quell the riots. In the latest developments, the rioting has spread to Manchester while London is calm.
Tottenham saw major riots in October 1985 after local resident Cynthia Jarrett died of a heart attack when police raided her house. Tottenham a racially mixed community with a high concentration of Caribbean immigrants has been hit by recent government austerity measures in recent weeks.
Racial profiling, bullying, and stop and search tactics by local police are being blamed for the breakout of violence in Tottenham. A 51-year-old Tottenham resident named Danny was quoted by a local newspaper as saying: “It was triggered by the police really. They terrorize the boys in the area for no obvious reasons. They stop them and search them, it’s bullying really. You see them upset. ‘What the police man just scold me about?’.”