Greens call for urgent Ministerial statement on ‘disgraceful’ far right hotel protests
The Scottish Government has been urged to give an urgent Ministerial statement as soon as parliament is back to lay out plans to protect refugees and those seeking asylum, and halt the racist protests we have seen outside hotels.
It is expected that there will be dozens of protests across the UK this weekend outside hotels being used to house people seeking asylum.
Scottish Greens MSP Maggie Chapman MSP said:
“These disgraceful protests are a clear attempt to intimidate and terrify asylum seekers and refugees. They present a clear risk to the wellbeing of people who have fled terrible circumstances and want to rebuild their lives here in Scotland.
“Nobody should have to experience a vicious and hostile crowd like this on their doorsteps. Everyone - asylum seekers included - deserve to feel safe where they live.
“I urge the Scottish Government to make a statement on the rise in explicitly fascist protests as soon as parliament is back.
“Ministers need to make clear that they stand with refugees and lay out what they will do to support and protect them and tackle the hatred and hostility that these protests represent."
Ms Chapman added:
“Successive UK governments, both Tory and Labour, have spent years punching downwards and building a racist, inhumane and cruel system that is designed to punish and humiliate people seeking asylum. Meanwhile they have allowed exploitative private providers to rake in huge profits from human misery.
“Nobody should be trapped in a hotel for months on end. They should be supported and homed in communities without the threat of protests or the racist restrictions that stop them from being able to work and live freely.”