Campaigners say anti-asylum hotel protesters in Falkirk are ‘extremists’

Douglas MacLeodProtesters gathered outdoors the Cladhan Lodge in Falkirk on SaturdayAn anti-racism group has hit out at “extremists” who took half in a protest in opposition to asylum seekers being housed in a former resort in Falkirk.A whole bunch gathered outdoors the Cladhan Lodge on Saturday – one protester was seen performing a Nazi salute whereas one other carried a banner that stated Kill ‘Em All, Let God Kind ‘Em Out”.Organisers, a Fb group known as Save Our Future and Our Children Futures, stated it had “no affiliation” with far-right protesters on the occasion.Anti-racism protesters staged a counter-demonstration, together with the group Stand Up To Racism which stated the far proper “poses a direct risk to life and security in Scotland”.The resort is managed by Mears Group on behalf of the Residence Workplace, which meets the complete prices of lodging, meals and monetary allowances for asylum seekers.Police closed the street for a number of hours on account of the demonstrations and two males have been arrested.A 23-year-old was charged over a report of indecent publicity and a 26-year-old was charged with obstructing police.Protesters, some waving Union flags, chanted “ship them residence” and anti-racism demonstrators responded with chants of “refugees are welcome right here” and “that is what group appears like”.Gary Clark, from Falkirk Commerce Union Council, stated he noticed “some actually terrible sights” on the occasion.Mr Clark, who makes use of a mobility scooter, stated he had anti-disabled abuse shouted at him as he made a speech.He advised BBC Scotland’s Mornings programme that he noticed “neo-Nazi teams brazenly displaying banners.”He stated: “The police has to escort us across the nook to cease them attacking us. “Their faces have been pure anger, and hatred was written on their faces.”PA MediaHundreds of protesters gathered outdoors the previous Cladhan Lodge on Kemper Avenue on SaturdayHe stated the commerce unions wished to have interaction with the group and “deal with their fears in an accurate method.”He stated: “There have been many involved locals there, I am not going to cover that reality.”He referred to the case of Sadeq Nikzad, an asylum seeker from Afghanistan, who was jailed for 9 years in June for raping a 15-year-old lady in Falkirk city centre in 2023.He stated: “What I might say is, simply because one particular person is completed for a sexual offence you may’t label all of them.””There’s lots of people who’ve been by way of quite a bit to get to this nation, been by way of conflict, terror, and we have now to take care of them.”Stand Up To Racism ScotlandAnti-racism protesters stood outdoors the previous resort, which now homes asylum seekersConnor Graham, from Save Our Future and Our Children Futures, advised the programme that group members are “undoubtedly not extremists”, and should not racist or far-right.He stated: “We’re simply native individuals who wish to defend our group.” Mr Graham stated he “fully condemned” the banner, saying he “couldn’t management” who turned as much as a public occasion.He stated: “These different individuals who have turned up with the flags that they did, all I can do is ask them to not seem with that type of stuff sooner or later.”He stated he wished “openness and honesty about who’s being housed in our group” and that additional protests have been being deliberate.’Want for unity’Stand As much as Racism Scotland stated the counter-protest “mirrored the true group of Falkirk” and included commerce unions, religion teams, LGBT+ organisations, and refugee rights advocates, “all united in peaceable opposition to racist hate.”The group accused some demonstrators of launching flares and missiles on the counter protest, and of shouting “vile sexist abuse”.A spokesperson stated: “Saturday’s occasions are a stark warning: the far-right poses a direct risk to life and security in Scotland.”The occasions in Falkirk present the pressing want for unity to forestall the far-right from spreading hate and placing lives in danger.”The rallies comply with related protests and counter-protests in Aberdeen earlier this month.About 40 individuals protested in opposition to asylum seekers outdoors the previous Patio Lodge on 9 August, with about 200 anti-racism protesters attending.The occasion had been beforehand publicised on social media.There have been no stories of arrests amid a heavy police presence.One other resort within the Summerhill space of Aberdeen was additionally topic to a latest protest.What number of asylum seekers are there in Scotland?As of March this yr, there have been round 6,000 asylum seekers in Scotland, with the bulk (4,152) residing in Glasgow.A variety of lodging is used to accommodate individuals whereas their asylum purposes are being processed however most are in some type of longer-term, self-catering lodging.In keeping with the Residence Workplace, resorts are “contingency lodging” and solely meant for use for asylum seekers when different housing can’t be sourced.As of March, 18 native authority areas in Scotland have been housing 1,352 asylum seekers in resorts.That is up from ten councils housing 662 individuals in resorts as of June, 2023.Falkirk had 79 asylum seekers residing in resorts, as of March.The rise in use of resorts displays the UK authorities’s backlog in processing asylum purposes, wider housing shortages and strain from different schemes similar to accommodating 1000’s of refuges from Ukraine.Falkirk Council stated it might work constructively with group teams and companions together with police on the difficulty of group security.It identified its homelessness service has no involvement or contact with these within the Cladhan Lodge after false claims emerged on-line.