Following protests and riots in the US in response to the death of George Floyd, an estimated 2,000 people took to the streets of Lausanne over the weekend to protest, according to 20 Minutes.
George Floyd died after a police officer in the US city of Minneapolis dug his knee into Floyd’s neck and kept it there for over eight minutes. The police officer has been charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.
Protestors in Lausanne marched through the centre of the city converging on the palace of justice waving signs emblazoned with slogans such as “I can’t breathe” and “Black lives matter”.
The protest was unauthorised. In Switzerland protests need to be formally announced to the authorities in advance. In addition, Switzerland continues to have a ban on gatherings of more than 300 people to reduce the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
However, Lausanne’s police decided not to intervene in the unauthorised gathering. They said intervening would have been counter productive. A police spokesperson also said they plan to file a complaint against those involved in vandalising vehicles and the police station with spray paint.
There were similar protests in Lausanne in 2018 when Mike Ben Peter, a 40 year old Nigerian man died of a heart attack the day after a physical encounter with Lausanne police. Peter was restrained by a number of police officers at Lausanne train station after being suspected of drug dealing, according to RTS. He was later rushed to the CHUV hospital unconscious, according to the newspaper Le Temps.
The police found cocaine pellets in Peter’s mouth leading some to think he might have died of a cocaine overdose. However, an autopsy revealed no cocaine in his blood. Although he did test positive for the drug PCP, which can cause irregular heart beat. A contentious legal case brought against the municipal police remains open.
Over the weekend, other protests inspired by demonstrations around the world in response to the death of George Floyd, occurred in Neuchâtel, Basel, Bern and Zurich, according to various newspapers.
More on this:
20 Minutes article (in French) – Take a 5 minute French test now
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Kilari says
Judging by the general sentiment on this topic, it doesn’t look like BLM movement will find much support in Switzerland. The topic is met with denial, ridicule and all sorts of arguments against it. Just read – https://www.englishforum.ch/swiss-politics-news/276575-black-lives-matter-lands-lausanne-just-what-ch-doesn-t-need.html
Hatuxka says
I watched RTS’s story on this on the 7:30 news. They treated the protests as anti-racism, which it certainly was, but no mention was made at all of police brutality as part and parcel of the entire issue. Nor any mention the police brutality against peaceful protestors in the the US. The young guest they invited to talk to was barely coherent in representing what was at issue from the point of view of the Swiss protests.
Steveo says
So Floyd and the cop knew each other. They both worked security at a nightclub. Apparently there was bad blood between them. This was a bad cop. It was not systemic racism. It was a guy getting revenge. He might not have meant to kill him, but he did, and will pay the price
Isabel says
What about the officers who watched him kill Floyd while they held him down? And what about the fact that before the protests started, all four cops were projected to walk free? If that isn’t systematic racism then what is?
Also, people aren’t protesting because one cop killed one black man. They’re protesting because there’s an epidemic of police violence against people of colour.