Europe to march in support of refugees
Syrian refugees gather along the train tracks as they arrive at Greece's border with Macedonia near the Greek village of Idomeni on Friday.
AFP, London :
Tens of thousands of people are expected to demonstrate Saturday in a Europe-wide “day of action” in solidarity with refugees, with a handful of rival anti-migrant protests also to take place.
In London alone, almost 90,000 people have indicated they will join the pro-refugee demonstrations, with Berlin, Vienna and Lisbon also hosting rallies.
“It’s time to speak out against the deadly borders that have been enacted in our name,” organisers wrote in a rallying cry on a Facebook page called “European day of action for refugees”.
“We want to show, with thousands of people all over Europe, our solidarity with those fleeing war, violence and destitution,” it said.
“We want to let all the refugees know: You are welcome!”
By Friday afternoon, 89,000 people had registered their intention on Facebook to join a march in central London which begins at 1100 GMT.
Demonstrators will gather at Park Lane by Hyde Park and march towards the Downing Street residence of Prime Minister David Cameron.
Similar protests and candlelit vigils will also take place in other cities across Britain.
In Portugal, more than 4,000 people are to join a series of demonstrations in Lisbon, Porto, Coimbra, Felgueiras and Faro, organisers said on Facebook.
More than 5,000 people have signed up for a candlelit vigil in Berlin, while in Vienna, 6,000 are expected to rally. Several thousand are also expected at a demonstration in Athens.
In France, several rallies will take place in Nice, Metz, Lyon and Avignon.
Meanwhile rival pro- and anti-refugee demonstrations have been planned in several countries in eastern Europe.
In Warsaw there will be two demonstrations, one organised by the far-right, and another pro-migrant rally organised by NGOs.
Around 3,000 pro-refugee demonstrators are expected to gather in Prague, while an anti-migrant protest is expected to attract some 2,000 people.
There will also be an anti-migrant march in Bratislava by the far-right Marian Kotleba, governor of a central Slovak region.
The marches were called as Europe struggles with its biggest movement of people since World War II, with figures from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) showing more than 430,000 migrants and refugees have crossed the Mediterranean since the start of the year.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia has defended its efforts to aid Syrians fleeing the conflict in their country, following criticism that Gulf countries have not been taking in enough refugees since the crisis broke out there more than four years ago.
The Saudi Press Agency (SPA) on Friday cited an official source in the foreign ministry as saying the kingdom wanted to make clear its role in helping refugee in light of charges it was doing nothing.
The official said it was “important to clarify these efforts with facts and numbers in response to media reports, which included false and misleading accusations about the kingdom”.
None of the six states that form the Gulf Cooperation Council, Saudi Arabia, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar, has signed the UN convention on refugees, which has governed international law on asylum since World War Two.
Tens of thousands of people are expected to demonstrate Saturday in a Europe-wide “day of action” in solidarity with refugees, with a handful of rival anti-migrant protests also to take place.
In London alone, almost 90,000 people have indicated they will join the pro-refugee demonstrations, with Berlin, Vienna and Lisbon also hosting rallies.
“It’s time to speak out against the deadly borders that have been enacted in our name,” organisers wrote in a rallying cry on a Facebook page called “European day of action for refugees”.
“We want to show, with thousands of people all over Europe, our solidarity with those fleeing war, violence and destitution,” it said.
“We want to let all the refugees know: You are welcome!”
By Friday afternoon, 89,000 people had registered their intention on Facebook to join a march in central London which begins at 1100 GMT.
Demonstrators will gather at Park Lane by Hyde Park and march towards the Downing Street residence of Prime Minister David Cameron.
Similar protests and candlelit vigils will also take place in other cities across Britain.
In Portugal, more than 4,000 people are to join a series of demonstrations in Lisbon, Porto, Coimbra, Felgueiras and Faro, organisers said on Facebook.
More than 5,000 people have signed up for a candlelit vigil in Berlin, while in Vienna, 6,000 are expected to rally. Several thousand are also expected at a demonstration in Athens.
In France, several rallies will take place in Nice, Metz, Lyon and Avignon.
Meanwhile rival pro- and anti-refugee demonstrations have been planned in several countries in eastern Europe.
In Warsaw there will be two demonstrations, one organised by the far-right, and another pro-migrant rally organised by NGOs.
Around 3,000 pro-refugee demonstrators are expected to gather in Prague, while an anti-migrant protest is expected to attract some 2,000 people.
There will also be an anti-migrant march in Bratislava by the far-right Marian Kotleba, governor of a central Slovak region.
The marches were called as Europe struggles with its biggest movement of people since World War II, with figures from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) showing more than 430,000 migrants and refugees have crossed the Mediterranean since the start of the year.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia has defended its efforts to aid Syrians fleeing the conflict in their country, following criticism that Gulf countries have not been taking in enough refugees since the crisis broke out there more than four years ago.
The Saudi Press Agency (SPA) on Friday cited an official source in the foreign ministry as saying the kingdom wanted to make clear its role in helping refugee in light of charges it was doing nothing.
The official said it was “important to clarify these efforts with facts and numbers in response to media reports, which included false and misleading accusations about the kingdom”.
None of the six states that form the Gulf Cooperation Council, Saudi Arabia, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar, has signed the UN convention on refugees, which has governed international law on asylum since World War Two.
