At G7 summit, thousands march in protest over climate change, Ethiopia’s Tigray crisis and Myanmar coup
- Supporters of Extinction Rebellion walked through the town of Falmouth playing drums, chanting and campaigning against the use of fossil fuels
- Separately, more than 1,000 people protested against the Tigray crisis in Ethiopia while thousands gathered to raise awareness of the military coup in Myanmar
Thousands of protesters have marched through the streets of Cornwall, in south-west England, on day two of the G7 summit as leaders of the world’s richest nations gathered to discuss coronavirus and other key issues.
Members and supporters of Extinction Rebellion walked through the town of Falmouth playing drums, chanting and displaying artwork campaigning against the use of fossil fuels, during their second day of protests.
Separately, more than 1,000 people protested against the crisis in the Ethiopian region of Tigray while thousands also gathered to raise awareness of the military coup in Myanmar.
Several of the protest groups gathered in Church Street Car Park – around 500 metres from the media base of the G7 – where they held rallies and chanted passionately before parading past the centre.
Ethiopian protesters were heard shouting “(Prime Minister of Ethiopia) Abiy is a criminal,” “G7 act now” and “Stop Abiy’s war crimes” at their rally.
They held up banners and the flag of Tigray before setting off a smoke flare.
Athy Mruz, 41, was one of the organisers of the Ethiopian rally and is a member of campaign group Tigray Youth Network. “The G7 has a meeting today and we are demanding they take action against our unelected prime minister who is committing genocide upon the Tigrayan people,’’ she said.
“We no longer are OK with them simply condemning it, we want them to actually take action as we estimate over 150,000 people have been killed while over 15,000 women have been raped. There’s starvation and displacement for millions of people. We can’t wait any more.