Marchers clog streets of London to demand new Brexit vote
ILONDON (AP): UNDREDS OF thousands of protesters opposed to Britain’s impending exit from the European Union marched through central London yesterday, demanding a new referendum and to have a say on the government’s final Brexit deal with the EU.
Organisers say another public vote is needed because new facts have come out about the costs and complexity of Britain’s exit from the bloc since voters chose to leave in 2016.
They estimated that some 700,000 people took part in the ‘People’s Vote March’, which saw 150 buses of marchers pour into the British capital from all across the country. Police did not provide an attendance estimate.
“What’s clear is that the only options on the table now from the prime minister are a bad Brexit deal, or no deal whatsoever,” London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who joined the march, told the BBC.
“That’s a million miles away from what was promised 21/2 years ago.”
H‘MARCH FOR THE FUTURE’
Khan said that yesterday’s protest was a “march for the future” for young Britons, including those who were too young to vote in Britain’s 2016 Brexit referendum, when those who favoured leaving the EU won narrowly by 52 per cent.
The mayor, from the opposition Labour Party, has previously backed mounting calls for a fresh referendum so the public can have a say on whether they accept Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit deal or choose to stay in the EU.
May, the leader of Britain’s Conservatives, has ruled out another public vote on the subject.
That didn’t stop the crowds from demanding one. Among them was Lord of the Rings actor Andy Serkis, who marched with his son and wife. Serkis said he believes there should be a second referendum “now that people are more informed”.
Britain is scheduled to leave the EU on March 29, 2019 but negotiations over the divorce have been plagued by disagreements, particularly over the future border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
“This week’s fresh chaos and confusion over Brexit negotiations has exposed how even the best deal now available will be a bad one for Britain,” said Andrew Adonis, a Labour member of the House of Lords. “Voters will neither forgive nor forget if (lawmakers) allow this miserable Brexit to proceed without people being given the final say.” TECUN UMAN (AP): A UNITED STATES-BOUND caravan that once totalled more than 3,000 Central American migrants looked to be about a third that size yesterday morning, when its remaining members woke up on a bridge that divides the borders of Guatemala and Mexico and waited to get past a crossing guarded by hundreds of Mexican federal police.
Hundreds of migrants have already crossed, some legally, some not. Others left their spots on the bridge to go to a nearby Guatemalan town for food. It’s unclear whether any have simply turned back.
The group had burst through a Guatemalan border fence last Friday and rushed on to the bridge over the Suchiate River, defying officials’ entreaties for an orderly crossing and US President Donald Trump’s threats of retaliation.
They were met by a wall of police with riot shields, and only about 50 migrants managed to push their way through before officers unleashed pepper spray. The rest retreated, joining the sea of people in limbo between both countries.
At an event in Scottsdale, Arizona, on Friday, the US president made it clear to Mexico that he is monitoring its response.
“So as of this moment, I thank Mexico. I hope they continue. But as of this moment, I thank Mexico,” he said. “If that doesn’t work out, we’re calling up the military – not the Guard.”
He also warned the migrants that they should turn back.
“They’re not coming into this country,” he said.
On Friday, Mexican police and immigration agents began letting small groups of 10, 20 or 30 people through the gates at a time if they wanted to apply for refugee status. Once they filed a claim, they were given the option to go to a shelter to spend the night.
Other migrants, tired of waiting, jumped off the bridge into the river. Some organised a rope brigade to ford its muddy waters or floated across on rafts operated by local residents who usually charge a dollar or two to make the crossing.
Some women and children made their way towards the front of the caravan yesterday, while the men were at the back.
They have also moved about 30 feet (9 metres) back from the gate that separates them from Mexican police to establish a buffer zone.