UN CHIEF URGES US: LISTEN TO PROTESTERS INSTEAD OF THREATENING THEM

United Nations (UN) Secretary General Antonio Guterres urges Americans protesting racial inequities and excessive police force to do so peacefully and calls on US leaders and authorities to listen to them and show restraint, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said on Monday (Tuesday, June 2, 2020 in Manila).

Dujarric was responding to a wave of US. demonstrations over the death of a black man, George Floyd, in police custody in Minneapolis a week ago. Some of the largely peaceful protests have spiraled into civil unrest in many cities, Michelle Nichols of Reuters reported.

“Grievances must be heard, but they must be expressed in peaceful ways and authorities must show restraint in responding to demonstrators,” Dujarric told reporters. “In the US - as in any other country in the world - diversity is a richness and not a threat, but the success of diverse societies in any country requires a massive investment in social cohesion,” he said. On accusations of excessive force by police against protesters, Dujarric said all cases should be investigated.

However, instead of calming the nation, US President Donald Trump issued several tweets, describing demonstrators as “thugs” and urging mayors and governors to “get tough” and threatened to use the military against protesters.