SCOTTISH politicians have condemned far-right disorder in Glasgow as “absolutely appalling”.
Hundreds of people gathered in Buchanan Street in Glasgow at around 7pm on Tuesday in response to a stabbing attack in Belfast, while video on social media showed a crowd bearing Union flags walking down Princes Street in Edinburgh.
The protesters were calling for an “end to mass migration”, with Police Scotland confirming that three men had been arrested in Glasgow, and three members of the public were injured.
Officers confirmed that they were attacked because of the colour of their skin.
Far-right protests were also held in Falkirk, Perth, Ayr, and Paisley, where no arrests were made.
Speaking to press during a visit to a health centre in Aberdeen, Health Secretary Angela Constance called for calm – telling those involved in such scenes: “Just go home and behave yourself.”
Constance added: “Our communities don’t need this level of disruption.”
Responding to images circulating of violence in Glasgow, the former justice secretary added: “We have to be very clear and stand united against any form of hatred, intolerance or racism.
“As a former justice secretary, I can assure you that Police Scotland take these matters, very, very seriously and will, of course, follow up on any complaint or in any investigation.”
In response to the scenes shared widely on social media, Scottish Greens Glasgow region MSP Iris Duane told The National in Holyrood that “nobody should be afraid to go into the city centre because of the colour of their skin”.
Kate Nevens, the party’s MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, condemned the protests as seeking to make communities of colour feel “unsafe in public life”, adding that there should be proactive support for communities.
Several Scottish Labour MSPs and MPs representing Glasgow have also condemned the violence.
It comes after First Minister John Swinney said the disorder was "unacceptable" and has “no place in Scotland".
“No one should be made to feel scared in a place they call home, and the actions of those involved do not reflect Scotland’s values,” Swinney said in a statement.
“I utterly condemn this behaviour and stand firmly against acts that stoke any form of violence and intolerance. And I want to be clear – racism, hatred and intimidation have no place in Scotland, and we must be united in standing against it.”
Scottish Justice Secretary Neil Gray also condemned the violence as "shocking and unacceptable" in response to an urgent question in the Scottish Parliament.
Duane added that she was in Glasgow city centre when the violence erupted on Tuesday evening, with multiple people getting in touch to make sure she was safe and had a plan to get home.
She said: “Glasgow is an amazing city, but nobody should be afraid to go into the city centre just because of the colour of their skin. It's really disappointing.”
“What we need to be ultimately clear about is that the far right in itself is not inevitable, the people that were out on the streets yesterday attacking people of colour were not born to do that,” Duane said.
“Hatred is not something that is inbuilt. The onus is on us in this Chamber to prove that politics can work, and that pointing fingers at our migrant communities or our communities of colour is not a path forward.”
Nevens called for the Scottish Government to engage with the communities impacted by far-right violence and disorder.
“This is deliberately to make communities of colour feel unsafe in public life and to participate in public life, and I think that's it's just absolutely appalling,” she told The National.
“And I'd really like to see the Scottish Government do more than just condemning it.
“Knowing it is great, but I want to see proactive support to the communities who are affected, being led by the needs of our migrant communities, our communities of colour, our faith communities, in terms of what actual kind of response is needed to make people feel safe again.”
In response to an urgent question from Scottish Labour Glasgow region MSP Paul Sweeney on Wednesday afternoon, Gray said: "Violence and racism have no place on our streets, and I utterly condemn the actions of the mindless few involved in the disorder and assaults that took place in Glasgow. "
The Justice Secretary added that Police Scotland have "appropriate plans" to manage any further protests, including the deployment of specialist public order officers.
"Let me be crystal clear, there is no place for racism, hatred, and intimidation in our society, nor the actions of those that seek to stoke those sentiments and division," he said.
"Those beliefs and actions are not those of the vast majority of those living in Scotland, who have values of being a welcoming and warm nation."
Sweeney told the Chamber that "racist thugs stormed through the centre of Glasgow under the white nationalist slogan White Lives Matter", attacking people based on the colour of their skin.
"This shocking display of hate is the antithesis of the compassionate character and welcoming spirit of Glasgow and Glaswegians," he said. "Yet last night's event was not a random outburst of bigotry and violence. It marks a further escalation in organised far-right riots that are becoming all too common in Scotland, from Perth to Peterhead, Falkirk to Ayr."
Gray responded: "Last night was designed to intimidate, it was designed to cause alarm, it was designed to divide. But we will not allow those who seek to intimidate us or to divide us, the values of the people of Scotland must prevail, and we must show leadership across the Chamber to ensure that is the case."
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar also condemned the violence and said those behind the “shocking” attack in Belfast must face the “full force of the law”.
“People have the right to raise legitimate concerns, but violence, racism and disorder have no place in Scotland and only serve to divide our communities,” the Glasgow region MSP said.
“We are strongest when we stand together.”
Carol Mochan, Scottish Labour’s South Scotland MSP, said that the scenes across the country, including Ayr where she represents, are “only going to make matters worse”.
Writing on X/Twitter, she said: “The far right exploit these events to cause more trouble and they will keep ramping up until they create unfixable divisions. In Belfast yesterday we saw where that leads.
“Violence was wrong when this terrible attack happened in Belfast, it’s wrong anywhere else in response. Let the police do their jobs.”
On Wednesday morning, Reform Scotland shared graphic of Glasgow region MSP Thomas Kerr with his arms folded, which said: “It’s time to end mass uncontrolled illegal migration”.
The caption read: “It must end now!!”
