由舞蹈學校三死命案到全國暴亂 英國到底發生甚麼事

ROTHERHAM, ENGLAND - AUGUST 4: Riot police officers push back anti-migration protesters outside the Holiday Inn Express Hotel which is housing asylum seekers on August 4, 2024 in Rotherham, United Kingdom. Yesterday saw widespread violence as Far-right agitators in Liverpool and Manchester rioted and looted shops. Police were attacked and injured and dozens of arrests were made. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
暴亂昨日(4 日)蔓延至洛達咸(Rotherham),反移民示威者在本身是難民庇護所的 Holiday Inn Express Hotel 外縱火搗亂。 (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

英國暴亂持續多日,暴徒搗亂酒店和難民庇護所,又四處縱火。火頭由 Southport 蔓延至 Sunderland、Leeds、Leicester 和 London 等十多個地區。為何浪潮如此迅速席捲全國?行動組織是誰?仇恨與破壞背後又反映了甚麼社會問題?

由集體兇殺案演變成反移民暴動

暴動是源於上周一(29 日)發生在 Souhtport 一間舞蹈學校的集體殺人案,17 歲少年 Axel Rudakubana 涉嫌持刀刺死三名年僅六至九歲的女童,另有八名兒童和兩名成人受傷。由於疑兇未成年,受到法例保護,警方起初拒絕公佈其身分。在真實資訊缺乏下,網上遂流傳各種猜測,引發反移民及恐懼伊斯蘭情緒。

Southport 位於英國西北部,鄰近利物浦,疑兇其實生於英國。極右組織包括新納粹主義者、暴力球迷和反穆斯林運動組織者卻散播不實訊息,謠言如火般迅速蔓延,錯誤指稱疑兇姓名為 Ali al-Shakati,把他說成是去年才坐小艇偷渡到英國的非法移民。

People look at floral tributes on Maple Street, Southport. Axel Rudakubana, 17, has been remanded into a youth detention accommodation, charged with three counts of murder, 10 counts of attempted murder and possession of a bladed article, following a knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed holiday club in Southport on Monday. Picture date: Thursday August 1, 2024. (Photo by Danny Lawson/PA Images via Getty Images)
集體兇殺案發生於 Southport,民眾持續多日前往 Maple Street 獻花致祭。 (Photo by Danny Lawson/PA Images via Getty Images)

極右分子利用 Telegram 和 X 等社交平台呼籲民眾上街。兇殺案翌日晚上,超過二百人集結,當中許多是從英國其他地區坐火車前來的示威者。示威很快演變成暴亂,暴徒攻擊清真寺,放火燒車,50 名警務人員受傷。

「利用小孩喪生追求政治目的」

Hamad bin Khalifa University 專注研究資訊控制策略的學者 Marc Owen Jones 發現,在事發一日之後,最少有 2,700 萬對疑兇為穆斯林、移民、難民或外國人等社交平台不實資訊作出反應。

擁有 80 萬追隨者的極右反伊斯蘭分子 Tommy Robinson 在其社交平台 X 帳號指稱,越來越多證據顯示,伊斯蘭是一種精神健康問題,多於和平的宗教,「他們正在以仇恨、暴力和激進移民取代英國⋯⋯工黨政府不在乎你們的孩子」。警方指出,Robinson 有份創立的極右組織「捍衞英國人聯盟」(English Defence League,下稱 EDL)的成員,正是上周二(30 日)Southport 暴亂的參與者。

來自 Southport 的國會議員 Patrick Hurley 形容區內的騷亂都是由外來者造成,「這些流氓利用三個小孩的喪生,追求自己的政治目的」。

WEYMOUTH, ENGLAND - AUGUST 04: An anti-migration protester stands on the beach holding a St George's flag, on August 04, 2024 in Weymouth, England. Yesterday saw widespread violence as Far-right agitators in Liverpool and Manchester rioted and looted shops. Police were attacked and injured and dozens of arrests were made. (Photo by Finnbarr Webster/Getty Images)
儘管 Southport 集體兇殺案疑兇生於英國,並非偷渡移民,英國連日來的示威仍離不開反移民主題。 (Photo by Finnbarr Webster/Getty Images)

EDL 成立於 2009 年,以反伊斯蘭及反移民暴力示威著名,組織發源地為盧頓(Luton),該城市自從有少數伊斯蘭極端分子向由伊拉克回國的英兵唱歌嘲諷之後,社區關係變得緊張。Tommy Robinson 原名 Stephen Yaxley-Lennon,在盧頓出生,本身曾是另一極右組織英國國家黨(British National Party)的成員,過去曾涉及球迷騷亂。

種族歧視植根英國

從社會背景分析,專家指出,近日的示威與騷亂是源於英國人口中深植多時的恐懼伊斯蘭情緒。關注種族平等組織 Runnymede Trust 稱,暴力種族主義早已在社會深層積聚,發言人說:「現時發生的正是多年來種族主義與恐懼伊斯蘭情緒常態化的直接結果,而政客和英國傳媒都是幫兇。」

根據英國內政部統計,涉及種族與宗教的仇佷罪案數字高企,其中穆斯林是最大受害者。2022 年的恐懼伊斯蘭事件比 2021 年升了一倍,原因是極右活動及全球反穆斯林攻擊事件增加,脫歐公投運動也是誘因。

Tommy Robinson addresses the crowd gathered at Trafalgar Square in central London during a protest he organised. Picture date: Saturday July 27, 2024. (Photo by Maja Smiejkowska/PA Images via Getty Images)
Tommy Robinson 上月 27 日帶領群眾在倫敦反移民遊行集會,有數千人參與。 (Photo by Maja Smiejkowska/PA Images via Getty Images)

剛下台的保守黨政府被指對歧視者袖手旁觀,該黨任內成立的反仇恨穆斯林工作組(AMHWG)自 2020 年起已中止運作。設於倫敦的恐懼伊斯關注組(IRU)指出,今年 3 月,有在英穆斯林表示他們入夜後都不敢離開家門;自從去年 10 月哈馬斯襲擊以色列之後,恐懼伊斯蘭事故上升了 365%。

英國很多極右組織會故意擺脫正式的上下級結構,Hope Not Hate 研究總監 Joe Mulhall 形容他們為「後組織」,社交平台及其他通訊科技造就了新的社運方式。警方卻未能針對可以在數小時內透過私訊發起的暴動採取對策,極右主義研究專家 Matthew Feldman 批評,警方思維停留在 20 世紀,以為這些暴亂需時數日發動,甚至覺得發起人會伷請遊行許可,而 Southport 的暴亂正是一次快閃行動的示範。

參考報道:《紐約時報》《半島電視》、《獨立報》

SUNDERLAND, ENGLAND - AUGUST 02: Riot police are confronted by Far-right activists during an Enough is Enough protest in Sunderland on August 02, 2024 in Sunderland, England. Mis-information spread on social media after the murders of three girls in Southport earlier this week has fueled acts of violent rioting from far-right sympathisers across England. (Photo by Ian Forsyth/Getty Images)
連日來席捲全英的示威暴動,警方未能制止,被批評思維過時。 (Photo by Ian Forsyth/Getty Images)
SOUTHPORT, ENGLAND - JULY 30: Riot police hold back protesters after disorder broke out on July 30, 2024 in Southport, England. Rumours about the identity of the 17-year-old suspect in yesterday's deadly stabbing attack here have sparked a violent protest. According to authorities and media reports, the suspect was born in Cardiff to Rwandan parents, but the person cannot be named due to his age. A false report had circulated online that the suspect was a recent immigrant who crossed the English Channel last week and was
由一宗集體兇殺案引起的英國暴亂潮,最先在案件發生地區 Southport 爆發。 (Photo by Getty Images/Getty Images)