UK: Protesters besiege hotel commandeered for refugees
A Welsh hotel has come under a three-day siege by locals protesting government plans to turn the four-star establishment into a refugee center.
The siege began Sunday when residents learned that the historic Stradey Park Hotel and Spa, located in Llanelli, South Wales, fired 95 staff members to make room for an influx of 241 refugees seeking asylum. Llanelli has already been struggling with unemployment.
Attorneys for Gryphon Leisure Limited, which owns the hotel, say the company is responding to a “clear, pressing and urgent need” for refugee accommodations after an apparent agreement with the United Kingdom Home Office.
On Sunday about 50 protesters began camping outside the hotel. Clashes with police started after they blocked off the hotel’s two main entrances with large rocks, stopping people from coming and going. When another entrance was carved through a hedge, locals blocked it with barbed wire and human chains. They also obstructed the Home Office from delivering four shipments of new beds for the refugees. A hotel employee was allowed to leave for a family medical emergency.
“The hotel is part of the history and fabric of the town - people are angry that this has been foisted upon us,” one protester told the Daily Mail. “I'm not a racist, I feel some sympathy with asylum seekers but the best hotel for miles around is not the place for them.
“It's a bit of siege [sic] situation right now - we are organised and will see it out.”
Protesters smeared horse manure on security vans brought to the site. Signs read, “Say no to hostel” and, “We were never asked”. Footage shows one of the hotel owners being harassed while trying to leave, with someone shouting: “How you’re feeling right now is how this town feels, cornered and trapped!”
Supporters of the cause are bringing the protesters food and drink during the blockade.
Faced with an inevitable drop in tourism and employment, Carmarthenshire County Council tried to secure a temporary injunction against the government’s plans but was unsuccessful.
Scuffles have broken out between protesters and police, who have arrested several of the demonstrators.
“So the local police are now standing against the local people,” said a man while watching a woman be handcuffed.
The protest comes as neighboring France is plagued with violent riots by refugees, which spilled over into Belgium and Germany.
