Hundreds of fake arms and legs were dumped outside the Russian Embassy in London this week by protesters opposed to Moscow’s military involvement in Syria, giving way to a row that quickly resulted in a heated back-and-forth between the U.K. and Russia.
The demonstration occurred Thursday afternoon when 25 activists scattered roughly 800 mannequin limbs outside Russia’s Embassy in London as two protesters chained themselves to the building’s gate.
The event was organized by Syria Solidarity U.K. and the Syria Campaign, two human rights groups, and held to raise awareness about the mounting civilian casualties blamed on Russia since its military began assisting the Syrian government last year in its ongoing civil war.
“Innocent children are being killed in their beds, while doctors are being bombed just for trying to save the lives of others,” Syria Campaign’s John Dunford said from the scene of the protest, The Huffington Post reported.
The demonstration wasn’t well-received by the embassy, which fired off a strongly worded complaint accusing protesters of compromising embassy security possibly at the behest of British officials.
“Police officers remained indifferent in the face of the openly provocative and disorderly conduct of the ’demonstrators,’ ” the embassy said. “Moreover, nuisance callers blocked the Embassy [sic] telephone line rendering it impossible to contact the mission for genuine callers.”
The embassy added it was “under the impression that this disruptive ’protest action’ has been thoroughly planned,” and said its assumption was “not surprising in the context of the recent official statement in Parliament by Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Boris Johnson.”
Indeed, Mr. Johnson explicitly stated last month he’d like to see a protest unfold outside the Russian Embassy given the growing body count in Syria attributed to Moscow, noting: “There is no commensurate horror among protest groups.”
The British government denied being responsible for the protest in a response that called the embassy’s claim “wholly without foundation.”
“We understand from the police that a small, peaceful protest took place outside the Russian Embassy yesterday afternoon. Diplomatic Police were in place throughout, remaining in close contact with Russian Embassy staff. No arrests were made,” a spokesperson for the British Foreign Office said in a statement Friday, as reported by Russian government-owned media.
“The reality is that Russian and Syrian regime actions are inflicting widespread suffering on the people of Syria, and the U.K. public remain severely concerned,” the statement said.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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