Birmingham Unite Against Fascism is calling upon anti-fascists to oppose another fascist attempt to inflame race hate in Birmingham.
The Islamophobic and fascist sect, Britain First, plan to visit the city of Birmingham on 24 June. They had aimed at an earlier, unwanted intrusion, but had to postpone this, as their leaders were arrested on various charges. Birmingham Unite Against Fascism have called a counter mobilisation.
The ex-BNP members who lead Britain First have a long history of attempting to intimidate Muslims, in particular. They are now banned from every mosque in the UK, after having on a number of occasions, arrived at mosques and threatened often elderly, Muslims. One founder of Britain First, James Dowson, has criminal convictions that include possession of weapons and is well connected with Loyalist organisations in Northern Ireland, where he was involved in organising Loyalist “flag” protests.
Britain First were among the words shouted by the killer of Jo Cox MP, at the scene of his appalling act. It is still an open question as to whether the murderer, a white supremacist, was linked to Britain First. The fascists, like their counterparts in the EDL and ex EDL leader, Tommy Robinson, wish to cynically capitalise on the terror attacks in the UK. Britain First do not seek unity of course, but try to inflame Islamophobia and target all Muslims.
The last time fascists visited Birmingham was in the shape of the EDL, in April. They were opposed by anti fascists and superbly upstaged by Saffiyah Khan, caught in a picture which went viral. Britain First have a large online presence but this generally belies their actual ability to mobilise on the streets. Their electoral results are overwhelmingly poor, witness their pitiful results in the London Mayoral election.
Despite this, the recent Manchester march led by Tommy Robinson, of over 1,000 racists and fascists, from across the far right, means that anti-fascists will keep focused on undercutting UK fascists. Robinson’s thug-filled, tide of hate was the largest extreme right demonstration, since 2013.
Birmingham Unite Against Fascism are organising with allies in the trades unions, the Muslim community and via Love Music Hate Racism, to ensure the fascists are marginalised. Britain First are not wanted in the city and will be shunned by all who reject their Islamophobia.
The NORSCARF Group (North Staffordshire Campaign Against Racism and Fascism) are celebrating 40 years of struggle this autumn, and will be publishing a study of the group’s activities. They are anxious to contact all those who have been active over the years, especially in the very early years when the group was set up.
The group has worked campaigning against racism and fascism across Staffordshire and covers all the ST post codes, but concentrated on Stoke on Trent and the Constitutencies bordering Stoke, namely the ST1-ST5 post codes and ST15-17, plus parts of Cheshire bordering on Staffordshire.
They are interested in hearing from both members and non members who have been involved in their campaign over the years. To get in touch please send your contact details to [email protected].
Liverpool lived up to its historic record as being one of the most unfriendly places for the extreme right to visit when the English Defence League tried to hold a march on Saturday 3 June.
For the EDL it was an unmitigated disaster. Just 60 supporters scraped up from gutters nationwide turned out, supported by a handful of local Ulster Volunteer Force heavies.
One thousand Scousers confront 60 EDL Nazis
Only days before their arrival in Liverpool two attempted outrages had occurred in Manchester involving Stephen Lennon, aka Tommy Robinson, the former leader of the EDL, and the EDL itself. As the people of Manchester and beyond mourned the victims of the ISIS inspired massacre of families attending a concert in their city, and a main square was filled with thousands of wreaths and tokens of their grief, Lennon arrived with his new employer, the Alt-Right US/Canadian video team Rebel, to pour oil on troubled waters, a regular activity of theirs these days. Then a small number of thugs turned up chanting “EDL, EDL”. Both these disgusting provocations were swiftly halted by the hundreds of mourners and the police.
By their actions, these far-right extremists in Manchester and Liverpool were advancing the dirty work of the ISIS supporting terrorists by trying to provoke hate and community tension, where communities were building unity and peace in the face of hate-filled terrorism. The EDL cannot be allowed to threaten democratic society unhindered.
We salute those who stood up to the tragic loss of life in Manchester and London and are not allowing these monsters to undermine us as a united society, despite the deadly assaults on our democracy by political and religious extremists.
Our correspondent reports that the police and community in Liverpool were well prepared for the EDL’s visit. From around 9am there was a significant police presence in and around Liverpool Lime Street which built up as the day progressed. From around 11am groups of Antifa (wearing black) and other counter-protesters carrying flags/banners were increasingly visible in and around Lime Street Station where Merseyside Unite Against Fascism (UAF) was setting up its counter protest on the steps of the station.
It became clear that the police had designated the station steps as the only legitimate area where a counter protest could take place. They began insisting that anyone they could identify as a counter-protester move onto the station steps or face arrest. Many were forced to do so, but for the police it was an ongoing problem as people moved on and off the station steps. It became clear that the police intended to kettle the counter-protesters on the steps of Lime Street Station.
There were also lots of people hanging around who could not so easily be identified as counter-protesters and so continued to move around freely.
Fifty seven EDL supporters sought police protection. The other three were too drunk to join the failed march
The EDL were drinking in the Lord Warden pub and this became a focal point for a small but very lively protest, which grew in size as the morning progressed. The EDL were effectively hemmed into the pub area by police and protesters.
Around 1pm the police prepared to escort the EDL to their assembly point outside Lime Street Station. Protesters blocked the route and the police were force to take the EDL down a side street, again followed by jeering and heckling counter protesters. Access to this route was finally blocked by police, and what were now hundreds of counter-protesters ran back to Lime Street.
On arrival back at Lime Street the EDL were at first nowhere to be seen and the counter-protesters on the steps were urged to get off the steps and on to the streets, which most did.
The EDL flanked by police finally emerged from a side street and were immediately surrounded. The police had to force them through at every step.
The Police finally managed to get the EDL to their assembly point outside Lime Street station from where they were supposed to march to Liverpool docks. By this stage they were surrounded and the police could do no more than protect them.
You can always tell a Nazi by their association with a terrorist organisation
After the police and EDL had inched their way some thirty metres across the road they were surrounded on all sides and the road was blocked by a sit-down protest, so the EDL were held there. This stand-off lasted at least half an hour.
Unable to make headway the march was abandoned and the EDL were escorted back to the railway station surrounded by around 1,000 jeering counter-protesters and being bombarded with eggs, water, horse manure, smoke canisters, sticks and fists.
The last that was heard was that they were forced to give their brief speeches on platform 1 of Lime Street station.
The protest was made up of organised anti-fascist groups, trade unions, community groups and others. Merseyside UAF’s protest was supported by seven regional trade unions – CWU, FBU, GMB, NUT, PCS, Unison and Unite – over 25 local councillors, Show Racism the Red Card, and several prominent local individuals, including the Deputy Mayor of Liverpool Ann O’Byrne; Julie Ward MEP; Lynn Collins, Regional Secretary of North West TUC; Martin Cavanagh of PCS; Tony Kearns, acting General Secretary of the CWU; writer Alan Gibbons; and Mark Rowe, local Regional Secretary of the Fire Brigades Union.
The Liverpool anti-fascist movement would like to thank the mounted police officers for supplying them with a good amount of dung with which to pelt the retreating Nazis.
The true face of Liverpool
All photos by KSW
The EDL has announced a march in London on 17 June. It will be opposed.
SOVA Center was fined 300 thousand rubles for having failed to voluntarily register itself as a “foreign agent”, before that was done by the Ministry of Justice. Unfortunately, they lost the appeal.
Now they have to pay a considerable sum before mid-July and would be grateful for any help.
SOVA Center for Information and Analysis is a Moscow-based Russian nonprofit organization that was founded in October 2002 by a group of people working for the Panorama Center for Information and Research and the Moscow Helsinki Group.
SOVA Center conducts informational and research work on such topics as nationalism and xenophobia, relations between the churches and the secular society, and political radicalism. We are also interested in the problem of human rights in general and in safeguarding liberal democracy in the Russian Federation. You can read SOVA Center’s reports on its website.
If you would like to help, please use one of the bank accounts below. Please indicate the purpose of your transfer as a Targeted donation for paying the fine.
Account details: ROO Tsentr SOVA UniCredit Bank SWIFT: IMBKRUMM
In USD: Account 40703840700010865184 Correspondent bank: JPMorgan Chase Bank, New York, SWIFT Code: CHASUS33
In Euro: Account 40703978300010865184 Correspondent bank: UniCredit Bank AG, SWIFT Code: HYVEDEMM
An international gathering of mainly Iranian and Italian antisemitic fascists opened in the Iranian capital Tehran on 17 May under the title “On the brink 2”. The Iranian news agency Tasmin described it as a “New Horizon Conference” and claimed it was focusing on human rights issues.
Tasmin reported: “Twenty-five human rights figures and experts from Europe and North America have participated in the two-day event.
“The gathering focuses on the latest developments in the Middle East region and the world.
“The 3rd New Horizon Conference was dedicated to a number of subjects, including a review of police brutality towards blacks in the US.
“Called “On the Brink”, the event took place in early fall last year.”
These fascists are using the banner of “human rights” as a smokescreen. We think it is possible that some of the core group of British extreme right antisemites may also have been represented there, but maintained a low profile.
Here are some images from the conference.
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