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Anti/fascists in Bermondsey

@lex | 13.05.2001 02:19

Just read it

Arrived at South Bermondsey rail at 1130 to find a few cops and numerous protesters on the platform. Decided to nip back to london bridge, spent ten minutes there looking for fash but none seen so returned to Bermondsey at 1400, was immediately told to leave the station by police and passed 100 odd police on the way out of the station alley!
Ten minutes late, 1410, the fascists turned up (from where?), by which time I had settled down under the bridge before cops drove a wedge across the road, blocking most of the 50 odd ANL types on one side of the bridge (though a few were on the other side). Police appeared to grab an anti-fash and pull him to one side, though I
heard there were no arrests.
They then escorted and let march, fourty odd fash, with maybe fifty of us scattered around. A bunch of 20 (my version) 40 (NF) local? kids met and hung around them. As 30-40 of us were running alongside various estates on Southwark Park Road to reach the tube station, dodging police cordons, apparently some ANL bods dipped into an
estate and encountered these same NF kids, according to NF webpage, though all I heard was shouting. Slightly later we encountered these same NF kids on the main high street, home of the local labour sleazebag. Scuffles nearly ensued between fifteen of us and seven or ten of them kids, but were avoided by police interevention.
Having arrived at Bermondsey tube the police had cordoned off one carriageway of Jamaica Road, traffic was running on the other. The fash came up from the left, Park, side and slowly made their way into the station through the turnstiles which had been kindly opened for them by the friendly folk at London Underground.
LT PROVIDING COMPLIMENTARY TRANSPORT FOR THE FASH, WHILE RIPPING US OFF. WHAT WILL THEY DO NEXT?
As they entered the station, various drivers honked horns at them or us, one driver, of A.S Lee Glazing Co, 217-219, East India Dock Rd London E14 0ED Tel: 020 7515 9211 yelled 'NF' at us constantly. He must learn not to insult us when driving a company car, tut tut.
Moving around to the back of the station provided a slightly better view as they left. Immediately on descending, the LT crew closed the station.
Drifting away, a few ANL people formed for the BANNED ANTI-FASH MARCH, which for five minutes or so actually walked to South Bermondsey BR without a police escort. WOW! A scuffle nearly broke out at the end with the NF kids, Ilderton Road/Rotherhithe New Road, Greggs Bakers region, but was again prevented by police intervention, and the NF kids chickening out and running into the local estates.
WIMPS!
Last I saw was the start of the ANL planned rally, which the police appeared to allow, peacefully.

These local kids need more consideration, if they are not going to play by the book, more later.
Links I know www.anl.org.uk, www.natfront.com, (www.bnp.org.uk)
Anyone know local Bermondsey links, please post. Thanks

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@lex
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Comments

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13.05.2001 09:40

Hope this gets archived somewhere,a peoples MI5?

swastikill@
mail e-mail: care of @u


personal account

13.05.2001 12:05

i was at bermondsey yesterday, i turned up at about 12:00 with two of my mates, and we made our way down from the station to the car park where the ANL, and various socialist organisations were. we stayed there and ate our lunch and chatted with people. whilst we were waiting we could see the local youths(about our age) walking around staring at us, collecting together with st. george's flags and union jacks, all of them appeared to be looking for a fight. we then tried to figure out what we were going to do, we tried to make our way up to the station again at about 1:30 but the police wouldn't let us through, so we stood outside the station exit to wait for the NF to arrive, we watched the police clear the platform of protesters and we could see the NF up on the platform. it didn't look as if they were going to march for a while so we made our way to the road next to the grigg's bakers where the ANL were. we then stood there and waited with our ANL "lollipops" in our hands, when the NF arrived the chanting and shouting seemed to heat up, on both sides, though there didn't seem to be any violence. when the NF disappeared around the corner about 30 of us walked along a road and then started to go through what seemed to be an upper-middle class estate, but around 10 local youths chased us then ran infont of us and tried to block the road off, a couple of them tried to start a fight, but they all ran away :) the solitary police man that was with us didn't seem to care about it, lovely how the police protect the NF but leave the normal people alone. as they ran off they attacked a large people carrier, causing it some damage, we then stopped and voted on what we should do, we decided that we should all leave the area as a group, so we got rid of any placards, stickers, flags, etc. and walked to old kent road, where the three of us left using the wonderful public transport.

jimmer
mail e-mail: japoulte@hotmail.com