The truth behind the Oldham Riots - An eyewitness report (text)

No Platform - Anti-Fascist Network | 29.05.2001 14:31

- Introduction
- Background to the events
- The timetable of immediate events
- A report on the mood in the wake of the riots

No Platform - Anti-Fascist Network
Homepage: www.antifa.net/noplatform/oldham1.html

Comments

Hide the following 9 comments

thanks for that summary. sitting here in London with just r4, the guardian and independent for media, I was totally baffled as to what was going on in Oldham. this report, if even half true, is a shining example of why indymedia is needed. people in london have to know what shit is really going down!

zoe

Police and 'racist attacks'

30.05.2001 10:06

Further to your comment regarding the attack on the pensioner, I was under the impression that as a result of the Lawrence Inquiry, the police are now obliged to approach some assaults as racially motivated from the beginning, even though nobody may believe it to be a racist attack. This was because the police missed important evidence by not following this approach in the murder of Stephen Lawrence. Obviously, the police are subsequently going to say that they they are assuming all assaults/muggings etc are potentially racially motivated in order to cover their backs.
I would be interested to know if anyone thinks my analysis is correct.

Paul Edwards

Same old coppers,taking the piss

30.05.2001 11:21

If the police are now treating all incidents as racially motivated,then by their own standards the Oldham police are failing.A case in point:last Wednesday a white 19-year-old was attacked by Asian youths in Chadderton.The police treated it as a racist attack,until the victim dropped the charges.On Friday,Asian schoolchildren were attacked by white youths at the Breeze Hill school.The local radio station reported that the police were not treating the incident as racially motivated.
Same old story....

rosa
mail e-mail: staybeautiful68@hotmail.com

oldham

30.05.2001 12:56

still waiting for a journalist to ask the police why they cant use the powers under the Criminal Justice Act which was used against strikers, pickets, festival goers, travellers etc.
Interesting also that the police seem to be using Lawrance reccomendations in a somewhat subversive manner. Ask all victims of crime was this a racist incident, increased stats = increased funding with the bonus that you can redefine racism as a statistical crime against white groups. Oversee or manage all this with people who see "diversity" as a funding issue and whos anti racist credentials were learned on a management training course. "leaders" on both sides seem to be part of the problem rather than the solution. Forget leaders - do what you know is right.

cherry
mail e-mail: cherryhoppy@yahoo.com

Well done Indymedia

30.05.2001 13:18

Well done Indymedia-its refreshing to get an account that isn't dominated by the usual mendacious hand-wringing and lies. Like footage of Nick Griffin being shown on Irish TV news calling for a "peace line" without any challenge, context or analysis whatsoever. No idea what the British TV coverage was like, I certainly can't see it being any better, but it doesn't help the struggle against anti-immigrant and racist attitudes over here when stories like Oldham are so distorted.
Self Defence is No Offence!

Dermot
mail e-mail: syndicalist@ireland.com

thanks for the coverage

01.06.2001 16:40

please include interviews with locals. The timeline is hot, but some talking with folks on the ground would be hot.

--a friend in NYC

the burning man

ELECTION CAMPAIGN

03.06.2001 16:26

How does Oldham relate to the election? Some people think it is deliberately stirred up as part of the police's own election campaign, to get more resources and police officers.

Arthur Mix
mail e-mail: arfamix@yahoo.com

Journalism Today

04.06.2001 15:07

If only the national UK papers had half your integrity.

smurf

media is sucks soo too are the cops

04.07.2001 00:18

hi

i have just read you article, i think it is excellent

One thing i'd like to know is why does this sort of stuff not get covered in the press. Did anyone try to put this story forward to the press. Because the asian youth in oldha are under siege from not only the media but the cops too. The racist cops, who under them uniforms (figures unknown, some might not be racist though)are scheming and collaborating with the facist right wingers.

In terms of how the media can manipulate things, check out the sun page two, 21 june and look at the picture on the oldham boyz. Once u have seen it get back to me and tell me your initial reaction.. Remember there are two sides to a story.

Once u have read the story, email me. Or if u cant get it I can send it to u in the form of an attachment.

Ok take care bye

shaz

shaz
mail e-mail: playawithaphd2001@yahoo.com

UK Indymedia