Last weekend saw many communities across Britain take to the streets in protest against the fascist BNP and its allies. The BNP have found a fertile breeding ground in the current climate of racism generated as part of Bush and Blair's war drive, combined with mainstream press and politicians making asylum seekers into society's scapegoats. They are now launching the biggest ever fascist electoral offensive in postwar Britain, in the run up to the Euro-elections. However, more and more people are waking up and responding to this danger.
In Altrincham, near Manchester protesters
ambushed the car of Le Pen, while in Wickford, Essex, a protest by local villagers
stopped the BNP from assembling outside their rail station. There were also protests against fascist activities in South London, Birmingham and North Wales, amongst others. These may mark the opening skirmishes of one of the greatest battles for a generation in the long struggle to keep Britain free from fascism.
Research by the Independent Race and Refugee News Network which was based on on exit polls of 539 voters and focus groups, was carried out during local government elections in autumn 2003 in Burnley, Oldham and Calderdale indicates that, "the younger one is the more likely one is to vote BNP. Around one in three of 18-25 year-olds said that they voted for the BNP... hardly anyone in the 18-25 category voted Labour. In this age group, large numbers of young men have been attracted to the BNP's message - making it the only party whose support is predominantly male." See the Who votes BNP? article on their site for more about their research (conducted by the Searchlight Educational Trust and Vision 21) which concludes that "The bad news for those opposed to the BNP is that support for the party is not based on apathy and general disgruntlement but positive endorsement for their policies among a core of young men."
Actions: [Le Pen Ambushed] [Wickford Action] [Birmingham Rally] [Southall] [Leeds and Bradford]
Links: [United Against Fascism] [CARF] [Antifa Britain] [Other Links]
Most spectacular was Sunday morning's popular ambush of Le Pen, the notorious leader of French fascism. This veteran bigoted thug had been flown in by the BNP for a Euro-election press stunt to appear alongside Nick Griffin, the BNP's own wannabe Furher at a "secret" location. However, the carefully polished camera friendly smiles of the fascist leaders suddenly vanished as it became clear that they had been rumbled by the local anti-fascists.
At extremely short notice, a crowd of well over 150 had turned up, a reflection of the strong anti-fascist traditions of the Manchester area. They surged forward and surrounded the fascist leaders' getaway cars, many sitting down blockading them. Le Pen was jeered at and jostled by the crowd as he struggled to get to his car. People then decorated his car with the contents of rubbish bins, eggs and rotten fruit! Chants of: "Hitler, Griffin, and Le Pen; - Nazi Scum! Never Again!" made it clear what the crowd thought about these men and what they stand for.
After spluttering about how "outraged" they were at the locals' behaviour, the fascist leaders then drove to the borders of North Wales, near the Griffins' private estate. Der Furhers next venue was a tent in an isolated field. Even here Anti-fascist protest also erupted, and a large police operation was required to seal off the area to protect the fascists from about 50 protesters a quarter of a mile away in the small village of Llandrinio. Many hundreds more had also gathered in Birmingham, hoping to confront Griffin and Le Pen. However, this event was turned by its organisers into a conventional
anti-racist rally with music and speeches.
The weekend also saw another attempt by Britain's fascists and white supremacists to attempt to exploit and manufacture a mythology about ‘St. George's day', despite St George being, by today's categories, a black man born in the Middle East some 1,700 years ago. The BNP held two secretive and drab little festivals marking this day, one for its northern supporters in Rochdale, one for its southern supporters in
Essex. Other protesters in Bermondsey confronted the National Front's sordid little St George's day march. The NF rabble then sneaked away from their publicised South London charade to try to stir up a drunken anti-Muslim riot that night in Luton. The weekend also saw numerous other anti-fascist events including: A march through Southall commemorating the 25th anniversary of the murder by the police of anti-Nazi protester
Blair Peach on a demo to stop the NF back in 1979: and a weekend of anti-fascist activities and mass distribution of a popular anti-BNP information sheet throughout
Leeds and Bradford. The next few weeks will see, amongst other things, launch rallies of new anti-fascist campaigns in most towns and cities, and nationwide days of
mass leafleting. New generations of protesters are now getting involved, bringing many new ideas and tactics from the anti-capitalist and anti-war movements to this struggle.
Comments
Hide the following 7 comments
More on Wickford by local press!
27.04.2004 15:34
There was also a good photo.
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Wickford: Angry protesters confront the BNP
Far-right skinheads and other racists gathered at Wickford station before moving on to a "family" rally at Crowsheath Farm, near Ramsden Heath, on Saturday morning.
They were met by an angry group of hundreds of protesters who chanted "scum, scum, scum", "black and white unite, fight the BNP", and "keep Wickford Nazi free, smash the BNP".
Tempers flared as the racists tried to goad protesters, who were kept from confronting the BNP by police.
The protesters were a mixture of concerned residents, councillors, MEPs, trade unionists, members of various peace movements and other political parties.
At one point they marched in a loop down Station Avenue, along the High Street and back to the station.
One of the protesters, Betty Davis, 76, said her father and grandfather helped stop Fascists marching through London's East End, during the famous Cable Street clashes in 1936.
She added: "You have always got to stop them. When you look back at the Holocaust, they came into power softly by pretending they were respectable. That's what they are doing now."
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Excellent!
There were probably more anti-fascist protesters than in Re-Sista's report for Indymedia...others counter 150-200 local people.
Keepup the good work!
ALWAYS RESIST! NEVER GIVE UP THE FIGHT!
Matt Quadruple
Yet more from Essex Anti-Fascist Protests!
27.04.2004 15:42
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Local residents, angry at the racist British National Party (BNP) organising a so-called ‘Fun Day’ in Ramsden Heath, near Wickford on Saturday 24 th April, are organising a counter-demonstration at Wickford Station from 10.00am.
The BNP had planned to march from Wickford Station to the event in Ramsden Heath, but
organisers of the counter-demonstration understand this proposal has been abandoned because of the strength of opposition to the BNP’s message of hate.
Basildon & Thurrock Unite Against Fascism, a collection of local individuals and groups
opposed to the BNP, has stated: “The BNP’s European election campaign couldn’t have got off to a worse start. Local people have rejected the bigotry of the BNP in favour of democracy and civil liberties.”
War veteran and Essex resident Jim Fraser, who was Field Marshal Montgomery’s (Monty’s)
driver in the Western Desert campaign, where the Desert Rats defeated Rommel and his Nazi
troops, said:
“I had many good friends who died fighting fascism. It turns my stomach to think that
organisations like the BNP, that represent everything we fought against should be trying to organise in Essex.
“This so called fun day is doing exactly what Hitler hoped to do – give a respectable face to horror and tyranny. The Nazis did not come to power saying they were going to gas the Jews, but once they had they crushed dissent, murdered the opposition and the rest is history.
“If we allow the BNP to gain a real foothold in this country when we all realise what a terrible mistake we have made there'll be no democracy left for us to turn things back.”
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Excellent Stuff!
KEEP ON KEEPIN ON! 'TILL THE FIGHT IS WON! YEAH!
Matt Treble
Good pictures and anti-fascist graphics, follow this link
27.04.2004 19:08
follow this link to see photo's of Le pen getting his just deserts in manchester, plus amusing graphix:
Red Essex
Homepage:
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2004/04/289951.html
Hehe
28.04.2004 09:03
Oh, except that there were massive regional dialects, different currencies, and whole areas that worshiped heretical religions who the French Catholic (cos there were two Popes back then) Church hated. Oh, and there is the slight problem at hand that the notion of the nation state didn't exist until quite a few years later, and that city states arguably constituted the main centres of political organisation regardless of modern borders.
So what era does Le Penn want to take France back to? Isn't he in fact creating a classic fascist myth to base his attempted rebirth of the country on? Pull apart the rhetoric, its all based on empty lies and fascist hatred.
Krop
Be careful
28.04.2004 17:48
)PS - please remove/hide comments by 'realist' - he/she is either a fascist or a cop)
communist
I wonder?...
05.05.2004 17:47
CYRMU TRIBAL SOVERIGNTY!
Blessed be,
King Amdo.
King Amdo
e-mail:
KingAmdo@hotmail.com
mmmmmmm?
07.07.2004 13:53
anti fa