Brief report on EDL/SDL in Glasgow
observer | 14.11.2009 17:31 | Anti-racism
We met at 10 o'clock at St Enoch's Underground - the word was the fash were meeting in a pub close by.
We were about 100 + with a wide banner and a megaphone, and walked towards the pub we learned the EDL were in. On the way chants of Fuck Fascism etc echoed round the busy shopping area. A cop Inspector I spoke to was a bit pissed off at some of the chanting, but policing wasn't particularly heavy till we got closer to the pub, which was surrounded by a double or treble line of cops close in, then a further square of cops further out from the pub, and at least 3 camera teams, probably local, and a helicopter.
Then about 50+ (UAF?) certainly SWP types who had been doing the chanting took their banner and megaphone and defiantly marched off to a Scotland United anti-racism rally about a mile away on Glasgow Green! to be speeched at about how we must keep the racists off our streets! This left around 50 of us to confront the EDL, who were there right in front of us.
Eventually the cops let the 60odd, ugly skinhead EDL out to walk in a kettle about 200 meters where they stood and sang Rule Brittania and God save the queen, at which some of our lot started to sing Oh Flower of Scotland, which they refused to join. So much for the 'Scottish' bit of the Scottish Defence League.
Prominant among the 'SDL' ranks was a big 'Red Hand of Ulster' flag bearing the words 'No Surrender'. They were well living on the past like the boneheads they are.
There was a Section 60 in force all day, and many anti-fash were told to show their faces, while many EDL were masked up the whole time.
Then after about 20 minutes, the fash were walked back the way they had come to get on their 2 buses and away out of Glasgow.
Later an anti-fash was arrested outside the Army Recruitment shop, though I know no more details.
I heard there had been some arrests of fash doing Nazi salutes near Central Station, and as I got there an Asian guy was roughly arrested for refusing to give a cop his details. He was charged with the usual catch-all Breach of the Peace, and was surrounded by a crowd chanting 'Let him go' as he was marched off by a squad of cops.
All this happened a minutes walk away from the large Scotland United, 'Racism, Time to say No' rally where the MSP-led 'anti-racists' were listening to speeches on George Square.
The EDL had been refused permission to march (on the mosque) and if half the 'anti-racists' had been outside the pub instead of listening to speeches about how good they were opposing racism, the EDL would''t have even been able to walk the small distance they did.
We were about 100 + with a wide banner and a megaphone, and walked towards the pub we learned the EDL were in. On the way chants of Fuck Fascism etc echoed round the busy shopping area. A cop Inspector I spoke to was a bit pissed off at some of the chanting, but policing wasn't particularly heavy till we got closer to the pub, which was surrounded by a double or treble line of cops close in, then a further square of cops further out from the pub, and at least 3 camera teams, probably local, and a helicopter.
Then about 50+ (UAF?) certainly SWP types who had been doing the chanting took their banner and megaphone and defiantly marched off to a Scotland United anti-racism rally about a mile away on Glasgow Green! to be speeched at about how we must keep the racists off our streets! This left around 50 of us to confront the EDL, who were there right in front of us.
Eventually the cops let the 60odd, ugly skinhead EDL out to walk in a kettle about 200 meters where they stood and sang Rule Brittania and God save the queen, at which some of our lot started to sing Oh Flower of Scotland, which they refused to join. So much for the 'Scottish' bit of the Scottish Defence League.
Prominant among the 'SDL' ranks was a big 'Red Hand of Ulster' flag bearing the words 'No Surrender'. They were well living on the past like the boneheads they are.
There was a Section 60 in force all day, and many anti-fash were told to show their faces, while many EDL were masked up the whole time.
Then after about 20 minutes, the fash were walked back the way they had come to get on their 2 buses and away out of Glasgow.
Later an anti-fash was arrested outside the Army Recruitment shop, though I know no more details.
I heard there had been some arrests of fash doing Nazi salutes near Central Station, and as I got there an Asian guy was roughly arrested for refusing to give a cop his details. He was charged with the usual catch-all Breach of the Peace, and was surrounded by a crowd chanting 'Let him go' as he was marched off by a squad of cops.
All this happened a minutes walk away from the large Scotland United, 'Racism, Time to say No' rally where the MSP-led 'anti-racists' were listening to speeches on George Square.
The EDL had been refused permission to march (on the mosque) and if half the 'anti-racists' had been outside the pub instead of listening to speeches about how good they were opposing racism, the EDL would''t have even been able to walk the small distance they did.
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