open letter to the uaf

Edinburgh Anti-Fascist Alliance | 28.02.2010 22:04 | Anti-racism | Social Struggles

Edinburgh Anti-Fascist Alliance response.

Edinburgh Anti-Fascist Alliance

Open letter to the UAF, 28 February 2010

Fellow Anti-Fascists,

We recognise the hard work of the UAF in building for the anti-Scottish Defence League demonstration, and were pleased with the cooperative relationship we had with Unite Against Fascism in the lead up to it. We were working together in the spirit of a united response to the SDL.

We were heartened to hear in the UAF meetings we attended, that the UAF considered that there was room for the two complimentary demonstrations on the day. We hoped that the problems that occurred in Glasgow were behind us, and that the UAF and Anti-Fascist Alliance could cooperate this time.

However on the day of the demonstration some members of the UAF intended to disrupt our protest, and take it back to the Scotland United march, despite these previous assurances, and the spirit of cooperation that existed before. Some UAF and Scotland United organisers spread disinformation, and said things that were known to be untrue, to the crowd as it marched to confront the SDL at the bottom of the Royal Mile. These untrue statements included: "there are no SDL in that pub, only Hibs casuals", and "150 fascists are about to attack the Scotland United demonstration". This led to confusion and people leaving.

Unity and superior numbers are our strengths against violent racists
like the SDL. However these strengths were jeopardised by this
behaviour, and put the safety of anti-fascists at serious risk. We would not like to imagine what the situation could have been like, had the depleted number of anti-fascists met a large group of SDL thugs at the bottom of the hill.

We hope that this letter will start a fraternal discussion about how we can avoid similar situations in the future, and how we can ensure
greater level of unity and cooperation between the UAF and Anti-Fascist Alliance so that we have the best chance of defeating fascism. We look forward to cooperating with you against the SDL/EDL in Lockerbie and Bolton.

In Solidarity,

Edinburgh Anti-Fascist Alliance

Edinburgh Anti-Fascist Alliance
e-mail: edinafa@lists.noflag.org.uk
Homepage: http://www.edinburghantifascist.org.uk

Comments

Hide the following 9 comments

If what you are saying is true...

28.02.2010 23:54

...then the 'trick me once' phrase comes to mind. If they keep fucking you over then why work with em?

yeah

01.03.2010 01:58

as a comment above- if yo ufail to learn from your mistakes, then you are bound to repeat them. Working together with UAF ALWAYS ends up that way...

antifascist

Agree with me and antifascist

01.03.2010 11:58

The UAF will only be interested if the whole of the entire Edinburgh anti-fash alliance signs up to their newsletter and gives them a generous donation.If you are lucky you may even be trusted to grass on your fellow antifascists at counter demo's

Ginger Militant
mail e-mail: westmidlandsunity@hotmail.co.uk

Remain UNITED

01.03.2010 12:31

People may remember that the BNP set-up a scam called "Real AFA" to try and heighten divisions within the Anti-Fascist movement (that these divisions were existing, real, and based on genuine political grievances and differences made and still makes no difference to the BNP).

In the run-up to the general election in which Nick Griffin hopes to get elected as the BNP's 1st every Member of Parliament, now is NOT the time to re-examine these divisions. We can allow ourselves the luxury of a little navel gazing AFTER the BNP fail to get elected, if that happens. Right now we need to STICK TOGETHER and focus on defeating Griffin... what that means in practice is that ALL anti-Fascists need to support ALL anti-BNP campaigns

UK Fightback

@UK Fightback

01.03.2010 16:04

"In the run-up to the general election in which Nick Griffin hopes to get elected as the BNP's 1st every Member of Parliament, now is NOT the time to re-examine these divisions. We can allow ourselves the luxury of a little navel gazing AFTER the BNP fail to get elected, if that happens. Right now we need to STICK TOGETHER and focus on defeating Griffin... what that means in practice is that ALL anti-Fascists need to support ALL anti-BNP campaigns"

There will always be some imminent crisis around which we are asked to blindly unite and pretend we're not being exploited, grassed on and abused by the trots and state. As an anarchist I insist we do not unite but we act autonomously and through a diversity of tactics. The means and ends are not separate but different parts of the same process. No freedom can be gained through acting in slavery.

Anarchism is about strength through diversity not unity. Strength through unity is the fascist's game.

Anarcho

stay militant!

01.03.2010 16:41

stay militant, not united... UAF wants something completely else than militant antifas, they are not out there to defeat fascists, it is a front group for SWP--- bollocks to all calls of unity and resolving problems after this or that evet, we heard it many times... its time to understand that UAF leadership and anybody that blindly follows them are bunch of police collaborators and actually stop people from actively confronting and stopping fascists. If you are serious about combatting fascism (not by asking people to fucking vote...) then your place is anywhere but in UAF.

antifascist

@ UK Fightback

02.03.2010 17:39

"Real AFA" is a straw man; it is not the various anti fascist alliances that are being built now.
Edinburgh Anti Fascist Alliance mobilised a larger crowd than UAF against the failed SDL demo discussed here. UAFs ability to mobilise will wither away to nothing as they continue to try to stop people from organising against fascism. This isn't just about fighting the cops; we need to rebuild the working class organisations such as residents association's. It isn't about "Vote Hodge" either. It is New Labour's anti working class shit that has fed the BNP; people mistakenly see a vote for authoritarian racism as a "protest vote". Supporting the liberal elite actually fuels fascism. I'd rather talk to a BNP voter than to a Labour Party voter; we have more in common, we are both pissed off.

If you're not a cop you're not paying attention

fuck the UAF

02.03.2010 18:41

I think Anarcho summed up what I wanted to write i na very good way- nothing more to add.
UK Fightback suggesting that people criticising UAF might be fascists is well out of order as well and a typical tactic used by UAF and defenders of @popular front@ bollocks- if you dont approve our ideas, yo usurely must be a fascist yourself.. well tried methods but more and more people can see though that shit. Also naming names of people supposedly involved in Antifa is just pure grassing- another example why you are a complete wollie.
Now new forming antifascist alliances seem to be managing to organise things successfully and pretty independently from UAF- I just suggest they stop bothering with doing anything with UAF altogether because they will keep being grassed on, manipulated and sabotageg by fuckwits in the UAF/SWP leadership. Anybody suggesting that we have any commong ground with those cunts is seriously deluded.
For militant and confrontational anti-fascism!

antifascist

@ antifascist

04.03.2010 17:17

The Popular Front has certainly been a lot of shit historically; so has communism; but that doesn't prove it's a bad principle. What we saw in Edinburgh was unity in action and diversity in ideas; what we saw in Dresden was a strong diversity of tactics. The Popular Front Anti Fascism of EP Thompson & George Orwell cannot be proven wrong only by the Grassery of the UAF leadership in Leeds, Glasgow and Edinburgh; or of the Stalinists and the Liberals in the Spanish Revolution.

http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2010/03/446872.html

Popular Front Anti Fascism