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Thousands turn out against EDL in Cambridge. Part 2

Cameraboy | 12.07.2011 19:56 | Culture | Social Struggles | Cambridge

The police were careful to keep both demos very separate, and went to great lengths (and doubtless great expense, including keeping the copper chopper in the sky all afternoon), to ensure that each demo happened at opposite ends of town.

F.I.T. Watched. Unlike them though, I publish what I shoot.
F.I.T. Watched. Unlike them though, I publish what I shoot.

The Mill Road end of Gwydir Street, by the now a vast throng of marchers.
The Mill Road end of Gwydir Street, by the now a vast throng of marchers.

White Placard: "How many racists does it take to change a lightbulb?"
White Placard: "How many racists does it take to change a lightbulb?"

Heading up Mill Road, past the Amnesty Book Shop.
Heading up Mill Road, past the Amnesty Book Shop.

Going past Sally Ann's, Covent Garden.
Going past Sally Ann's, Covent Garden.

EDL being given the red light!
EDL being given the red light!

Final destination, Petersfield Common.
Final destination, Petersfield Common.

Richard Rose of ANL giving a speech.
Richard Rose of ANL giving a speech.

Hugs not thugs!
Hugs not thugs!

Getting ready for the evening..?
Getting ready for the evening..?

Did I mention all the bins were sealed..?
Did I mention all the bins were sealed..?

A brief disturbance near Mill Lane, as police randomly block off a side passage.
A brief disturbance near Mill Lane, as police randomly block off a side passage.

Silver Street, with bemused tourists looking on.
Silver Street, with bemused tourists looking on.

My first glimpse of the EDL rally on Queen's Green, behind Queens College.
My first glimpse of the EDL rally on Queen's Green, behind Queens College.

Mixed messages..?
Mixed messages..?

The EDL rally, on Queen's Green.
The EDL rally, on Queen's Green.

Flags co-opted for the cause.
Flags co-opted for the cause.

We have you surrounded, EDL!
We have you surrounded, EDL!

Really???
Really???

A minor EDL disturbance on the way back, outside The Regal.
A minor EDL disturbance on the way back, outside The Regal.


One minor black mark on the police score card is that they insisted on having us followed by a CCTV van (see picture) and a couple of 'intelligence gathering' cops with cameras.

At one point I even spotted one of them taking a picture of me taking pictures!

Needless to say I returned the 'favour', and you can see the guilty party here, replete with serial number - F.I.T. watch indeed!

After the counter demo had finished, I managed to find out where the EDL were being kept by the police, which was on Queens Green, behind Queens College, in the Newnham area of town.

Myself and a few other people decided to literally sit in on this event (there were as many cops as EDL), mostly to find out exactly who these people are.

It turns out that the vast majority of them appear to be white working class males, with a very small presence of women, and despite press releases and interviews to the contrary, I didn't see that many people of colour in attendance, save for a few curious passersby who stood at the edge of the grass and looked on at the spectacle before them.

The EDL demo couldn't have been bigger than a couple of hundred in number, effectively dwarfed by the counter demo, and as I said earlier, most of them seem to have travelled in for the day, with perhaps a tiny handfull of local people attending, who I suspect had probably turned up more out of curiosity to see what all the fuss was about.

Police escorted EDL members back to Cambridge (railway) Station, although on the way there was a brief scuffle between some asian youths and a handful of EDL, but this was soon shut down by the police.

The police also made sure there were no EDL punters for The Regal (see picture), promptly blocking off the road and making sure they didn't stop there.

This is in light of a press announcement the week before by the Wetherspoons pub that they had refused an advance order for 1,000 meals from the EDL.

I don't know when (or if) this proposed Mosque is to be built, but doubtless we haven't heard the last of the EDL, even though they garnered little support from the people of Cambridge, with almost universal condemnation of their visit in the local press.

But there was still a couple of hundred people at the EDL demo, so there is no room for complacency.

Cameraboy

Comments

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Description

13.07.2011 13:57

'It turns out that the vast majority of them appear to be white working class males'

I'm not sure I quite know what you mean by this description?

@

Tell it like it is.

13.07.2011 14:39

Response to the above comment.

I describe things in my articles here on Indymedia as I SEE them, that is literally as I WITNESS them first hand, that is to say they are eye witness accounts, regardless of whatever the political motivations or affiliations of those involved in the actions I document.

The evidence of my camera will also attest to what I SAW and what it DOCUMENTED.

I do not lie, I do not obfuscate the truth.

I'll leave that job to Murdoch's employees, and also why I'll never be on their payroll, as I don't believe in making journalistic compromises - tell it like it is.

Now, if you are not going to trust the testimony of an eye witness on nobody's payroll, who carries no card for any political party, who will you trust?

Of course, you could just be someone who likes to stir things up..?

Yours Sceptically...

Cameraboy

To Cameraboy

13.07.2011 15:07

Haven't you ever seen Redwatch? Filled with pics like this posted by people who can't be arsed to blur the faces.

Rich

Smegwatch!

13.07.2011 17:02

Yeah, and most of them are stolen from Indymedia and other alt.media sites, seemingly because whoever puts them there doesn't seem to know how to operate a camera themselves.

Besides, why blur the faces of those who are doing nothing to be ashamed of, or who aren't breaking the law?

Redwatch seems to be a repository of images for anyone who doesn't hold extreme right wing views, which is just about the vast majority of the population of the planet, as it goes, aside from being a rather crude way of attempting to intimidate people, which on the whole, doesn't work.

Trolled much recently?

Or have you nothing better to do with your time?

Ho hum.

Cameraboy

Red? Which?

13.07.2011 18:19

It occured to me that maybe the 'rich' above is actually someone I know in person, who attended the demo, and I now know which picture they're referring to, but I shall not draw further attention to it here.

If you are, I apologise for my previous quite robust response, but hope you'll appreciate that here on Indymedia you get all types leaving comments, so it can be hard to know whether someone is being genuine or taking the mickey.

As for Redwatch, I stand by my previous comments about that hateful site.

Cameraboy

not impressed

18.07.2011 21:10

You can hold whatever beliefs you like about redwatch, it's still a complete violation of other people's privacy to take photos of them and make them available to the fash. There's been plenty of sickening attacks as a result of redwatch identification (although the vast majority pictured never have any trouble). Is it your place to decide whether those photos should be available to the general public? I am seriously worried if you really think shame and legality are the only factors here. Are you unaware of the vast publicly-acknowledged police database of mostly unashamed legal protesters? These databases are legitimised by the general belief that if you haven't broken the law you have nothing to be worried about. Shame won't punch you in the face and legality won't call you a 'nigger', a 'paki' or a 'wog'. The fash do both as their bread and butter, and you're handing them a raft of antifascist pics.

My brother was on that march, and I'd be spitting blood if I'd seen a photo of him up here.

antifa

The cop pictured is...

20.07.2011 20:13

The cop pictured is PC Mark Bacon of NPIU who used to be heavily involved in the police of animal rights demos. He is based at the Cambridgeshire Constabulary HQ in Huntingdon and is believed to live (or have lived) in Ely.

Activist National Computer

Response to Antifa...

27.07.2011 18:18

Only just seen your comment today.

Well, myself and many others take the opposite view that we are not afriad to take to the streets and be counted (so to speak), if it means that in doing so we are known as a force to be reckoned with against extreme Right views.

Redwatch does not scare us.

These days it is a fact of life that if anybody goes to a demonstration or any other public gathering, there will be people from all walks of life (not just press) taking pictures, either with cameras or on mobiles phones, so if you don't want your picture taken, don't turn up or mask up (like some activists do).

Alternatively, you could just be someone who is trying to spread fear and negativity in an attempt to discourage people from exercising their democratic right to protest - ARE YOU??

Would you prefer it if we all sat at home, watched TV and did nothing, safe in our alienation from each other, and also safe in the knowledge that if we hide indoors no harm will come to us?

The world would never change for the better if we all did this.


Cameraboy