Ken Livingstone's GLA Special Advisor on equality and policing, Lee Jasper, has accused the people who occupied the stage where the Mayor was due to speak at the ESF on Saturday, of being... 'white anarchists' who used violence to stop black people discussing how to fight racism and fascism!! He also claims that the intervention, or 'storming of the palace', had nothing to do with how the event was organised, despite problems in the organising process being a key point of many of the speakers who participated.
Below is the letter which has appeared in the Guardian Letters Page (19th October) and a few comments:
Below is the letter which has appeared in the Guardian Letters Page (19th October) and a few comments:
Unwelcome anarchy at the European Social Forum
http://politics.guardian.co.uk/esf/story/0,15212,1330411,00.html
Tuesday October 19, 2004
The Guardian
We agree with your appreciation of the success of the European Social Forum (Leaders, October 18). However, the storming of the stage of the anti-racist and anti-fascist session on Saturday had nothing to do with how the event was organised. It was the attempt of a tiny minority who oppose the ESF and have had no involvement in it to undemocratically impose their views on the majority and suppress other views by using physical violence.
It was carried out by an exclusively white group of anarchists who had no involvement in the ESF. They entered the building, stormed the platform of black and Jewish speakers, punched the black chair of the session and stole his mobile phone. The next day the same group tried to storm the stage of the demonstration, tearing down the crash barriers and assaulting ESF stewards.
We have never seen such behaviour in the progressive movement in Britain before and it should be totally condemned. The ESF was created to allow democratic discussion of the whole range of views within the social justice movement. No viewpoint was excluded and it is totally unacceptable for a tiny minority to attack that democratic process by using physical violence. That is all the more the case when they violently attack black people to stop us from discussing how to fight racism and fascism.
Lee Jasper
Secretary, National Assembly Against Racism
Ashok Viswanathan
Deputy coordinator, Operation Black Vote
Pav Akhtar
NUS black students officer
----------------------------
COMMENT:
OK, so let's get one thing clear here shall we...
The intervention was timed to coincide with the appearance of Ken Livingstone, Mayor of London. It was ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with any racial motivation as implied by the letter.
If Ken Livingstone had been speaking in a plenary about how to make london more sustainable, the intervention would still have happened.
That this race card is being played by Ken Livingstone's special advisor just stinks.
It also implies that the action was to violently attack black people to stop them from discussing how to fight racism and fascism, and denies that the intervention had anything to do with protesting Ken Livingstone and the GLA, and to denounce the problematic ESF organising process.
This is astounding!
It was obvious to anyone listening in that hall that the intervention was about the ESF and the way it had been organised, including the control of Ken Livingstone's GLA.
Certainly it was clear enough for the Guardian Journalist who reported some of the speeches, along with the fact that the intervention only lasted for 30 mins, after which the fighting racism and fascism event WENT AHEAD... (see extract below - full article: http://politics.guardian.co.uk/esf/story/0,15212,1330018,00.html)
If you want to be any clearer on this, see a copy of the Babels co-ordinators statement which was read out during the intervention (NB Babels are the volunteer interpreters who work for free at the ESF enabling the entire event to take place):
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2004/10/299292.html
Oh yes, also Lee Jasper accused the people involved in the intervention of having had no involvement in the european social forum at all. Well sorry but how does he know what each of those two hundred or so people had been involved in? Even if there weren't people who had involvement in the process over the last year, or who spoke at the forum, or who had stalls, or who volunteered to help the forum, or who had participated in previous forums, then certainly many of those inside the forum applauded the speeches, and agreed with many of the important points made.
That there have been serious problems over the organisation of the ESF in London is no secret. It has been documented by many people, including other European delegations and British NGOs, as well as on indymedia and other media, including The Guardian.
So what we have here is a devisive letter which seeks to mix up several issues to deflect the fact that people intervened in the Forum to protest about the serious problems in the process. A letter that shamelessly plays the race card and mixes up several issues to try and obscure the truth and the issues.
That there were brief heated scuffles is certainly part of the story, as previously reported by indymedia, but it is certainly not the whole story and was certainly in no way connected to any racial motives as implied. For note the crowd was not entirely white, though was predominatly white (as were the majority of the audience). Indeed both sides make claim to the other using physical violence - see previous indymedia reports.
I'm sure all would regret that there were two minor scuffles (one when the people took to the stage, and the other when one of the original people on the stage later tried to prevent the Babels statement being read), but a scuffle at the microphone is hardly unheard of in political circles... and this was one wasn't even serious enough for the private security to step in on. Continuing with the facts, the original chair dropped their wallet and phone in the first scuffle, but then when others who had been there originally returned to the occupied stage and asked about the items, those on the stage helped search for it.
In closing, this letter is more like the kind of coverage of a protest you would expect from a corporate right wing tabloid newspaper. Focussing on the tiny bit of conflict and ignoring or obscuring the issues, while in playing the race card it really sinks to a low level.
One final point. The previous night, the plenary in the exact same space had been completely disrupted to the point that it was cancelled. This was reported by The Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,1330098,00.html
It was disrupted by people from the forum and had to be abadnoned. Now you don't see the GLA or other ESF officials making a big fuss over this do you? And yet this incident did deny the platform to speakers and ruin the event, unlike the intervention against Ken Livingstone.
As has been reported, in the saturday intervention the people left after 30 mins and the session continued.
=============================
Guardian Report Extract:
Mr Livingstone was the target of a planned ambush of Alexandra Palace by up to 200 anarchists from across Europe on Saturday, who took to the stage for half an hour to denounce the organisation of the ESF.
The mayor had been due to be the keynote speaker at the three-hour session on uniting against the fascist right across Europe, but his aides later insisted he had decided to withdraw from the event "mid-week" - although no notice had been given.
There was also a protest statement by the volunteer translators' group of 500 linguists providing their services for the event, claiming that several of their Turkish and Kurdish speakers had been refused entry into Britain to work for the event.
The independent news activist group Indymedia alleged that their internet servers in London had been taken down on FBI orders, and criticised the Guardian, a media partner of the ESF, for not investigating the claims.
Speakers attacked the event for not living up to its ideals, claiming that the venue's security was "outsourced" by being bussed down from Glasgow - which was confirmed to the Guardian by several ushers. Meanwhile, the catering was standard British bacon rolls and sausages - for a largely organic and vegetarian conference. Last year in Paris the hospitality was provided by the guru of organic "slow food", French farmer José Bové.
http://politics.guardian.co.uk/esf/story/0,15212,1330411,00.html Tuesday October 19, 2004
The Guardian
We agree with your appreciation of the success of the European Social Forum (Leaders, October 18). However, the storming of the stage of the anti-racist and anti-fascist session on Saturday had nothing to do with how the event was organised. It was the attempt of a tiny minority who oppose the ESF and have had no involvement in it to undemocratically impose their views on the majority and suppress other views by using physical violence.
It was carried out by an exclusively white group of anarchists who had no involvement in the ESF. They entered the building, stormed the platform of black and Jewish speakers, punched the black chair of the session and stole his mobile phone. The next day the same group tried to storm the stage of the demonstration, tearing down the crash barriers and assaulting ESF stewards.
We have never seen such behaviour in the progressive movement in Britain before and it should be totally condemned. The ESF was created to allow democratic discussion of the whole range of views within the social justice movement. No viewpoint was excluded and it is totally unacceptable for a tiny minority to attack that democratic process by using physical violence. That is all the more the case when they violently attack black people to stop us from discussing how to fight racism and fascism.
Lee Jasper
Secretary, National Assembly Against Racism
Ashok Viswanathan
Deputy coordinator, Operation Black Vote
Pav Akhtar
NUS black students officer
----------------------------
COMMENT:
OK, so let's get one thing clear here shall we...
The intervention was timed to coincide with the appearance of Ken Livingstone, Mayor of London. It was ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with any racial motivation as implied by the letter.
If Ken Livingstone had been speaking in a plenary about how to make london more sustainable, the intervention would still have happened.
That this race card is being played by Ken Livingstone's special advisor just stinks.
It also implies that the action was to violently attack black people to stop them from discussing how to fight racism and fascism, and denies that the intervention had anything to do with protesting Ken Livingstone and the GLA, and to denounce the problematic ESF organising process.
This is astounding!
It was obvious to anyone listening in that hall that the intervention was about the ESF and the way it had been organised, including the control of Ken Livingstone's GLA.
Certainly it was clear enough for the Guardian Journalist who reported some of the speeches, along with the fact that the intervention only lasted for 30 mins, after which the fighting racism and fascism event WENT AHEAD... (see extract below - full article:
http://politics.guardian.co.uk/esf/story/0,15212,1330018,00.html) If you want to be any clearer on this, see a copy of the Babels co-ordinators statement which was read out during the intervention (NB Babels are the volunteer interpreters who work for free at the ESF enabling the entire event to take place):
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2004/10/299292.html Oh yes, also Lee Jasper accused the people involved in the intervention of having had no involvement in the european social forum at all. Well sorry but how does he know what each of those two hundred or so people had been involved in? Even if there weren't people who had involvement in the process over the last year, or who spoke at the forum, or who had stalls, or who volunteered to help the forum, or who had participated in previous forums, then certainly many of those inside the forum applauded the speeches, and agreed with many of the important points made.
That there have been serious problems over the organisation of the ESF in London is no secret. It has been documented by many people, including other European delegations and British NGOs, as well as on indymedia and other media, including The Guardian.
So what we have here is a devisive letter which seeks to mix up several issues to deflect the fact that people intervened in the Forum to protest about the serious problems in the process. A letter that shamelessly plays the race card and mixes up several issues to try and obscure the truth and the issues.
That there were brief heated scuffles is certainly part of the story, as previously reported by indymedia, but it is certainly not the whole story and was certainly in no way connected to any racial motives as implied. For note the crowd was not entirely white, though was predominatly white (as were the majority of the audience). Indeed both sides make claim to the other using physical violence - see previous indymedia reports.
I'm sure all would regret that there were two minor scuffles (one when the people took to the stage, and the other when one of the original people on the stage later tried to prevent the Babels statement being read), but a scuffle at the microphone is hardly unheard of in political circles... and this was one wasn't even serious enough for the private security to step in on. Continuing with the facts, the original chair dropped their wallet and phone in the first scuffle, but then when others who had been there originally returned to the occupied stage and asked about the items, those on the stage helped search for it.
In closing, this letter is more like the kind of coverage of a protest you would expect from a corporate right wing tabloid newspaper. Focussing on the tiny bit of conflict and ignoring or obscuring the issues, while in playing the race card it really sinks to a low level.
One final point. The previous night, the plenary in the exact same space had been completely disrupted to the point that it was cancelled. This was reported by The Guardian:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,1330098,00.html It was disrupted by people from the forum and had to be abadnoned. Now you don't see the GLA or other ESF officials making a big fuss over this do you? And yet this incident did deny the platform to speakers and ruin the event, unlike the intervention against Ken Livingstone.
As has been reported, in the saturday intervention the people left after 30 mins and the session continued.
=============================
Guardian Report Extract:
Mr Livingstone was the target of a planned ambush of Alexandra Palace by up to 200 anarchists from across Europe on Saturday, who took to the stage for half an hour to denounce the organisation of the ESF.
The mayor had been due to be the keynote speaker at the three-hour session on uniting against the fascist right across Europe, but his aides later insisted he had decided to withdraw from the event "mid-week" - although no notice had been given.
There was also a protest statement by the volunteer translators' group of 500 linguists providing their services for the event, claiming that several of their Turkish and Kurdish speakers had been refused entry into Britain to work for the event.
The independent news activist group Indymedia alleged that their internet servers in London had been taken down on FBI orders, and criticised the Guardian, a media partner of the ESF, for not investigating the claims.
Speakers attacked the event for not living up to its ideals, claiming that the venue's security was "outsourced" by being bussed down from Glasgow - which was confirmed to the Guardian by several ushers. Meanwhile, the catering was standard British bacon rolls and sausages - for a largely organic and vegetarian conference. Last year in Paris the hospitality was provided by the guru of organic "slow food", French farmer José Bové.
Comments
Hide the following 9 comments
Kind of action?
19.10.2004 09:32
Susi
So now we know
19.10.2004 11:18
Do a google on him and find out what other issues he has tried to obscure ...
Very interesting reading it makes too.
A very typical disinfomation trick, somewhat tired and too oft repeated for any real long term effect.
On the other hand, when played so poorly it can only do good - the mask slips an all that!
karen eliot
Violence The East Option
19.10.2004 12:40
We all talk about another world being necessary. Is the way to achieve this really to engage in a violent attack on the faciliator of an plenary.
trade union delegate
What violent attack?
19.10.2004 13:55
Were you there? I bet you wished the visitors would just shut-up and let you get on with making a better world with the likes of Ken and Weyman.........
The security guards saw no need to intervene ..... cos there was no need.......
Talking about attacks, when are the TU delegates/Race relations advisers/ SWP central Committee and GLA flunkies going to stop attacking the anarchists with lies?
ftp
Lee Jaspers - another facist leech
19.10.2004 16:35
branded the anarchists as 'white' does imply a certain racist mkode of thought in that it is not being used as a description but as a toll for racist division and to continue his lies in the Guardian - just like trying to pretend they'd had stuff nicked.
Yep Lee - I think it is you who is the fascist.
Haringey against poverty pimps
attack on democracy
19.10.2004 18:26
weyman bennett
maybe its the SWaPpie, maybe not
19.10.2004 21:20
Oh right, you stepped in for your mate Ken innit
"and was attacked at the plenary of stopping fascism in Europe"
join the club matey ...... your co-chair had his piggies out attacking quite a few activists this weekend
"A group of masked white men surrounded me after I had handed the mike over to a spokesperson"
how did you know they were white if they were masked?
"It is wrong to storm the stage"
Central Commitee Rule Book Page 118 para 18 subsection 56(a)(ii) you're relying on then?
"the only people who do such things is racists and those hostile to anti fascism"
I dunno, the people who keep going about clolour all the time were already on the stage ..... it might help you sleep better at night if you learn that there are historic precedents for the marginalised storming palaces ....... anyway, you're just plain wrong
"None of individuals have played any serious any role in combating the far right"
well done for knowing their race and their political histories ..........
"they would rather attack stage euro anti fascists"
really? You didn't realise that the protest was against the Labour leader of the GLA? Or are you just milking the race ticket? Along with Jasper, Ashok and Pav - for the benefit of whom exactly? Cos I'm going for the latter - I was there, you were there .........
I agree that you're "stage anti-fascists" though :)
"why attack in masks if you are about protesting."
Because the people who showed their faces were picked out by the cops on the steps of the Palace maybe? After your comrades brought the pigs in to have a little look see .......
"I restrained my self from acting in kind to their behaviour but this is only going to happen once"
Ooh ooh - what a hard man you are.......... SWaPpie threatens 200 "masked white men" with violence shocker........
"I will not be mugged by jumped up middleclass poseurs acting out some schoolyard prank"
Blimey, you know their class background as well, do you thrive on stereotypes or what? Racists love stereotypes........ Fascists love stereotypes .........
"This was an act of violent intimidation against by a small unrepresentative minority wanted to attack the European social forum"
You're doing a poor show of being intimidated, you've just threatened to take them all on - 200 people set on a violent action could probably do a fair bit of damage - if the ESF had been representative, then it wouldn't have happened Weyman!!!!! The European Social Forum grew out of grass roots activism, and you and your SWaPpie mates stole it (almost) clean away - when you start excluding minorities you do the fascists job for them.
"Do not try justifying these acts it must never happen again!"
Lets be clear on this, the acts you describe are in your overworked imagination - even though the sound system was turned down most of the delegates understood what was happening, and why. The crowd that left was about 400% bigger than the one that entered
"at any thing to with our movement."
Don't worry we aren't the slightest bit interested in the SWaPpie movement Weyman. Just lay off the grass roots activists and there won't be any need.
"And will the person who stole my phone give it back as have organise to fight the fascist"
Now, now, saying things like that in public will only make the fascists think that they're safe.........
What do the SWaPpies pay full time organisers these days?
Genuine question.
Oh yeah, and did you pay £30 for your ticket?
Genuine question!
ftp
re weyman bennett comment
19.10.2004 23:50
contact
Anarchist scum
21.10.2004 12:29
I know they don't represent all Anarchists and most would reject this violence.
Then again, Anarchists are not democratically accountable to anyone which is part of the problem.
Dan