Anti-fascists are gearing up for the return of the English Defence League to Tower Hamlets in East London on September 7th.

The EDL don't have any right to "march on" areas. This is not about expressing freedom of speech, it's about causing fear and division. That's why they must be opposed - Anti Fascist Network

The EDL's leadership have a peculiar obsession with this borough of London - this'll be the third time they've tried (and failed) to demonstrate en masse in the area. That's without counting leadership Tommy and Kev's ill-fated effort at a charity walk through the area back in June.

The last time the league put in an appearance in the borough, in September 2011, a thirty day ban on all parades in the area was enforced by the Home Secretary. On the day, an army of cops enforced separation between them and the thousands of locals and anti-fascists waiting for them just up the road.

So why Tower Hamlets? According to the EDL it's because the area is already under Sharia law. In fact they go so far as to claim that there is "No beer allowed, this is a Muslim area", which will come as news to regulars of the White Hart and Blind Beggar.

In reality there probably are a handful of nutters who want to establish a global caliphate and Taliban-style social mores in the East End but they're a tiny, tiny minority. Despite EDL assertions, local government is probably no more corrupt there than in any major city. Scare stories about 'ghettoes' and 'no-go zones' are just there to whip up hate and get boots on the street.

Last time, the EDL mobilised around 800 of their footsoldiers for their venture into darkest Muslamic country. When they announced Tower Hamlets 2013 they were at the height of their post-Lee Rigby bounce. Recent outings in Hull and Portsmouth have not seen anything like the numbers turning out in the immediate aftermath of the soldier's death but the threat to the area is still substantial.

There's every likelihood that there will be a state ban on demos and parades again but anti-fascist opposition on the streets is what counts. The Anti-Fascist Network is calling for autonomous anti-fascists to meet in Altab Ali park at 11 a.m on September 7th saying, "We are calling a mass opposition, the more people, the safer and more empowering it will be for all of us. On the day we aim to be mobile and fluid in order to disrupt the EDLs plans".

Look out for the Anti Fascist Network (AFN) banners and flags and join them on the streets.

Follow @THStopEDL for updates now and on the day

From the newswire:
North East BNP members exposed | Local residents oppose EDL march in South Shields | Anti-fascists report from Liverpool James Larkin march | EDL in Brum update

The Hovefields Gypsy/Traveller site in Essex has been evicted this week. At the time of writing, a group of these families are still on the road without anywhere to stop, having been also evicted from two other sites they tried to move on to, all within 24 hours. In fact it is illegal for them to stop anywhere as a group, as they are more than six live-in vehicles.

Today, a series of non-violent protest actions disrupted the 'Salute to Israel' parade. The parade celebrated 60 years since the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948. Activists wished to remind the public that since its inception, Israel has been maintained through the constant oppression of the Palestinian people, in particular through ethnic cleansing.

The 'Salute to Israel' parade was a shameful show of support to a government engaged in war crimes. Sponsors included the Jewish National Fund, an organisation deeply involved in the colonisation of Palestinian land as well in anti-Palestinian discrimination within Israel. Activists wish to stress that the British government's authorisation, protection and support of this event is entirely unacceptable.

En route, the parade was greeted by activists with red dye on their hands to symbolise the blood of Palestinians killed by the Israeli government. In Trafalgar Square, both fountains were turned red after activists poured dye into the water and a Palestinian flag was unfurled at the entrance of the National Gallery. An activist climbed up a big screen which had to be turned off for most of the event. Also, another group attempted to get onto the roof of the National Gallery in order to unfurl a banner but were arrested in the process.

Police responded by making a series of ridiculous arrests, assaulting and detaining a woman for singing anti-zionist songs and deploying Forward Intelligence Teams to monitor and follow those attending the counter demonstrations.

Several Counter demonstrations were held by Jews for Justice for Palestinians, Action Palestine and Friends of Al Aqsa while Palestine Solidarity Campaign and others drove three double decker buses draped with Palestinian flags and black balloons around the square and Rhythms of Resistance tried to drown out the Pro-Zionist hip hop gig.

In the early hours of Saturday morning, activists occupied and shut-down the HQ and only UK freight warehouse of Carmel Agrexco - Israel's largest agricultural exporter from the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The occupation held for over 6 hours until they were forcibly removed at 12 noon.

During the occupation over 10 loading trucks intended for the warehouse were sent away. British supermarkets - accounting for 60% of Carmel-Agrexco's total exports - had some of their orders affected. The Israeli government has a 50% stake in the company. Exports include flowers, avocados and herbs grown in illegal Israeli settlements on occupied Palestinian land.

Newswire: Israeli Owned Agrexco Warehouse Shut Down | Carmel occupied! Israeli settlement exporter shut down| Video of Police Forcibly removing Activists but Failing to Make Arrests

Previous Actions: Fortress Carmel Agrexco breached by Peace Activists | Video - Carmel Agrexco protest during Camp for Climate Action | Weekend of Action Against Carmel Agrexco | Activists Blockade Carmel-Agrexco's UK Headquarters for the Third Time | International Actions against Israeli Apartheid

Further reading: Text of letter to Carmel-Agrexco | Report on Carmel's involvement in the Jordan Valley | War on Want's report: Profiting from the Occupation

Links: Palestine Solidarity Campaign | The Big Campaign | ISM London | ISM Palestine

The four migrants accused of "conspiracy to commit violent disorder" during the Harmondsworth uprising in 2006 were today found not guilty. Relying on a clearly insufficiently indoctrinated jury, the attempt to single out and punish few individuals with violent criminal convictions and long sentences has been thwarted. Of course, all four have already served one year and three months in prison, on top of varying times in immigration detention. Now they will have to resume their struggle against the immigration system, which imprisoned them for seeking refuge in the first place, and will most probably be dispersed around Britain's detention estate until their cases are 'resolved'.

Background: letter from two of the Harmondsworth 4 to Fight Racism! Fight Imperialism! | 'Report of the Investigation into the disturbances at Harmondsworth and Campsfield House Immigration Removal Centres', Robert Whalley | Chief Inspectors of Prison Report on Harmondsworth Immigration Removal Centre

On Saturday, 24th March, England played Israel in a Euro 2008 qualifying match. A group of activists picketed the Football Association in Soho Square calling for a Sporting boycott of Apartheid Israel [Newswire Report].

Prevous boycott actions and campaigns include:
Agrexco: 1 | 2 | video | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 Text of Letter to Carmel Agrexco | Apartheid and Agrexco in the Jordan Valley | War on Want's Report - Profiting from the Occupation
Caterpillar: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6
Caterkiller Shutdown | Jewish Voice for Peace - Rachel Corrie (1978-2003) | Caterkiller
Supermarket protests: Marks and Spencers Stencilled | Repression of M&S Protesters
Academic boycott: AUT Boycott | NAFTHE Boycott | CUPE Ontario | COSATU (South Africa).

The very mention of custody deaths brings to mind nasty foreign repressive regimes. But these deaths happen in Britain, too - on average, one a week in police custody alone. Then there are the deaths in immigration detention centres and in prisons, including children. Many of these deaths occur under dubious circumstances. Moreover, those in custody may not not have been convicted of any crime and are supposed to be presumed innocent.

The suicide rate is much greater in custody - as much as 18 times the UK average for young males, and disproportionately large among black people, especially as a result of "the excessive use of force by functionaries of the state", according to the group Inquest [example]. Deaths can also occur as a result of deliberate police inaction.

There is a lack of transparency in investigations into deaths in custody and very long delays before inquests (up to five years in some cases) as well as lack of accountability after juries return 'unlawful killing' verdicts. Of those verdicts since 1990, which the group Inquest is aware of, 18 police officers were prosecuted but all were acquitted. As far as is known, no police officer has ever been brought to justice for such killings.

Links: United Friends and Family Campaign’s annual Remembrance Procession (2006) | 19 minute video | photos Guido, Real2Reel, Marc Vallée | 2005 (photo report) | 2003 (photos & audio) | Ireland 2006 part 1, part 2.

32 Iraqi asylum seekers, who had been incarcerated in different detention centres, were deported to Arbil, northern Iraq, on 5 September, 2006, on a specially chartered flight from the RAF Brize Norton military base in Oxfordshire. There was a demonstration at the Home Office in London, called by the Coalition to Stop Deportations to Iraq and the International Federation of Iraqi Refugees, but that did not apparently stop the process, and neither did the warnings from international organisations [1 | 2 | 3] or the legal challenges.

The first forced deportation of Iraqi Kurds from the UK took place on 19 November, 2005. 15 men were taken to an airport at night, handcuffed, beaten and forced onto a military plane headed for Arbil through Cyprus. The move then sparked a lot of anger and protest [1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5], and the deportation of Iraqis was halted for a while until resumed this month. Tens of Iraqi Kurds are believed to be interned in UK detention centres, while thousands more have been served notice that they will be 'removed' from the country [latest report].

Read: initial report | call-out for demo | names of deportees | Home Secretary resumes forced removals to Iraq | EU-coordinated deportation of Afghani refugees

Links: Coalition to Stop Deportations to Iraq | International Federation of Iraqi Refugees | National Coalition of Anti-Deportation Campaigns | Noborders UK communication channels

A crowd of several hundred demonstrators, mainly Muslim, gathered outside New Scotland Yard on Sunday afternoon 11 June to voice their disquiet at the June 2 raid in Forest Gate. The police raid which involved some 250 officers, was one of the largest single 'anti-terrorist' raids in Britain. Two houses were targeted based on intelligence that they were the location for a chemical bomb factory run by two brothers, Mohammed Abdul Kahar and Abdul Koyair.

The raid was brutal and Koyair was shot in the shoulder in circumstances that remain a mystery. The two brothers were eventually released without charge late on Friday June 9.

A demonstration was called for the 18th of June to show support for the families of the Forest Gate raid. More than 2000 people marched in East London to show the community’s anger and frustration at the raids. Demonstrators carried placards with statements such as “The War on Terror is a War on Us” [Report]

A replica of the Israeli wall and a large banner with the words "Stop Starving Palestinians, End Israel's Occupation and Recognise Palestinian Democracy", acted as a back drop for the up to 20,000 demonstrators that gathered in London's Trafalgar Square on Saturday 20 of May.
Reports: 1 | 2 | Photos: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

The demonstration, organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, was prompted by the Israeli government's decision to strengthen the economic blockade of the Palestinian people after the landslide victory of Hamas in the recent Palestinian elections. The Israeli and US governments, together with the EU, brand Hamas as a terrorist organisation and have therefore stopped vital aid and funding from reaching Palestine, with devastating effects on the everyday lives of Palestinian people living in the Occupied Territories.

An Emergency Vigil was held in Sheffield on Thursday 25th May, called by Sheffield Palestine Solidarity Campaign.

For daily reports of life under Israeli occupation see the Middle East Media Centre and the Palestine Today audio reports in the IMC-UK newswires. Also check out IMC-Israel and IMC-Beirut for information about grassroots strugless and campaigns in the Middle East.