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London Calling: Saturday 29 June
London Calling: Oppose the EDL Saturday 29 June
Stephen Yaxley-Lennon and Kev Carroll – the leaders of the EDL – are planning to walk from Hyde Park to Woolwich on Saturday (Armed Forces Day). This is not being promoted as an “official” EDL event but is supposed to be a sponsored walk. Lennon has also promoted it as a “walk of death” because he is planning to walk past the East London Mosque. Although he has recently stopped mentioning the Mosque as a point on the route, there’s no reason to assume he has dropped it the plan, given the prominence he gave to it. Press from Tuesday suggests it is still on the route and police are preparing for it as a flashpoint (another being passing through Newham).
Lennon and Carroll have said they are starting at the 7/7 memorial in the SE corner of Hyde Park (nearest tube Hyde Park corner, Piccadilly line). They haven’t advertised a time and haven’t called for EDL supporters to join them there. They are asking EDL members to meet them for the final mile in Woolwich at 14:00, ending at the Woolwich Barracks where there is an Armed Forces Day family fair. EDL members are being requested not to bring any EDL insignia and to come as “members of the public”.
The UAF have announced a meet up point for 11:00 at Speakers Corner in Hyde Park (nearest tube is Marble Arch, Central line). They have said they are marching to Altab Ali park in Whitechapel, which is next to the East London Mosque. They have asked people to bring travelcards and to be prepared for the assembly point and details to change.
South London Anti-Fascists are mobilising in Woolwich to oppose the EDL presence in the area. They are meeting at the Old Coronet Cinema/Gateway House, John Wilson St, Woolwich, London, SE18 6QQ at 11:00.
South London Antifascists call-out:
http://www.tmponline.org/2013/06/25/edl-woolwich-assembly/
UAF call-out:
http://uaf.org.uk/2013/06/new-details-for-saturday-29-june-demo/
Map of the route that Stephen Yaxley-Lennon tweeted on 13th June:
https://twitter.com/EDLTrobinson/status/345172231103598592/photo/1
Link to info on police preparations preparing for flashpoints at Mosque and in Newham:
Who’s “Strong”? Who’s stronger?
Brighton Anti-Fascists gathered along the seafront to oppose any fascist using the cover of “Brighton and Hove Strong” to find five youngsters and one older man (three score years and ten, at least) all of whom denied having anything to do with the EDL. The six said they would let anti-fascists know if any EDL turned up. None did. Or, if they did, they hid.
Meanwhile, an installation of anti-war photographs at Brighton’s Old Steine Memorial War was ripped down by community police officers. Entitled “Hate is not the answer”, the photographs displayed anti-war messages created New Yorkers in the days following 9/11. Maybe the cops think hate is OK. It keeps them in business.
At the end of the day anti-fascists offered support to the banner-making project at Brighton’s Jubliee Library, Re-making Picasso’s Guernica.
Art V Fascism: art wins hands down.
For more Re-making Picasso’s Guernica see: https://witness.guardian.co.uk/assignment/51af32ffe4b0ae18e994afa7
The fascists and racists behind Brighton Strong: counter protest at 1pm today
Just in case you need confirmation that the EDL are the organisers of the Brighton and Hove Strong event to be held today, here’s their real web presence.
They say they’ll be at the Peace Statute on the border of Brighton and Hove at 1pm. That’s where the counter protest starts.
EDL front “Strong” to march in Brighton 1pm Sunday 23 June
EDL front “Strong” to march in Brighton 1pm Sunday 23 June
At 1pm on Sunday 23rd June, an organisation calling themselves “Brighton and Hove Strong” will be making their way from the Peace Statue on the Hove border to the Old Steine War Memorial in Brighton. EDL News has revealed that the “Strong” movement, stealing the name of an American response to the Boston bombings, is ‘riddled with far right members of the Infidels, the English Defence League, the British National Party and other far right splinter groups.’
The “Strong” movement is another attempt exploit the death of soldier Lee Rigby by right wing racists and fascists, who do so against the expressed wishes of his family and regiment. The use of facebook cover names for EDL causes has even been noted by The Telegraph.
“Brighton and Hove Strong” are administered by EDL supporters. This new front group, like the EDL itself declares it is against ‘extremists’, which has so often been the code word for religious and racist prejudice about any Muslim no matter what that person believes.
If we are out walking on Brighton seafront on Sunday 23 June around 1pm in the afternoon maybe we should ask the “Strong” marchers: ‘What really is extremism?’ And: ‘Why isn’t “Strong” concerned about the rise of the right wing extremism of EDL?’ In the immediate aftermath of the death of Lee Rigby, interfaith group, Faith Matters, documented the desecration of mosques and attacks of Muslim people: ten mosques were vandalised in just two days and almost 200 personal attacks reported over less than a two week.
Don’t let the politics of hate takeover.
Follow Stopmfe on twitter for updates.
If you want to follow up articles in EDL News or the The Telegraph, go to:
http://edlnews.co.uk/index.php/rss/1111-the-far-right-behind-the-woolwich-strong-movement
White Roses V EDL
A hundred anti-fascists gathered at the Brighton’s War Memorial today and left white roses, a symbol of opposition to fascism and war. The White Rose Movement was the name of a group Munich students who opposed the Nazis and were executed. People gathered between 12 noon and 1.30 pm, they held up posters saying “Against Hate, War and Fascism”, “Don’t Hijack Death” and “Don’t let hate divide us”. They laid white roses on the memorial itself.
The gathering was in response to a report in yesterday’s local newspaper The Argus that the EDL would be marching in Brighton and laying a wreath at the war memorial at 1pm. The far right group has been busy exploiting the killing of Fusiler Lee Rigby despite his family and regiment’s request not to use his death to fuel revenge. Knowing that Brighton will never welcome racists and fascists, the “official EDL” altered the advertised time of their wreath laying to 10.30 am, secretly sneaking in to lay flowers. Unaligned and new EDL sympathisers were left to walk into a large anti-fascist presence at 13.00. Passers by accepted anti-fascist leaflets and as Brighton people faced off EDL supporters outside the war memorial.
The space was peacefully occupied by the anti-fascist people of Brighton who, like the Munich students, refused to be silent and allow the EDL to claim the public space and capitalise on the murder of a solider.
Casual story of the week (by Schnews)
We really probably shouldn’t indulge ourselves but something about the ongoing fictionalization of events in Brighton last Sunday by the far-right keeps us heading back to Facebook and Twitter for the latest fantastic developments.
Now you might think the reams of photos of boneheads being kicked all over the pavement/hiding behind the police/ getting bashed on the bonce by flying objects might present a fairly conclusive picture of what happened – but you’d be wrong.
Unfortunatley for EDL fashion victims Casualties United – they weren’t quick enough with the camcorder when one of their girls ( a kickboxing champion no less!) battered seven antifa men unconscious. Now that’d be worth seeing! Unfortunatley overcome with modesty the Casuals seem to have disappeared this stirring episode from their Facebook.
In an unconscious admission of what really happened (i.e the fash got kicked all over town) Casuals are pinning all their bullshit on one incident down near the pier – apparently a happening so fearsome no ‘commie’ dares speak of it. The Casuals crack suicide squad (some of whom had already taken a bit of shoeing) managed to run a vaguely defined number of Antifa (think of a number – quadruple it and add five) and batter them all – glorious stuff!!
Sadly back in boring mundane reality what actually happened was that a small group of Casuals, was confronted by a larger mixed group of anti-fascists. To be fair the Casuals did start when outnumbered and managed to split a girl’s head open with an umbrella. They were then put on their arses and two of them (including Steven Sands in what must have been one of the worst afternoon’s of his life) got nicked.
One participant observer told SchNEWS “They actually weren’t very good at fighting – it was all sort of rush in, try and get the first punch, then grab hold of someone and fall over”. Maybe SchNEWS is being unfair and staunch nationalists that the Casuals are they were practising some indigenous form of martial arts – the way of the stunned ferret or some such.
More Crap Arrests…
Click here fo
OPPOSE THE MARCH FOR ENGLAND 2013
Last year thousands of people lined the streets of Brighton to drown out March for England’s message of hate. Let’s do it again. Racists and fascists have no place in our diverse city.
Death knell for the EDL? by Schnews
Brighton hinted at it, Bristol seemed to continue the pattern but today’s misguided outing to the London borough of Walthamstow showed the extent to which the English Defence League is now in a steep downward spiral.
This was intended to be a re-run of Tower Hamlets – a mission into darkest Muslamic country to liberate a corner of England. In the event around only two hundred fash made the trip down – to be confronted by a multi-racial crowd of over two thousand.
After getting pissed up and fighting amongst themselves at King’s Cross station the EDL gathered at Blackhorse Rd tube station. They were then marched in a mobile kettle along Forest Rd, the initial stage of their intended route to the Town Hall. The UAF were behind police lines occupying half of Forest Rd. Autonomous anti-fascists waited just down from the crossroads. The EDL approached at a snail’s pace entirely surrounded by cops.
As soon as the hapless leaguers came in sight the Anti-Fascist Network‘s banner was unfurled – triggering scuffles with the police and a couple of arrests. The cops soon realised that if a handful of anti-fascists were going to cause that much bother then getting the EDL past the UAF demo was going to be more trouble than it was it worth. The answer was to divert the EDL down the side-streets and try to smuggle them to their rally point.
SMASH GAZEBO
Meanwhile, realising that the EDL march had been blocked anti-fascists started breaking away in small groups getting round police lines to the rally point. Soon hundreds had gathered in front of a gazebo decorated with England flags and staffed by the EDL’s top boys. Unfortunately for them their minions were being held up by police a few streets away leaving leaders Tommy Robinson and Kev Carroll to have a rally/garden party behind police lines that barely got into double figures. The leaders attempted to string a few words together over their P.A. system, but were completely drowned out by anti-fascists. After they were bombarded with missiles and with the baying crowd threatening to break the police lines, the EDL’s police liaison officers told them to leave the area. Rumours that Kev and Tommy later indulged in a bit of sulky mutual recrimination and even handbags at dawn have so far been confined to the socialist press.
Eventually the fash were herded to the relative safety of a side street where police allowed them 15 minutes of unplugged whining before slowly marching them back. The EDL were remarkably silent for this once vocal organisation and at time’s it felt, appropriately enough, like a funeral cortège. Locals came out to disrupt the sombre mood and give them some abuse to send them on their way. One anti-fascist told SchNEWS “They recruited no-one, didn’t seem to have a point to their demo and basically looked like thuggish idiots. They’re not even frightening anymore”.
DON’T STAY ANOTHER DAY
Having been thoroughly humiliated by anti-fascists most EDL were probably looking forward to getting home, unfortunately for them though their day didn’t end there. The MET seemed to decide to kick ’em while they’re down and proceeded to kettle them for a few hours before finally nicking them all to ‘prevent a breach of the peace’. They were then apparently bused into the centre of London and released minus their coaches which plod had already sent packing.
Unsurprisingly many of the EDLers took their frustrations out on each other, with numerous arrests for fighting amongst themselves, including EDL steward and March for England regular Dave Bolton getting a kicking. The infighting moved online in the aftermath, with members declaring they won’t go on another demo (so much for ‘No Surrender!’) and openly calling for a change of leadership. The more loyal members have directed their anger at the police for not protecting them or forcing the march through – which is pretty pathetic for an organisation that claims to ‘go where we want, when we want’. Many of the same EDL members who threatened to arrive tooled up and hoping for it to ‘kick off’ are now moaning on Facebook about the lack of police protection when it did – be careful what you wish for.
For other accounts of the day check:
Malatesta – http://malatesta32.wordpress.com/2012/09/02/they-dont-think-its-over-it-is-now/
EDL’s novel approach to silencing critics – it didn’t work
Police help unfurl an antifascist banner
EDL leader ‘Tommy Robinson’ throwing as strop in his pen
The ‘We Are Walthamstow’ march – http://guy-smallman-photos.photoshelter.com
Help to identify fascist photographer
(from indymedia.org.uk)
This character had been spotted on March for England and recent casuals united fail in Brighton taking pictures of demonstrators. On MFE he was visibly shitting it, but last Saturday he had been bit more brave until he got confronted by few Anti-fascists who politely told him to fuck off. Anybody can identify him?
Brighton 161
Brighton Anti-fascists 