There’s a row going on down near Slough…

Today’s protests against the EDL in Slough were a pretty good start to 2014. Slough showed loud and clear that no one at all in the town had any sympathy with the EDL. The universal message was “you’re not wanted – go home”

The down-on-their-luck EDL only managed less than 200 for a ‘national’ demo following large numbers of splits, defections and internal arguments. This is looking like the ‘new normal’ for them – the die-hards who haven’t figured out yet the EDL is dying on its feet.

The EDL were worried about numbers for Slough and it looks like they were right to be worried…

In Exeter the EDL got 200 max and blamed it on Exeter being hard to get to.
What’s the excuse this time?

From the horse’s mouth… an “embarrassing” 150 EDL in Slough

And here we see for ourselves…

The massed ranks of the entire EDL: “Britain’s biggest street movement”

The anti-fascist presence from AFN, UAF and others numbered about 200+ mixed in with a feisty crowd of local Slough folks who didn’t take to kindly to a racist march down the High Street on a Saturday afternoon.

Anti-fascists mixing freely with up-for-it locals was one of the best features of the day – made a few new friends on the streets. Slough kids don’t like the cops much either!

The EDL were harassed all the way from the train station into town and all the way back with a barrage of abuse from locals. They took the expected route from the train station to the town centre rally on the High Street and then back again the same way. But as they turned the corner onto the High Street anti-fascists surged forward to try and block the road.

The police had to fight and shove their way all along the High Street including using batons and horse charges against anti-fascists to get the EDL to their rally, facing some determined resistance from anti-fascists trying to block the route of the march.

So although the march did take place, by the EDL were corralled by the police at all times, marched in and then shipped straight back out again. This is due to the actions of anti-fascists – when there is a determined opposition the police are more likely to make the decision to bus the EDL straight out. When there is only limited opposition, as we have seen many times before, the EDL are often free to roam the city in groups and to mob up and go off drinking in groups after the demo – this is when the most trouble occurs as boozed-up gangs of EDL pick on locals or anyone they don’t like the look of. The more people there are up for making a determined show of resistance to the fascists, the safer everyone is.

Anti-fascists give the EDL a piece of their minds

For their part anti-fascists stayed mobile and were not kettled or constrained by the police.

The police reported 4 arrests in total. We know of 3 anti-fascists arrested and one anti-fascist with a head injury from a bottle chucked by the EDL, who is now OK, been patched up and on their way home.

If you have any information or witnessed any anti-fascist arrests or police violence contact GBC Legal.

And please be careful with what footage/pictures you post online. Don’t give the police evidence to prosecute anti-fascists with.

The EDL’s next outing is Worcester on March 22nd. Stick the date in your diary and watch this space!

Good work by London Anti-Fascists and locals Berkshire Anti-Fascists who did sterling organising in advance to get the numbers out on the streets!

From Anti-Fascist Network

Jobbik chased across London by anti-fascists

 

Jobbik beseiged in the tube station

Hungarian far-right group Jobbik were chased across London by anti-fascists on Sunday as their leader Gábor Vona visited the UK to try and drum up votes from ex-pat Hungarians living in London ahead of elections. Despite calls from MEPs and other politicians to ban Vona’s entry in to the UK and a 14,000 signature petition sent to the Home Secretary by Hope not Hate, Theresa May was strangely relaxed about this particular immigrant and Vona was not denied entry. Thus it was left to anti-fascists on the streets to oppose the arrival of “the most successful fascist in Europe”.

 

Jobbik is the most openly anti-Semitic party in Europe and is the third largest party in the country. Their rally was scheduled for the evening before Holocaust Memorial Day, which one imagines was probably not a coincidence, given that they have previously protested against the World Jewish Congress being held in Budapest.

Jobbik supporters: T-shirt is Rock Against Communism (white power Nazi music).
Flag is ancient Hungarian Arpad flag linked to WWII era Arrow Cross Nazi movement.

There are an estimated 50,000 Hungarians living in London. Jobbik hoped these ex-pats would come to the rally, instead they found them protesting against them: “I’m a Hungarian Jew: you murdered my family”, one man shouted at them, as the police dragged him away. The mere 60-70 fascist Jobbik supporters gathered at Holborn shows that their support does not go as deep as they would like to believe.

Holborn tube was being used as a re-direction point by the far-right group but they were trapped inside the tube station and prevented from leaving by the crowd of about 150 anti-fascists, including members of the Anti-Fascist Network, Unite Against Fascism and Brixton Black Revolutionary Socialists, who then chased them back and forth across the city.

According to Gábor Vona himself: “The venue that the organizers booked cancelled the contract half an hour before the beginning of the event”. Three venues cancelled bookings for the far-right group under pressure from anti-fascists and the large amount of negative publicity Vona’s visit generated.

Under police protection the Jobbik supporters scuttled down into the tube. While Unite Against Fascism activists decamped for refreshments, autonomous anti-fascists chased the fascists to their destination at Marble Arch. Unable to find another venue, the fascists had ultimately been forced to congregate in the rain in Hyde Park. The bedraggled mob of about sixty or seventy people and a couple of Hungarian flags was a far cry from the triumphal rally predicted. There was no sign of any British or other fascist support, despite some online bravado before the event.

The massed ranks of Jobbik supporters getting rained on in Hyde Park.
Hardly impressive.

In advance of Vona’s arrival in London there were rumours that he was here to meet with representatives of the BNP and the Greek Golden Dawn to talk about building a Euro-fascist alliance for the European elections in May.

According to Brixton Black Revolutionary Socialists: “organisers of Jobbik and Golden Dawn were known to have been attempting to have the meeting in central London during the rally” and “Antifascists intercepted 15 Jobbik organisers who pulled knives and screwdrivers… they were forced to flee by local youth and antifascists.”

Well done to all who attended and showed Europe’s some of Europe’s most dangerous fascists that they will be opposed wherever they raise their heads.

from Anti-Fascist Network

EDL outnumbered in Bristol

Reposted from Anti-Fascist Network

Yesterday evening’s demonstration against the EDL in Bristol seems to have gone well despite short notice.

A dozen EDL supporters outnumbered by police & anti-fascists
outside City Hall (photo: @Bristol_Culture)

The local Bristol EDL had called a demonstration outside a meeting that was to be discussing an application to convert the empty Jesters comedy club in Stokes Croft into an Islamic religious and cultural centre. The event was to be for members of the Assahaba Centre group proposing the development to “discuss the objectors’ concerns and provide a better insight into the Islamic faith”. Funnily enough no one objecting to the development was interested in this and the meeting was cancelled due to lack of interest from objectors. The EDL not interested in actually hearing about the Muslim faith from some actual Muslims? Who’d have thought?

The council made the decision to approve the mosque application the day before the EDL protest.

So the EDL held a barely half hour long protest outside a meeting that wasn’t happening because they refused to go to it, before they headed back to the pubs they came from.

EDL pioneer radical new Y-fronts-as-headgear look

Bristol UAF, Bristol Anti-Fascist Co-operative and Bristol Anti-Fascists mobilised against the EDL. There were about 100 anti-fascists opposing about 30 EDL, from most accounts. Outnumbering the fascists 3 to 1 is not bad for short notice.

There was a frank exchange of views and some minor skirmishing.

For more background on the Stokes Croft Islamic centre and the EDL’s campaign against it, including multiple threats to “burn it down”, see our previous post.

This particular local struggle in Bristol may not be over yet, but this was a positive moment, showing that the EDL will be opposed wherever they raise their heads.

Counter-protest the EDL flash demo in Bristol jan 7th

Info below taken from another opposition page on facebook.

“The English Defence League have announced a flash mob demonstration for next Tuesday evening at 6pm (7th January) at College Green outside the Council House. They are demonstrating outside the Council House in protest at a planning application to convert a building in Stokes Croft into an Islamic Cultural and Religious Centre. Their demonstration is clearly designed to stir racial division and hatred in the city.

Bristol Unite Against Fascism are calling a counter demonstration at College Green to begin at 530pm on Tuesday 7th. We welcome all anti-racists and anti-fascists.”

Click for larger map

Welsh Antifa Showing NF The Door

From The Anti-Fascist Network

Reports and pictures confirm the National Front have pulled in about 60 extreme fascists to the heavily policed white pride rally. The police chopper is up for this? Pathetic!

Antifascists gathered with the UAF have around 300-400 participants. It appears that a few militant antifascist groups roaming Swansea have been stopped by police and forced to join the UAF demo or sit in the cells for the day.

More news will follow, there may be a few local fascists hanging around later. Out of towner scumbags (98%?) will be making their way back home by train and car after the police bus them to a safe distance and out of the reach of Antifa’s. If you have a National Front member in your town you may want to collect them from the station to make sure they get home ok!

Here’s a picture of a redwatch photographer looking lonely (tweeted by EDL News):

From the Swansea Antifa facebook group

“Today Swansea spoke loud!

The White Pride skum came along, 40 of them, they didn’t get their march and stayed for a hour before being bussed out, for everyone of them there were 5 across the way, chanting and jeering and letting them know, their hatred isn’t welcome in the pretty shitty city.

Meanwhile several groups of Antifa made their presence felt, in and out, as the police came out in force waving around half a dozen “sections”. No Antifa arrests tho some time spent being detained for having the dangerous weapon they call a flag.

Much respect and love to all the people who came together from across Swansea whether you were in the police pen or dressed in black staying mobile, you all did a an amazing job, even more respect to comrades from across the UK who came down! Many thanks!

— Please remember if you choose to upload photos from your day to blur/block out faces or put the Saffy logo over them, never ever tag people on facebook, this is important for personal security and the safety of ongoing activists —

¡No Pasarán!”

Update 11/03/13:  NF & KKK lynched black people in effigy in Swansea (Indymedia)

FASH, BANG, WALLOP

Report from Schnews: 23/04/12

Quote of the day – “Well who thought it was a good idea to organise these two demonstrations on the same day? Surely it was obvious there would be problems” – random Brighton theatre-goer/by-stander

Yesterday’s counter-protest against the March for England exceeded all expectations. Although the fascists did march they did so inside a mobile police kettle continuously surrounded and occasionally bombarded by counter-protestors. Their march route was cut short and for once the chant “Police protect the fascists” was 100% accurate.

Last year the police successfully kettled most of the anti-fascists, allowing the MfE free rein through the city. They took full advantage of the opportunity to hand out racist abuse and attack alternative looking types. Brighton anti-fascists were determined to avoid a repeat.

Aware that the cops plan was to push the march straight down the road from the railway station to the sea front, the anti-crowd was encouraged to spread themselves thinly along the route. This prevented a pre-emptive kettle.

The MfE were due to start their procession at midday, but due to the geography of the area no-one in the counter-demo had a direct view of their meet-up point at the station. A strange High-Noon quiet settled over the town centre as the counter-protest shuffled and waited, watching police movements for a clue as to what might happen. Numbers gradually built up, serenaded by the bizarrely soothing tones of dub from a punk- soundsytem.

For a while it looked as if the cops were going to throw the towel in and refuse to allow the MfE out of the station. At half-twelve jogging lines of cops and the arrival of horses let everyone know that the fash were on the move.

One eyewitness at the station told SchNEWS “From where they were mustered, they could only see a tiny part of the counter-demo, mainly the UAF contingent. They were very cocky. As soon as they turned the corner and saw the opposition their faces fell”. By this point there were around 500 anti-fascists on the streets.

The nationalists had only mustered around 100, a third of what they had predicted. Yesterday SchNEWS reported that “there was little if any English Defence League insignia actually on display”. Since then we’ve been told that EDL banners and an Essex Infidels flag were unfurled at the station. In reality this was a moot point as the main body of march consisted of known EDL faces, including virtually all of Brighton and Portsmouth EDL with the addition of various unsavoury characters such as Jeff Marsh of Casuals United. Despite the presence of a few token women and kids the march was overwhelmingly male, bald and fat.

It didn’t take long after the march set off before the first few antis were in the road behind a banner. From then on the march became a rugby scrum as the cops used horses, truncheons and pepper spray to force the MfE through. Every time the cops broke through an anti-fascist line, another would form ten or twenty metres down the road.

BATTLE OF CHURCH ST

The pressure only intensified as the police decided to abandon the planned high-profile route and try to smuggle the nationalists down the back-streets. Anti-fascists got ahead of the game and running around the side got in front of the march on Church St to build barricades. Fascists and police came under attack with bottles. It was at this point that some-one set a bin on fire, irritating everyone, right and left, with the acrid smoke.

What was totally remarkable was the level of solidarity for the counter-demo by folk from all walks of life in Brighton. There was no support for the MfE. Pensioners and kids shouted abuse at the fash. The UAF stood shoulder to shoulder with Antifa punks.

Eventually the MfE, numbering around a hundred ended up in their pre-prepared pen, – unfortunately for them so did almost the entire counter-demo. They then had to put up with two hours of being jeered at by the surrounding mob before cops rushed them back to the station to be dispersed.

Their march was dogged every step of the way but as they were leaving the crowd was happy to let the cops rush them along. Anti fascists went on to enjoy a pint in the sunshine.

MARLBOROUGH LIGHT-WEIGHTS

Despite the usual online japery the few EDL who tried to make a stand outside the cordon were quickly seen off. Joel Titus, self proclaimed leader of the EDLs youth wing was spotted skulking with a crew of half-wits in the Marlborough pub, one of the few bars that would serve them on the day. A handful of anti-fascists were able to send them packing. Virtually no other pubs would serve the MfE and they failed to maintain a presence in town after they were dispersed.

Is this the end of the March for England in Brighton? Watch this space!

Final word to Brighton Anti-fascists “Brighton showed the racists today that their brand of hatred isn’t welcome in our city. Brighton has always historically seen off the fascists, in the the thirties , the seventies and now today. Big thanks to all who turned out! – Up the punks!”

As far as SchNEWS knows no-one on our team got nicked- If you were arrested and require support then please contact stopmfe@ymail.com

For more http://brightonantifascists.wordpress.com/

For a great gallery of photos by Guy Smallman

*Updated* Report from Bristol Anti-Fascists can be read here.

Here’s a video of yesterday’s counter protest, more can be found on Youtube.

EDL fail in Tower Hamlets

They came. They saw. They failed. And now they’re coming up with the usual bullshit to save face…

Saturday saw the long awaited EDL outing to London. For them, it was nothing short of a failure. Despite planning this one for months and claiming it was to be ‘the big one,’ they only managed to muster around 1,000 infidel, ray gun fighting warriors. Many groups struggled to fill coaches and some bottled it all together.

Locally they were poorly represented- the only group to turn up from the area were the Bristol & Gloucestershire division.

The Hereford EDL ‘division’ (if it can be called that) failed to get anybody there at all. Sad act and self-appointed leader, Darren Poland, has been doing his nut on Facebook since. He’s now calling for an ‘emergency meeting’ this coming weekend. We doubt its worth the effort mate, you’ll only end up getting two of you along like the last one.

The Worcester division were quiet for this one as well…London is a bit further from home than Telford is after all. Too much effort, Dave?

Before the day even arrived the EDL were finding it hard; members were left confused after the ban and were relying on the leadership to put the plans on the internet the night before. Pubs that were due to be hosting them pulled out one after another, following pressure from anti-fascist campaigners. The night before, RMT activists threatened to close the tube stations where the EDL were meant to gather, adding a further headache to their plans.

On the morning of the 3^rd, RMT activists followed through with their plans and offered some great practical solidarity to anti-fascists. Tube stations were closed, and emergency alarms in stations and trains were set off, leaving some groups of EDL stranded in various parts of London, delayed from getting to their meeting points.

The usual mixture of unions, left-wing organisations, community and faith groups assembled on Whitechapel Road throughout the morning and early afternoon, bulked up by large groups of locals. We have to admit that this was also a pretty poor turnout, with only around 1,500 on the streets. However, larger numbers of locals were also in surrounding areas, awaiting the arrival of the EDL…

But they never came. The closest they got to the ‘lions den of militant Islam,’ (Tower Hamlets) was Aldgate tube station. They could do with touching up on their local geography though, because that’s in the City of London. Doh!

Groups of militant anti-fascists and anarchists, as well as large groups of local youth made spirited efforts to reach the EDL all day. Whilst this wasn’t possible due to the area resembling a police state, it was very encouraging to see links made between them, and a lot of people seeking to confront the EDL and not simply being led by the UAF and their ‘official’ counter demonstration.

So after pulling around 1,000 troops and managing to get as close as they would to their intended destination, the usual spectacle began. They chanted three letters over and over. Out came the beer bellies and shit tattoos. Scuffles began and a few arrests were made.

Then Steven Lennon took to the stage. Disguised as a Rabbi, he gave a speech. He was also breaking his bail conditions, which he publicly stated, goading police officers to arrest him. He was surprised when they did. He’s currently on ‘hunger strike’ in police custody. This situation will have one of two conclusions; this noble freedom fighter will fast until death, putting his beliefs first and giving his life to the cause. Or he will fail miserably and be back on the chips and pies diet before you can say ‘you fat bastard.’ As much as the former would be a fun spectacle, we think it’s likely to be the second option that comes through.

And after all of that, they finally got their march… back to their coaches via Tower Bridge.

Shortly afterwards a group of locals gave a heartfelt ‘farewell’ message to some EDL members. In a move of sheer idiocy, a coach full of the numpties made its way down Whitechapel Road, with it’s occupants goading local young muslims. Within seconds the mob charged and the coach came under sustained artillery fire, with its oh-so-brave occupants now cowering inside. The bus was left with some new ventilation, and the 40 EDL members inside left with their tails between their legs, behind the protection of about 200 police officers in full riot gear, who rushed to their rescue.

To top the day off nicely, hacking group ‘Team Poison’ kindly released dozens of phone numbers, internal emails and forum usernames/passwords for a load of EDL members, including some of the leadership. Bostin!

The response since to the 3^rd has been almost as interesting as the day itself. The EDL haven’t even released an official statement or report on the day yet, with a few comments on Facebook apparently enough to keep the rabble happy. ‘EDL 1 – Tower Hamlets 0’ they claimed. A strange choice of words we feel, after all they were going there to oppose militant Islam, and highlight the problems of sexism and homophobia in the area, right? Evidently not, they’ve declared the entire borough and it’s population as their enemy… This façade really is wearing thin now guys! I doubt even the blindest of EDL supporters will follow this line without question for much longer.

The illiterate fools over at the Casuals United blog have an interesting take on the day too. According to them the day was a ‘massive victory’ for the EDL, with us ‘Commies’ in despair over the low turnout on the counter demonstration. The tools behind Redwatch have also made us chuckle. They’ve put up a couple of pictures of an anti-fascist block on a Gaza solidarity demo in 2009 and claimed they’re from Saturday… Silly twats.

So to round off; they didn’t have the march through Tower Hamlets that they wanted, they had a shit turnout, their leader got arrested and a bunch of them went home with stained pants and their tails between their legs. And they consider this a ‘massive victory.’ As they try to keep grassroots support and hold the image of the organisation together, they are reliant on half-truths, misinformation and outright lies. We can only wonder how long they can keep this going…but until then, lets “paint some white sheets” for our brave martyr Tommy, as they have cleverly suggested.

3CAFA would like to thank ALARM and the other anti-fascists we met on the weekend, for the hospitality and all of the great work they did both beforehand and on the day itself. We look forward to working with you again in the future. Until next time…

‘No fucking sandwiches ever’

3 Counties Anti-Fascist Alliance

EDL in Tower Hamlets

It’s only a few days until the English Defence League have their outing to Tower Hamlets, in east London. The EDL claim they are marching ‘into the lions den of militant Islam in the UK.’ There has been much talk on the internet about how they’re going to ‘take’ the area. It is clear that this is simply designed to stir up racial tensions and attempt to divide sections of the working class in the area, as well as get the EDL in the headlines.

Recently there have been calls from certain sections of the media, politicians and some ‘anti-fascist’ campaigners such as Hope not Hate, for the march to be banned. This call has been heeded with Theresa May banning all marches in 5 London boroughs for a 30 day period, on the request of the Met Police.

We do not believe that state repression is the way to defeat the EDL or fascist groups. By calling for the police and state to ban the march we would be embracing and supporting the same apparatus that persecutes many working class people, anti-fascists, social activists and others. We also question the usefulness of a ban; it will not effect the EDL, who still intend to turn up and hold a ‘static demonstration.’ We need to deal with the problem, not brush it under the carpet for it to reappear later.

Instead, 3 Counties Anti-Fascist Alliance fully support the callout from our comrades in Tower Hamlets ALARM for mass street opposition to the EDL mobilisation. As they have stated their intention to turn up anyway, we will be attending to stand alongside other anti-fascists and locals opposing them. Below are some leaflets recently put out by ALARM stating in no uncertain terms what they think of the EDL coming into their community.

See you on the 3^rd.

‘A lesson well learned’

Below we’ve reposted a recent feature article from the Morning Star newspaper. It looks at militant anti-fascism past and present and also features an interview with a local anti-fascist activist (highlighted in bold). Whilst we may not agree with the authors comments regarding Unite Against Fascism and Searchlight, we think it’s a good article overall.

Britain has a long and proud tradition of anti-fascism.

Back in 1936 thousands of people physically stopped Oswald Mosley’s Blackshirts from marching through a Jewish area of London’s East End in the battle of Cable Street.

And that same year over 2,000 Britons volunteered to go to Spain and fight against Franco’s fascists in the Spanish civil war.

Following World War II, Jewish ex-servicemen and women organised themselves into the 43 Group to physically confront the British Union of Fascists and disrupt their meetings.

They were the first militant anti-fascist organisation in Britain and were hugely successful in achieving their aims.

In the ’70s left-wing activists and trade unionists formed themselves into groups known as the squads as a way of defending themselves and their activities from fascist gangs.

They soon realised that attack was the best form of defence.

And in 1984 Anti-Fascist Action was formed, a broad-based working-class group which aimed to “confront fascism both physically and ideologically.”

It was hugely successful in confronting groups such as the National Front, British National Party and Combat 18 throughout the ’80s and ’90s and literally drove them off the streets.

Today organisations like Hope Not Hate have used their strategic know-how to crush the BNP, as at last year’s election, while Unite Against Fascism (UAF) organise successful counter-demonstrations in the fight against the English Defence League (EDL).

That fight is fast becoming more urgent by the day, particularly after Anders Behring Breivik, accused of murdering at least 76 people in the recent Norway massacres, spoke of his admiration of the group.

UAF’s joint secretary Weyman Bennett said: “Fascists have become more confident in the 21st century with the rise of Islamophobia, which the EDL use as a shield at their convenience to counter claims of fascism and racism.

“There has been far too much complacency about the EDL and they give a boost to every fascist and racist in Europe, most recently seen in Norway. But we don’t want to see what happened in Norway happening here.”

Antifa – which formed in Britain in about 2004 – also exists as a network of anti-fascist groups and individuals across the country who challenge the rise of the far-right.

According to Joe Hill, of Hereford and Worcester Antifa: “While the BNP are currently going through internal turmoil with purges, mass resignations, infighting and a leadership that seems to be losing credibility we must not simply rest on our laurels and complacently expect them to go away.”

He also recognises there has been a return to street-based tactics for some groups such as the EDL, which has managed to bring thousands of people onto the streets.

As to the rise and causes of fascism Mr Hill is quite clear – that on the one hand it is a fundamental consequence of capitalism while the tabloid press help give it a boost.

“The tabloids regularly stir up reactionary sentiment by attacking migrants, benefit claimants, single mothers etc,” Mr Hill says.

“This sows the seeds of fear, division and doubt in many people’s minds that groups such as the BNP are able to exploit and use to their advantage.

“Simply running a half-arsed ‘exposé’ of the BNP in the run-up to an election with an urge not to vote for them does not do justice – the damage has already been done and the fascists have already seized upon their opportunity to tap into people’s fears.”

Throughout history fascism has used whichever tactics suit it at the time, from beer halls to social networking sites, and Mr Hill says that this shows it’s a symptom of a much wider problem.

“Ultimately the main cause of support for fascism in this country is capitalism and the inequality that it produces,” he said.

“As long as fascism has existed it has thrived upon the economic hardship of certain sections of society either by recruiting working-class people into their ranks by promising a strong nation, jobs and prosperity, or by acting as protection for the middle and upper classes against an organised, revolutionary working class.

“In the long term it is only by revolution that fascism can truly be beaten. In the short term we have to make it very difficult for the fascists to organise and to spread their poisonous ideas, and do our best at going out there and getting stuck in to grassroots activism that will help spread our own ideas of working-class solidarity, freedom and fight.”

But the work of anti-fascists is becoming increasingly difficult as more and more people are arrested for “conspiracy to cause violence” – even when no actual violence has taken place or there is no evidence of intent.

Andy Meinke of the Legal Defence and Monitoring Group is fighting against this in the courts and deals with many anti-fascist cases.

He is currently involved in several “consipracy” cases resulting from an anti-fascist protest against a Blood & Honour gig at the Duchess of Edinburgh pub in Welling, Kent, on March 28 2009.

Blood & Honour is the musical wing of Combat 18 and uses the tagline “The Independent Voice of Rock Against Communism.”

A fight broke out between some of the protesters and fascists on the platform at Welling railway station and police arrested 23 people, with 22 charged with conspiracy to commit violent disorder.

The case was split into two separate trials as not all the defendants could fit in the courtroom. No fascists were arrested or charged.

The first 11 went on trial on June 6. The trial lasted 17 days and the jury convicted seven. Four were sentenced to 21 months in prison with the other three due to be sentenced in August. One of the four acquitted is unable to work as a nurse due to police comments on his criminal record check.

The second trial will start on September 12.

Mr Meinke said: “This is a great example of what anti-fascists are up against today. No charges of assault, ABH or GBH were made – just this bizarre ‘conspiracy’ charge.

“And there are many more examples with the 20 environmental activists convicted last year of conspiring to shut down Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station, as well as the Fortnum & Mason occupation case.

“The whole conspiracy law could have a chilling effect on protests with the consequence being that anyone thinking of protesting at a fascist or racist event is in danger of being arrested.

“We need to change this vague ‘conspiring’ law that gives police carte blanche to make mass arrests of anti-fascist protesters.”

As the EDL prepare to rally in Tower Hamlets in East London on September 3 it’s up to anti-fascists to bring back the spirit of 1936 without having to deal with the police as well.

Originally published in the Morning Star – Friday 29^th July 2011.

By Will Stone

http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/news/content/view/full/107651