“We do not welcome yesterday’s announcement. If anything this is the vindication of the State’s ability to absorb proto-fascist movements into its own processes. Tommy Robinson has not renounced his views or ideas, but is simply trying to revise history and portray himself as an ‘anti-extremist’.
This is the same guy who in May of this year was filmed saying ’Islam is not a religion of peace, it is fascist and violent’. Last week he was attempting to intimidate one of the people behind the anti-racist website EDL News. Yesterday he was still calling for a ban on new mosques and ‘Islamic immigration’ unless his conditions were met.
Tommy Robinson, aka Paul Harris, aka Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, is a notorious liar and fraudster. But he doesn’t need to renounce his views to be accepted into the mainstream. According to Government policy, his racist views are not extreme. We know who the Government and the police considers ‘extreme’: Anti-Climate Chaos groups, Stop Arms Fair campaigners and anti-racist movements. The police infiltrate our groups and spy on our members. We, who challenge the racist, capitalist and anti-democratic status quo, are monitored as a threat and our personal information is stored on police domestic extremist databases, along with information about many unfortunate and innocent Muslims and people of colour.
There are serious questions to ask of the Quilliam Foundation, too. Their attempt to rehabilitate a fascist follows years of demonising any Muslim who does not fall in line with state policy. In 2009 Quilliam co-director Ed Husain called for mass spying on all Muslims, regardless of whether they are suspected of any crime. Since 2008 the organisation has received over £1.2 million of Home Office funding. Now they want to help Lennon manoeuvre his way into the political mainstream. Quilliam is desperate to gain credibility after losing Government funding and Lennon, facing serious court cases and eyeing a political future, is desperate to detoxify his brand.
The fact remains that the Home Office’s Immigration Enforcement, the ‘Prevent’ programme, ‘Counter-terrorism Command’ and various sections of the Police are terrorising migrants, intimidating anti-racists and demonising Muslims more effectively than the EDL could: this is a broad agenda of criminalising difference. Street fascism may be dwindling due to anti-fascist mobilisations, but the racist ideology that feeds it is as pervasive as ever.
We will continue to organise and fight racism and fascism from the street to the state.”
The EDL had a less than successful time this weekend.
On Saturday, Tommy Robinson of the EDL held what he called a charity walk but which was in fact a bout of shameless self-publicity and a media grab that fed his nasty little ego for another week but failed to give a much needed boost to his failing and splintered organisation.
Tommy had applied to plod for permission for his ‘Charity Walk’ which Scotland Yard denied and told him in no uncertain terms, in a widely distributed document, that he would be arrested, if he entered the East End.
Here’s a tip: if plod issues a letter telling you they will arrest you if you do something, and you do it, don’t complain when they arrest you. By doing precisely this Robinson got his weekly media fix and so he could disingenuously claim to be some sort of martyr. As opposed to a serial criminal with a long police record. When Robinson contravened the order and was promptly arrested he was luckily accompanied by several TV camera crews all vulturing over him for some easy pickings.
Robinson had said he was going to walk from Marble Arch to Woolwich via the East London Mosque to ‘commemorate’ Lee Rigby the soldier who was murdered recently. Apart from the fact that it was highly unlikely he could manage more than a couple of miles, what an inflammatory trip via the mosque had to do with Lee Rigby’s ‘memory’ is anyone’s guess. The little Muppet set off with cousin Beaker and was shadowed by 3 plod vans and our intrepid reporter from EDL News.
After barely 10 minutes they stopped off for a McDonald’s – which shows they had no intention of doing the full stretch: greasy fried food is not good for long distance walking. After stuffing their faces they set off again only this time losing their rather overweight cameraman who couldn’t match their bovine pace and dropped further and further behind. We eventually saw him again in Woolwich getting a parking ticket outside Wetherspoon’s. Well done.
As the Muppets entered Aldgate there was a confrontation with two anti-fascists which caused Tommy to start whining ‘arrest them! arrest them!’ as the police arrested him. This film shows that KKKev hit out first.
Robinson was dragged off to the plod van where his vain delusions of martyrdom could hatch. In case you don’t know, the charity for which he was embarrassing had rejected him and the EDL’s money as toxic (Help 4 Heroes also rejected EDL money) so his march was not for a sick girl but for a sick boy desperate for column inches. The Rigby family have also publicly distanced themselves from Robinson.
Meanwhile, we headed off to Woolwich where the Armed Services Day was in full swing. After searching the area we came across a group of 20 anti-fascists but very few EDL. As we headed back into Woolwich we found the EDL unsurprisingly kettled by plod in Wetherspoon’s.
They didn’t get the chance to lay flowers in memory of Rigby as the Army barracks didn’t want them hijacking the day and so their mission completely failed. Instead, they did what they do best: got pissed on cheap lager. Well done.
So all in all not a great day for the EDL: leaders arrested; followers denied laying flowers; poor turnout and all round recrimination from right and left for Robinson’s shameless hijacking of Armed Forces Day, Rigby’s murder and the little girl’s charity with even some halfwit bugles from the far right Casuals claiming that he is a ‘f***ing attention seeking, money grabbing parasite.’ Well said you wee arsespangle!
As was intended the EDL foot and mouth soldiers immediately started whinging, claiming that the police were enforcing Sharia law – which was almost as good as when they referred to David Cameron as ‘a cultural Marxist’ (whatever that means).
The EDL balloons also claimed that Whitechapel is a ‘no-go area’ for non-Muslims. Sorry fellers but anyone who cares to stroll up Brick Lane for a fine salt beef bagel, stop for a pint in one of the many bars or perhaps even do a wee bit of shopping in Spitalfields will tell you that this is a blatant and absolute lie by made up by people who have obviously never even been there.
Despite Robinson getting plenty of publicity this week, the EDL completely failed to mobilise any significant numbers on the day or indeed organise much beyond a round at ’Spoons. Be seeing you! Malatesta
After the broadcast of this morning’s “tommy robinson” interview (above) on the bbc’s sunday politics show interviewer Andrew Neil immediately started receiving death threats via twitter from the little fuhrer’s henchmen.
The express ran an article covering the story, with possibly the finest typo (?) ever .. so true to boot ..
Fresh from having their main website hacked again last night the ever persistent flotsam and jetsam of what was “Britain’s biggest street movement” (according to themselves) arrived in Norwich today for a so-called ‘national demonstration’ numbering around 150 if that.
The people of Norwich were out in considerably larger numbers (*an estimated 1,500 according to mainstream press reports) to give the bedraggled ‘leaderless‘ boneheads the rousing welcome that they deserved by letting the racists know in no uncertain terms that the hatred spread by the EDL was definitely not welcome in the city as the video below clearly shows.
Arrests were made as boneheads tried to attack locals. Scuffles with anti-fascists also took place. *Mainstream report here
Meanwhile EDL neo-nazi splinter group the ‘infidels’ were out in West Ham having an equally shit day.
“With NWI calling a national callout ‘against IRA marches in Liverpool’ (code name for spreading anti-irish racism, especially since february ) various antifascist groups set about organising counter demoes, fash facebook pages and blogs kept pumping out about people coming from far and wide to the demo and keeping meeting places secret.
On the day however only roughly 20 of the fash turned up, this was met by a joint mobilisation of antifascists who outnumbered them 3-1, as the fash settled comfortably into their police protected protest area near the town hall another 20 antifascists turned up and stood amongst the fash, the fash then backed off and stood looking uncomfortable until police moved into to move the antifascists to their proper place.
Unsurprisingly the fash became suddenly more vocal once the police safety was reinforced, but this just further added to their humiliation, one fascist was keen to remind antifascists that ‘the police are on our side not yours’ roughly translated and taking the events into consideration i believe this meant ‘These police wont let you get us’ the police had several attempts at kettling antifascists, which didn’t seem too effective and many managed to break the line.
Far right poster boy and jail bird Liam Pinkham bumped into a group of militant antifascists and recieved a taste of his own medicine, for his first demo since his release from prison this should really make him question his involvement in politics all together.
last night was a really successful night for antifascism in Liverpool, everyone played to their strengths, there was a counter demonstration that massively outnumbered the fascist mobilisation, and sizeable groups were scouting and looking for fash outside of the demo.
The only group which refused to turn up was the Socialist Party in Liverpool, who really need to question their morals, having witnessed them sharing church street with fascists and ignoring the fascists all together to talk about the NHS, how can they refuse to stand with other antifascists AGAINST fascists?”
Fash yesterday giving it the ‘big un’ from the safety of a pub (great choreography with zee fingers) .. (CTRL and + for closer view in firefox)
3 Counties Anti-Fascist Alliance (3CAFA) 
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