On December 5th, 2009, in Nottingham, England, anti-fascist demonstrators from Unite Against Fascism (UAF) and Nottinghamshire Stop the BNP1 (NSBNP) staged a counter-demonstration aiming to stop the far-right English Defence League (EDL) from going ahead with their planned street march.
The anti-fascist demonstrators were a diverse and multi-cultural crowd. Amongst them were students, professors, trade-union members, members of the Socialist party, and other ordinary people who were concerned with fascism. They gathered on one side of Old Market Square, right across the street from EDL’s official assembly point, a pub called "The Bank." In this area, it appeared that the anti-fascist demonstrators vastly outnumbered the EDL and were able to confine them to their assembly point and thus prevented them from marching the streets. However, on the other side of the city near the waterfront, a large number of EDL members were gathered and they clashed with the police as they tried to march the streets.2
In the morning, returning soldiers from the Mercian Regiment were scheduled to take part in a homecoming parade. The parade went smoothly, and it was no coincidence that the EDL had planned their demonstration on the same day as the soldiers’ parade. This is because the EDL claims to have formed after the soldier’s homecoming parade in Luton, a city just north of London, where Muslim protestors were heard calling the soldiers "The Butchers of Basra" and also breaking the two minutes of silence during the ceremony. It was reported in The Independent on March 11th, 2009 that around 20 men were at the protest.3 Since then, the EDL has set up local "divisions" throughout the UK and have organized marches in Luton, London, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, and Nottingham.
"I’m not convinced that’s the reason they formed… [because] there were only a small number of people protesting the soldiers in Luton and it doesn’t make sense to target all Muslims and label them all as extremists" said J.L., a member of the UAF. She went on, "These people are racists and fascists who have links with the BNP." Furthermore, she said, "The EDL are a violent group that targeted and damaged shops owned by [South] Asians," and this was reported in the Telegraph on October 10th 2009.4 "This is why we must not allow the EDL to march on our streets and cause divisions in our community," said J.L., and added, "they have also sent an organizer of the UAF a death threat on his voicemail, which has been handed over to the police." Although she did not disclose the name of the person who received the death threat, the BBC reported on September 17th, 2009 that the Birmingham Respect Party councillor Salma Yaqoob had received death threats since the last EDL demonstration in Birmingham.5 J.L’s fear for her safety is why her name is not published here. Another anti-fascist demonstrator, Jon Dale who belongs to the Socialist Party, commented, "The EDL uses issues like low pay, unemployment, and lack of housing to whip up racism and to build support for their organization."
However, the EDL denies these allegations. It claims to take an "actively anti-racist and anti-fascist stance," and welcomes everyone "as long as they are willing to stand up with [them] for English values against Islamic hate." According to its website, its members have "had enough of their Government… promot[ing] a politically correct culture which panders to Jihadist preachers." They give the example of "Nativity Plays [being] banned at many schools so as not to offend Muslims." Furthermore, they state that "a stark demonstration of how Englishness is marginalized in England is that St. George’s day is no longer recognized in many towns and cities, and the St. George’s flag is even banned in some councils, in case it offends." The EDL sees this as a "capitulation to Muslim extremists [that] is spreading across the country… [and that] it was about time that people stood up for English culture against this Islamic assault and political correctness that seeks to appease it."6 It then appears that the EDL is primarily concerned with what it perceives as a growing Muslim influence that subordinates English culture, and therefore it seeks to overturn this trend. If this is EDL’s main concern, then it seems that this would not necessarily call for a fascist or racist organization.
However, supporters of the EDL and its affiliate groups such as the Welsh Defence League have been photographed doing the Nazi salute.7 Furthermore, Searchlight, a magazine that is dedicated to exposing fascist organizations, was able to find key links between the EDL and the British National Party (BNP). The BNP is a political party that until recently had a whites-only membership policy which had to be changed because the Equality and Human Rights Commission found it illegal.8 Also, until 2001, the party had a policy of “forced repatriation,” but now advocates “voluntary resettlement” whereby non-white people, even those born and raised in England would be encouraged to return to “their lands of ethnic origin.”9 In addition, BNP’s current party leader Nick Griffin had denied the Holocaust, and he could also be seen in a video on youtube addressing white nationalists at a private meeting in the U.S. standing next to David Duke, a former KKK leader.10 In an article called "Businessman bankrolls ‘street army,’" Searchlight reported that the Chris Renton, a BNP activist, had set up the EDL website and also Davy Cooling, a BNP member, was responsible for administering the EDL facebook page.11
Despite facing a large counter-demonstration at each of their planned marches, the EDL has scheduled another one to go ahead, this time in London on December 13th. It remains to be seen whether anti-fascist demonstrators will be able to stop the EDL march once again like they did in London three months earlier.
Endnotes
1. The BNP is a political party that until recently had a whites-only membership policy which had to be changed because the Equality and Human Rights Commission found it illegal. Also, until 2001, the party had a policy of “forced repatriation,” but now advocates “voluntary resettlement” whereby non-white people, even those born and raised in England would be encouraged to return to “their lands of ethnic origin.” In addition, BNP’s current party leader Nick Griffin had denied the Holocaust, and he could also be seen in a video on youtube addressing white nationalists at a private meeting in the U.S. standing next to David Duke, a former KKK leader.
**extra note, added after the article was first published: I learned afterwards that the outcome of the EDL street march and the anti-fascist counter-demonstration hinged on their respective tactics. Since the anti-fascist demonstrators were first to gather at the Square (at around 10:20am), which is located in the central part of the city and within the main shopping area, the EDL (even though they had large numbers) had to gather in a less visible area outside this central area. The police were determined not to allow the two sides come face to face to avoid possible violence. Therefore, when the EDL tried to march in the central part of the city, the police pushed them back since the anti-fascist demonstrators were already gathered there.
3. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/muslim-antiwar-protesters-abuse-troops-1642232.html
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