Stand together against the EDL in Middlesbrough this Saturday!

27 06 2014

Assemble 11am, Ayresome Gdns, Linthrope Rd, Middlesbrough

The EDL have called a national demonstration in Middlesbrough for this Saturday 28th June. Teesside Solidarity Movement and North East Anti-Fascists have been working together with other local anti-fascists including Unite and Unison in a broad coalition to organise a response.

Last year in the immediate aftermath of the Lee Rigby killing the EDL got 2000 at their national demo in Newcastle. Middlesbrough won’t see numbers anything like that – the EDL have splintered and shrunk massively since last year, with continuous pressure from anti-racists and anti-fascists as well as the defection of the leadership, huge internal arguments and entire ‘divisions’ leaving en masse, unhappy with the new leadership.

Nevertheless, although they are smaller, they are if anything even nastier than they ever were – reduced to a hardcore who aren’t bothered that everyone knows now that the EDL are a racist mob.

Since the departure of Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, the EDL has become more openly racist and homophobic, with some internal ructions occurring when the new leadership has attempted to lay down the ‘official’ line that the EDL is non-racist and accepting of LGBT people, Jews and non-white people. It seems the EDL ‘footsoldiers’ don’t care much for this line, bringing them ever closer to the various more openly racist splinter groups such as the Infidels.

Hence it is no surprise to see that that Warren Faulkner – leader of the North East Infidels – has declared that the NEI will be supporting the EDL in Middlesbrough: “Saturday will see the NEI supporting the EDL in Boro, to all you muslamics from the area we will be coming from all directions see you soon”

Any excuse to hate Muslims

The official pretext for the Middlesbrough demo is the counter-Jihad movement’s current bugbear – ‘Muslim grooming gangs’, which appears to have replaced terrorism as today’s reason to hate all Muslims. All the usual arguments apply – the fact that some sexual abusers are from Muslim backgrounds does not mean you get to blame all Muslims for the actions of a few. And of course it is indicative of the racism involved that these are described as ‘Muslim’ abusers. Jimmy Saville was never described as a ‘Christian’ groomer. The EDL also show no concern over non-Muslim sex abusers, even the ones in their own ranks.

Middlesbrough is historically no friend to fascists and BoroNo2EDL say in a press release: “Middlesbrough is a town that was built by incomers, the Irish who built the docks, the Scots who came to work at the steelworks, the West Indians and Asians who came to work in our health service”

Hope and solidarity

Teesside Solidarity Movement make clear the basis for opposing the EDL: “It’s a national mobilisation of hatred, racism and anti-working class politics at its crudest and it’s coming to Teesside. We either pull together, mobilise our communities and our people together or they gain confidence and will come back for more. Don’t pretend that it’s a case of them all being as bad as each other or think that this will just go away. Either we build and mobilise or they take advantage of the social crisis. It will be Muslim children spat upon in the street, it will be trade union meetings broken up, it will be a climate of fear. History teaches us this. To their division we say unity, to their anti-human despair we say hope and solidarity, against the bully we stand next our neighbour. EDL fascists stay out of Boro, you will never win.”

BoroNo2EDL are calling for people to wear red “for a carnival atmosphere” on the day to celebrate Middlesbrough FC and the historic colour of the workers’ movement. From Ayresome Gardens they will march into town for a rally and music.

Local anti-fascists have been busy with propaganda building for the demonstration – thousands of leaflets and stickers have been distributed in the area including 5,000 leaflets given out at Middlesbrough Mela.

The route of the EDL march is a mere kilometre starting at 2pm from their muster points – two pubs – ‘The Pig and Iron’ and ‘The Corporation’ on Corporation Rd. From there they will march down Albert Rd, onto Borough Rd, up Melrose St and into the Green.