Colour leaflets are now being distributed across London, plus stickers with the design below – pick either up from Freedom bookshop. Why not add your local meet up and contact details and print a few up? You can download pdfs below. Versions in Bengali, Urdu, Eritrean, Somalian, Ethiopian and Polish available shortly. Spread the word and tell all your mates to come and make it the biggest show of strength against the EDL!
Plus here’s some handy web banners and images:
Sticker design:
PDFs:
Brilliant event organised by London Anti-Fascists in the run up to the Stop EDL demo in a few weeks.
6pm ’til midnight, Sat 31 Aug
The Rag Factory, 16-18 Heneage Street, London E1 5LJ
Free entry / donations
Speakers * Discussion * Food * Organising * DJ’s
Max Levitas veteran of the battle of Cable St (tbc)
Lousie P on 100 Years of Anti-Fascism
Pandit G from legendary Asian Dub Foundation is speaking and playing a DJ set
Daniel Trilling, author of “Bloody Nasty People”
Julie Begum, founder member of Women Unite Against Racism
A chance to debate, discuss, organise and socialise for the whole community. Get in touch if you want to bring your kids and are interested in using the kids space for this event.
Saturday saw the much anticipated EDL march in Portsmouth. Organiser Mickey Bayliss was so desperate for travelling support he ended up pissing off the EDL leadership by inviting every nut job far right group going. With all this travelling support you wouldn’t blame them for expecting 400-500 to turn up. In the end the actual numbers were around 150. The good news is that from looking at the photos and doing the maths, they only managed to get about 50-60 locals out. Piss poor we’re sure you’ll agree!
The counter demo also got about 150 people, but was made up of about 90% local people and there was definitely more of an appetite to confront the scum than on previous occasions, with the crowd getting more vocal as we got close to the demo site.
The local EDL are blaming everyone but themselves for a shit day, most of it aimed at the local paper who reported what they saw.
All in all it seemed like a positive day for anti-fascists in Portsmouth – confidence seems to have grown, and street level agitation before the day had reached pretty unprecedented levels for our city as locals, pissed off with the prospect of an organised fascist march, voiced their anger with stickers and spray cans.
EDL/SDL also met resistance to their demonstrations in Edinburgh and Hull on Saturday.
In Edinburgh 350 anti-fascists saw off about 130 SDL marchers in what must be the least popular street entertainment of this year’s Edinburgh festival. A significant number of SDL were from such well-known Scottish locations as Sunderland and Blackburn.
In Hull the EDL appear to have got somewhere between 150-300 people on their march and were their usual charming selves, hospitalising a man for holding a banner promoting multiculturalism, and potentially being banned from holding any future protests in East Yorkshire.
Portsmouth EDL has announced its intention to march in the city on Saturday 17th August. The last time the EDL staged an official march and rally in Portsmouth they disgraced themselves. Now Portsmouth once again braces itself for a tide of human filth to spill onto the streets. It’s time for people to unite, to get out of their houses and tell these racist clowns to go home. Times have been hard and communities are suffering enough, we don’t need dividing along the lines of religion as well! We say all out on the 17th – fill the streets, let’s send these morons who hide behind the flag back to the sewers they crawled out from!
Meet 12 noon, Commercial Road Fountain. Details may change – check Portsmouth Anti-Fascists’ website before you travel.
Called by Portsmouth Anti-Fascists and supported by the Anti-Fascist Network
One month to go and it is time to get mobilising for the biggest turnout possible against the EDL in Tower Hamlets.
The racists are mobilising nationally to descend on London’s East End but they won’t get to intimidate people and parade their hatred through the streets unopposed.
So what are
you going to do? On the day we’ll do everything we can to disrupt their plans. As ever, numbers on the street are critical and the most important thing is to show up and bring as many friends, neighbours and colleagues with you. If you can sort transport from elsewhere in the country all the better.
And if you can get involved before the day email ldnantifascists@riseup.net to say what you can do. Want to help with legal defence? Or join the working groups on publicity, mobilisation or networking? Have a particular skill or job you can take on? E.g. translating flyers, free printing, a mate who works at the EDL’s favourite coach company? Want to be sent stickers or flyers or electronic copies for you to distribute in your area? Be as specific as possible when you email. Updates and downloadable resources will be posted on this site so check in again before the 7th. See you on the streets.
Anti-Fascist Network
Public meeting, Tuesday 30 July, 7.30pm
Scott Room, Oxford House, Derbyshire Road (off Bethnal Green Road), E2 6HG
The racist English Defence League plan to march through Tower Hamlets on Saturday 7 September: how can we stop them?
London Anti-Fascists, part of the national Anti-Fascist Network, are calling a mobilisation for the day that will aim to be mobile and fluid in order to disrupt the EDL’s plans as much as possible.
Join us for a public discussion on how to build that mobilisation, as well as discussion of the politics and tactics necessary to beat the EDL and other racist organisations.
The Anti-Fascist Network is a national network of local grassroots anti-fascist and anti-racist groups which fight the EDL, BNP, and other racist and fascist organisations on the basis of direct action and working-class politics.
For more info, see:
londonantifascists.wordpress.com
Since the murder of Lee Rigby, various chancers have attempted to use the tragedy as a bandwagon for their own financial and political gain. The EDL leaped at the chance to exploit the murder, setting up Facebook fronts and organised memorial marches in order to expose more people to their anti-Muslim propaganda. Now they’re saying they will march from Westminster to Woolwich in order to get on TV again. Help For Heroes have rejected their sponsorship money so Tommy & Kev will be pocketing it instead.
The far right aren’t the only ones cashing in. Joshua Bonehill, a UKIP supporter and former Tory hopeful has stolen an idea from the US and has appointed himself the Chairman of Woolwich Strong. The Strong movement is set up to appeal to ordinary people who want to pay their respects to Lee Rigby but has, unsurprisingly, attracted the vultures of the far right as well. Nottingham Strong was shut down after it was revealed to have been run by the EDL and Strong events in Doncaster, Manchester, Exeter, Brighton and Mansfield have all been shown to have involvement with known fascist activists.
One of the main aims of Bonehill’s Strong movement is selling branded T-shirts. Lee Rigby’s family, who have spoken out against attempts to capitalise on his death, have not been contacted about where the proceeds are going.
This Sunday, the Strong groups are organising local marches up and down the country. The fascist activists involved will be trying to infiltrate these events to spread their poisonous propaganda and anti-Muslim conspiracy theories. Anti-fascists will be monitoring these events and exposing fascist involvement in them. There is no place for fascism in our local communities.
Brighton Anti-fascists, who exposed the fact that the Brighton & Hove Strong group was set up by the local EDL division, have these questions for the Strong movement:
‘What really is extremism?’ And: ‘Why isn’t “Strong” concerned about the rise of the right wing extremism of EDL?’
East Midlands Anti-fascists exposed the fact that Mansfield’s EDL organiser was involved in organising Mansfield Strong and that a number of local far right activists were planning to travel to the event on Sunday:
We ask the other organisers of Mansfield Strong to resist attempts by the EDL to infiltrate their event. We hope that they make it clear that the EDL and other far right groups are not welcome.
The Antifascist Network will be mobilising to oppose the EDL’s further cynical attempts to cash in on this tragedy. Keep an eye on this blog and join your local anti-fascist group to keep up to date.
UPDATE: for the meeting point email essexantifa@hush.com.
IMPORTANT: If you are traveling from Colchester or London, please email essexantifa@hush.com
On the 15th June, the English Defence League plan to hold a meeting in Southend, The Britannia Pub, SS1 2ER at 1pm. We are not willing to let this happen.
Whether it be a march, gathering or meeting – fascists must be countered at every opportunity. This is why locals are calling on anti-fascists from Essex, London and beyond to join them on the 15th June, in Southend, to say no to the EDL.
essexantifa@hush.com
And this weekend for those in the North:
EDL/Casuals(ha ha)/National Front/Infidels – yea, all the usual ‘dual carding’ scumbags, are having a demo in Ashton Under Lyne, in the Greater Manchester Area on Saturday. The demo is about some Asian lads scrapping with some white lads at a bus stop. We don’t know what started the fight, but the fascists are claiming this is a case of ‘anti-white’ racism….we couldn’t make this shit up if we tried!! The EDL meet up point is Ashton train station at 12.00. UAF are doing something at the town hall around the same time.
All the Best to those travelling tomorrow, and to those organising in their localities!
Just for fun here’s a picture from the casuals united blog – eeee, I don’t know….I’d expect a good kicking if I stood at a bus stop dressed like that!
Hot Damn! Check out those cool cats daddio!!
This is a repost from While Rome Burns
In the last week the extreme right has been making all the running in the aftermath of the killing of soldier Lee Rigby on Wednesday. We have seen a sudden outpouring of racism and speedily-organised mobilisations by the EDL. The demonstration at Downing Street on Bank Holiday Monday was the first ‘official’ EDL event organised in response to the killing which anti-fascists had any time to respond to. Luckily UAF called a counter demonstration so the racists did not meet unopposed. The EDL demonstration was advertised for 3pm, although they had all organised to meet up earlier in Leicester Square. The rally organised by UAF was announced for 2pm, also at Downing Street.
When I arrived, the main UAF/anti-fascist contingent were behind police lines outside Downing Street and the cops were not letting anyone else join them. There was a small number of EDL the other side of them (estimated at 150). As I was unable to join together with the anti-fascist crowd, I tried to walk around the perimeter of the demonstration. It was then that I encountered a large number of EDL coming down Horse Guards Road. There were at least 500 of them and they appeared to be going wherever they pleased, marching freely through central London chanting, shouting and waving their flags with almost no police in attendance and no opposition. Apparently this main group of 500 or so had come from Leicester Square. There were some police vans tail-ending the march and a small number of police on foot were following them. However, when asked, one of the cops in attendance claimed to have no idea where the EDL were going. So it could be that the EDL were just being allowed to have an impromptu march wherever they liked or that the route had been agreed with the police but the cops were just unwilling to share this with members of the public.
re-post from London Antifascists…
No right turn – a call for a mass mobilisation against the reactionary right!
Since the brutal murder of soldier Lee Rigby by two men in Woolwich, the xenophobic and racist EDL have sickenly tried to exploit the atrocity for their own political agenda. Backed up by a compliant media that has over the past decade fuelled the perception of the wider Muslim population as complicit to terrorism. This attack has caused a serious racist backlash to anyone that’s considered to be Muslim so that has meant alot of Asian people other ethnic minorities throughout the country have been the victims of racial violence and we also saw openly racist speeches made at the Edl Newcastle demo.
The recent electoral gains by anti-immigration party UKIP and the shift to the right by the establishment parties, poses a danger on the little freedoms and democratic power we still have left. A population that is fearful of attack, who is suspicious, who are scared from cooperating with each other is the ideal scenario for those with real power over us to continue to their attack on our communities, services, incomes and lives.
London antifascists are calling for a mobilisation from all different communities to oppose the EDL demonstration at 3pm on Monday May 27th at Downing Street . Along with other anti-racist organisations we aim to put a stop to the growth of the EDL and their reactionary ideas.
Stand up against racism in the street, on transport, at work and school.
No right turn – antifascists now and always.
As ever we recommend you travel with a group and stay with that group. Be vigilant and mobile.
London Antifascists (Part of AFN), May 26, 2013
Anti-Fascist Network 