UAF Oppose EDL Westminster March: There’s a lengthy historical past of protests the place anti-fascists come to oppose marches and rallies by excessive proper teams in London, together with after all the Battle of Cable Avenue, however I believe now we have had extra of them in recent times, if not on that very same scale.
However trying again on my protection of this occasion of Friday fifth March 2010 what now we have seen completely different is the policing of such confrontations. The newer such occasions have seen large mobilisations of police to maintain the 2 teams aside, with intensive use of double boundaries with a big ‘sterile’ no go space between them, and infrequently some pretty aggressive policing and arrests to realize this.
Attending newer occasions journalists and photographers have had to decide on which aspect of the occasion to be at, with typically moderately lengthy detours being wanted to go between the 2 – and having a Press Card is seldom of any use.
In 2010 police did preserve the 2 teams aside, however solely on reverse pavements of the street in entrance of the Homes of Parliament, and as my images present, I used to be in a position to transfer pretty freely backward and forward.
Unite Towards Fascism had tried to dam the street a few hours earlier than the EDL march after holding their rally in Previous Palace Yard on the north aspect, however have been then compelled throughout the street onto the other pavement by police. I wasn’t there to see this however was advised by others that there had been just a few arrests when folks had refused to maneuver.
I had walked away down Millbank the place the EDL have been to carry a rally earlier than marching to Parliament. I used to be early and no one was there however as I had anticipated there have been a number of hundred at a packed pub a few hundred yards additional on with many standing on the pavement exterior.
Most have been in in a superb temper and glad to speak to me and different journalists about why they have been protesting – and you may learn extra about this on My London Dairy. I believe I represented them pretty in my article, although as at all times they felt strongly that they didn’t get honest therapy within the press. I felt that the protection was typically pretty correct, the issue was extra with the views and actions of some EDL members moderately than the reporting.
As I famous in my account: “Later throughout the precise march I did get sworn at, threatened and given the finger, however solely by a small minority of marchers, and a younger feminine Asian journalist appeared to draw significantly extra aggravation than me. There was additionally a substantial quantity of clearly anti-Muslim shouting and singing, and the placards and slogans that assault the constructing of mosques appear to threaten all Muslims moderately than simply the extremists. The environment was disagreeable, and actually gave the deceive the sooner denials of racism.”
I went together with them to the rally exterior Tate Britain, however the begin was delayed and so they went again to the pub. When it did lastly begin the principle speaker was the Sikh Amit Singh (Guramit Singh Kalirai), and his speech appeared to me at instances to be clearly racist in its assaults on Muslims. Police took no motion over this or his different speeches, however three years later he was jailed for collaborating in a violent tried armed theft.
From there the EDL have been escorted by police as they marched to Parliament and brought right into a pen on the north aspect of the street reverse the UAF. As I commented, “The very first thing that most of the EDL did on arriving within the pen was to urinate in opposition to the wall of Westminster Abbey” however principally they shouted typically racist abuse on the UAF who responded with calling them racists and fascists.
The EDL made nice play of denying they have been racists and exhibiting off their few Black and Asian members to the press. However there was a massively seen distinction between their largely white male crowd and people throughout the street which mirrored the multiracial nature of London – and the place ladies have been in a majority.
After round an hour of shouting throughout the street the UAF crowd started slowly to float away. Police saved the EDL of their pen however did escort just a few to Westminster Station.
I made a decision it was time to go away. As I commented I hadn’t loved spending a lot of the afternoon within the firm of the EDL “listening to their racism and proper wing simplicities. It was an disagreeable solution to spend a day, however I believe its essential to indicate these occasions and these folks truthfully.”
Extra in regards to the occasion and extra photos on My London Diary at UAF Oppose EDL Westminster March.
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Tags: anti-Muslim, Dutch Freedom Celebration, EDL, fascist, Fitna, Geert Wilders, homophobic, Islamopbobia, Jeremy Corbyn, Koran, London, march, peter Marshall, police, police horses, protest, racist, Sharia Regulation, Tate Britain, UAF, Unite Towards Fascism
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