Sad to hear that Freedom Bookshop in Whitechapel High
Street was damaged last night in an apparent arson attack. The anarchist centre
in Angel Alley has been a fixture of radical London life for decades - Freedom
Press dates back to the 1880s, and I believe the current centre to
the late 1930s. The place has been reinvigorated in the past few years as a base
for various groups such as the Advisory Service for Squatters, and the scene of
various social and cultural events under the banner of the Autonomy
Club.
Last time I was there was back in September 2012 for an
event during their William Blake: Visionary
Anarchist exhibition, featuring shamanic poetry from John Constable
and music (photos below).
It seems that most of the damage last night was to the
ground floor bookshop space, though I can see a stack of Kropotkin's Mutual Aid
undamaged there on the right. Some things are indestrucible!
Back in 1993 there
was an arson attack on Freedom, the culmination of a campaign of fascist
intimidation linked to wannabe paramilitaries Combat 18. Suspicion is that
similar motivations were behind last night's incident.
People are invited
to come down and help clear up tomorrow (Saturday) from 1 pm, and donations are
also welcomed - details here.
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