The English Defence League demonstration in London
yesterday didn't amount to very much, with around 500 taking part. Fears that
they would pick up momentum in the aftermath of the Woolwich killing of soldier
Lee Rigby have not been borne out.
The EDL had intended to march on East London Mosque in
Whitechapel claiming that Tower Hamlets is under sharia law - presumably just
because it has a large Muslim population. The police kept them well away from
there however. After meeting in Southwark by the south end of Tower Bridge,
they were escorted over the bridge to the edge of Tower Hamlets at Aldgate and
back again. Later a few of them wandered through Bermondsey shouting slogans
then dispersed.
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|
Large police presence on corner of Tower Bridge Road and
Queen Elizabeth St SE1 - EDL gathering point |
A larger counter demonstration of several thousand people
gathered in Altab Ali Park in Whitechapel where the EDL had originally planned
to get to - a provocative gesture as the park is named after a local man killed
in a racist attack in 1978. Speakers included Max
Levitas, who fought against fascists in this part of London in the
1930s.
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| 'Sisters Against the EDL' |
In an attempt to get nearer to the EDL, a large part of
the crowd headed by an Anti-Fascist Network bloc set off round nearby streets.
Some of them ended up being kettled by police, who later staged a mass arrest of
anti-fascists under Section 12 and Section 14 of the Public Order Act 1986 - the
laws which allow the police to impose conditions on public demonstrations and
assemblies. In other words, they were arrested for diverging from the route
imposed by the police - for little more than standing in the wrong
road.
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| South London Anti-Fascists Banner |
Final numbers have
not yet been confirmed but it seems that in the region of 200 anti-fascists were
arrested. Bail conditions have been imposed preventing those arrested from
taking part in protests 'within the boundaries of the M25 where the English
Defence League, English Volunteer Force or British National party are present'.
This seems to be a deliberate police strategy to combat the resurgence of
militant anti-fascism - South London Anti-Fascists and similar groups have shown
that they can mobilise growing numbers of people at a time when the wheels seem
to be coming off the SWP-led Unite Against Fascism.
A bail notice issued last night
at Colindale police station to one of those arrested (Source)
On
a musical note, I noticed that the Association of Musical
Marxists had a banner out yesterday.
And in the park
there was a great performance by UK Apache. After a rendition of his famous
'Original Nuttah' ('Bad boys inna london, Rude boys inna england') he sang Tenor
Saw's 'Lots of Sign' - fantastic.
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