Racist Thugs Not Welcome: Current occasions in Southport and elsewhere have introduced racist thugs to the eye of politicians and police, however lots of the identical folks have been out on our streets for a few years, below numerous completely different names – the Nationwide Entrance, BNP, EDL, Soccer Lads and extra, their actions largely ignored by the media and generally assisted by police.
They signify a small rotten mouldy patch on the pores and skin of our society, which inside and at its core is respectable and open-minded, however they’ve been inspired by the red-top newspapers of the fitting and likewise by the speeches and actions of politicians of each our main events of their ever rightward rhetoric round “unlawful immigrants“, hostile environments and extra, and the assaults on Muslims as an entire whereas refusing to take Islamophobia significantly.
As many – together with Amnesty Worldwide level out, there isn’t any such factor as an unlawful immigrant. The time period is a “pejorative time period of unsure which means“. Because the Migrant Rights Community places it extra straight, it’s “dehumanising, immoral, and contributes to the demonisation of migrant communities.” It’s a clearly racist time period and one which politicians and media needs to be treating in the identical method because the ‘N‘ phrase, the ‘P‘ phrase and others.
Ten years in the past right this moment, on Saturday thirtieth August 2014, racist thugs who then referred to as themselves the ‘South East Alliance’ (SEA) got here to Cricklewood to protest near the empty workplaces they are saying are used as a recruiting centre by the Muslim Brotherhood.
They have been a small group, maybe round 30 folks and a a lot bigger group which grew to a number of hundred organised by ‘North West London United’ had come to oppose their protest.
The workplace had been that of World Media Companies, run by Egyptians who supported the Muslim Brotherhood, an organisation arrange of their nation in 1928 which had arrange hospitals, faculties and companies in addition to preaching Islam. In 2012 its candidate Mohamed Morsi had turn out to be the primary Egyptian president to realize energy by way of a democratic election, however a 12 months later had been overthrown by a navy coup and the group was banned in Egypt. World Media Companies had, together with different publishing companies, produced an unofficial English Language website concerning the Brotherhood.
Police have been additionally out in drive and from the bus from Kilburn alongside the route the SEA have been to march later noticed round a dozen police vans in addition to a row of motorcyclists. Outdoors the workplaces on Cricklewood Broadway I discovered folks had already began to collect with banners round 90 minutes earlier than the march was as a result of arrive – and by the point I received on the bus to return to the beginning of the march there have been round 150 there, with extra arriving.
At Kilburn Station it was very completely different. The SEA have been speculated to be arriving from 12 and the march setting off at 1pm, however after I arrived there have been solely a small group of police. Ten minutes later, SEA chief Paul Pitt (I met him earlier than when he was the Essex EDL organiser) arrived with three others. There have been nonetheless solely 4 when the march set off at 1.15pm and after photographing them marching I received on a bus again to Cricklewood.
By this time a number of SEA protesters had arrived straight in Cricklewood and been directed right into a pen on the pavement reverse the workplaces, and police have been conserving the 2 teams nicely separated. However round 30 anti-fascists moved in the direction of the march – now as much as 11 folks – as they noticed its flags within the distance. Police stopped each teams in “an uneasy confrontation, with only a double line of police separating the 2 teams, and photographers milling round.“
At one level Paul Pitt who had refused to cease shouting foul abuse was warned by police after which when he tried to push by way of the police line was handcuffed and cautioned.
However one other officer then intervened and he was was freed. Police then escorted the 11 to the pen with the opposite SEA protesters.
A couple of minutes later one other small SEA march got here down a facet avenue, with a number of holding up posters, banners and flags. They used the poles holding the flags to attempt to injure photographers, however police did nothing to cease them.
Later after I was photographing them contained in the pen they once more used these lengthy bamboo poles as weapons. Quite than warn them or take away the poles, police moved photographers again and set a small line of police to maintain us out of vary. I complained to the officers however as normal they took no discover.
Whereas I used to be there various the anti-fascists have been arrested and brought away by police, however not one of the SEA have been arrested and the police made it clear to them that they have been ‘facilitating their protest‘. The acute proper typically complain about “two-tier policing” and this did appear to be a transparent instance of this, however with the SEA being awarded child glove remedy.
Extra at South East Alliance ‘Racist Thugs Not Welcome’.
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Tags: 2014, attacking photographers, August 2014, bamboo pole, Cricklewood, Cricklewood Broadway, EDL, Egyptians, Essex EDL, flags, London, march, Muslim Brotherhood, North West London United, Paul Pitt, peter Marshall, poles as weapons, police, police arrests, protest, SEA, south East Alliance, World Media Companies
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