A Lesson for all of us

Last Saturday, the fascist English Defence League brought their message of hatred and xenophobia to Piccadilly Gardens in central Manchester. At their previous attempts to demonstrate in Birmingham and Harrow, they were humiliated and driven off the streets by militant mobilisations of white, black and asian youth.

Sadly the counter-demonstration called in Manchester by Unite Against Fascism completely failed to smash the fascist rally. Skirmishes at the beginning of the day in the side streets around Piccadilly Gardens were hampered by a lack of communication and co-ordination.

This meant that around 300 fascists were allowed to march into the gardens and hold a rally complete with ‘No More Mosques’ placards, sieg heils, and racist chants. For several hours around 1500 anti-fascists confronted them, separated by 20 yards and several hundred police with horses and dogs.

There were isolated attempts by small groups of youth, including Revolution and younger members of UAF and the Socialist Workers Party to breach the police lines, and motivate the crowd to a genuine no platform of the fascists – by physically confronting them and driving them off the streets. However these attempts did not reflect the attitude of the leadership of the demonstration who persisted in holding a ‘rally’ with speakers while several hundred fascists stood just yards away.

The UAF demonstration was noticeable for its almost complete lack throughout the day of significant sections of black and asian youth who played such a vital role in Birmingham and Harrow. While this is partly due to a police campaign in collusion with community leaders to scare people away from the demonstration, UAF must also bear some responsibility for the poor turnout.

The final nail in the coffin for anti-fascists on Saturday was when an EDL feeder march was allowed to join the fascists in Piccadilly Gardens, without any interference from the UAF demonstration – despite having to march just feet away from us.

When UAF leaders ignored the second EDL march in Birmingham, the SWP called a counter-demonstration which was well attended by militant youth from all communities who were the first to confront the fascists and send them fleeing in disarray.

It can safely be said that the UAF leadership on Saturday failed to rise to its responsibilities, instead hiding behind a half-hearted celebration of multiculturalism that completely ignored the real nature of fascism and the threat it poses to our communities.

The success of the EDL in Manchester – we cannot pretend it is anything else – will certainly give them a massive boost in terms of profile and confidence for their upcoming demonstration in Leeds on Halloween.

This means that it is vital that all genuine anti-fascists organise not just to protest against their demonstration, but to stand in the spirit of Birmingham and Harrow by smashing their demonstration and driving them out of our town – by any means necessary.