Protest against the EDL – Saturday 20 March, 11am – Victoria Square, Bolton
The racist hooligans of the English Defence League have rescheduled their plans to descend on Bolton for Saturday 20 March. Unite Against Fascism has called a national counter demonstration for all those who want to defend our multiracial society against the EDL’s thuggery and violence.
The EDL had threatened to come to Bolton on 6 March this year. An EDL spokesperson interviewed in the Lancashire Telegraph refused to rule out violence and confirmed that the openly Nazi thugs from Combat 18 were regulars on EDL demos.
But this demo was cancelled when the EDL realised its thugs would go on the rampage against a Hindu festival in Bolton planned that day.
Unite Against Fascism believes the EDL should not be allowed to terrorise ethnic minorities in Bolton or anywhere else. Join our demonstration to show these racists and fascists that they are not welcome in the town. Meet 11am on Saturday 20 March at Victoria Square in Bolton.
BOLTON UNITY STATEMENT
This statement was initiated by North West Unite Against Fascism. To add your name or organisation’s name to this statement, please email mancuaf@gmail.com
We the undersigned completely oppose plans by the English Defence League to hold an anti-Muslim protest in Bolton on Saturday 20 March.
The EDL is a group of racists and football hooligans with close links to the fascist British National Party. When the EDL came to Manchester in October, Muslim graves in the area were desecrated. When the EDL came to Stoke-on-Trent in January, the words “Islam scum” and “EDL” were daubed on a local mosque.
Islamophobia – bigotry against Muslims – is as unacceptable as any other form of racism. Its aim is to divide us by making scapegoats of one community, as the Nazis did with the Jews in the 1930s.
Today they threaten mosques, tomorrow it could be a synagogue, temple or church. Today they threaten Muslims, tomorrow it could be Jews, Hindus, Sikhs, black, Asian or Eastern European people, travellers or lesbian, gay and transgender people.
We have beaten fascists and racists before by standing up in unity against them. We cannot stand by and let these racists attack any section of our community.
Let’s gather in such large numbers that we make it clear to these fascist and racist thugs that they are not welcome here. Let’s protest against the racists and fascists, oppose their politics of hatred and defend Bolton’s diverse and united community.
We call on everyone to support and attend the protest against the EDL in Bolton on Saturday 20 March.
EDL admit what anti-fascists have been saying for the past year.
BNP members behind EDL riots, in spite of Griffin saying that they have no links to EDL, Defence League leaders claim that hundreds of BNP supporters and other thugs turned up in Stoke simply looking for a fight.
Mickey, who leads Casuals United and is part of the EDL leadership, said: “Stoke was horrendous. It went mental. Hundreds of BNP members turned up. You can’t go around rioting like that, because eventually they’ll ban the movement. The people that came don’t care about the EDL, they just turn up for the riots.”
He added: “We’re not conspiring to cause riots. Yes, we have a lot of criminals attaching themselves to us and people that come along to kick off, but we’re trying to deal with that.”
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Fascists make further threats to stir up racism:
Casuals United will fully support the EDL in this demo, especially in the light of recent racial attacks on white people in the area. We wont accept no-go areas in the country our forefathers fought for.
We must be alert and recognise the nature of this threat.
This is this is the actual unity statement put out by Bolton Against Racism under whose auspices a local Celebration of Unity is being organised on the town square on the 20th March. The Group is currently awaiting confirmation of the Council’s permission to use the square for an old-ANL type Carnival (involving Love Music Hate Racism, etc) which it is hoped will be supported all the various ethnic and religious communities, trades unionists, ant-racist and anti-fascist groups in not only Bolton but from across the country. The statement reads:
“As representatives of the diverse community of Bolton we wish to make it absolutely clear to the English Defence League that it is neither wanted nor welcome in Bolton. We take pride in the diversity and richness of Bolton’s community and utterly reject the aims of the English Defence League to sow seeds of division, intolerance and hatred.
The disgraceful attempts of the EDL to single out one section of the Bolton family for blatant abuse and discrimination in order to create an atmosphere of fear and distrust have no place in this town. Where the Bolton community represents hope and optimism for the future, the EDL represents nothing except its own intolerance and seeks nothing but violent confrontation.
We state, with a single voice, that a threat to one section of our community is a threat to us all. To the EDL we say: stay out of Bolton – your values have no place here.”
Chris Chilton, Vice-Chair, Bolton Against Racism
Local supporters of the UAF are calling for the UAF nationally to incorporate support for this proposed locally organised event into their national mobilisation for the 20th March. Also for them to contribute to the sizeable number of volunteer stewards the Greater Manchester Association of Trades Councils are wanting to organise and co-ordinate to ensure everyone’s safety getting to, from, and at the event on the day, and to ensure the entire event passes off peacefully.
We are ideally hoping to get official permission to use the entire town hall square on the 20th which would deny them the EDL their intended platform and force them to have their intended so-called ‘static protest’ somewhere else, preferably somewhere outside of Bolton. However, all local UAF members are determined that the event should go ahead whether the Council gives us permission or not, and whether the EDL March is banned or cancelled or not.
If we are wanting to mobilise thousands of ordinary people both locally and nationally to come to Bolton, across the various ethnic and religious groups, trades unionists, students, pensioners, war vets, anti-racists, to join us us in our celebration and to demonstrate to these fascist inspired and led racist football of the EDL, that they are not welcome in Bolton nor in any other English town for that matter.
For those with illusions in the State to deal with fascists, the bail conditions set by the courts on the EDL leaders have been withdrawn. Whilst bans are not the solution, mass action is,the State has no intention of banning the EDL anyway.
The SWP call for mass action to prevent the fascists marching. We agree. Let us hope there is no repeat of the errors made in Edinburgh.
We still await a response from the SWP and UAF re the resolution on democracy in the UAF. It would be good to know what their official position is to be on this as time has now passed.
We must resist the EDL’s attempt at manufacuring division within Bolton.
Ive lived all over the UK during the last 2 and a half decades and can quite honestly say that that there are very good relations in Bolton between the many diverse communities that make up the Bolton Family.
These good relations have been built up over the last half century and we are not prepared to let a load of brainless racist soccer thugs attempt to undo the good work and tolerance that we have created in Bolton.
If the EDL believe that the Government are not addressing extremism within the Muslim community then they should aknowledge the fact that Anjem Choudaries Islam4uk are now a banned orginisation and their website has been shut down by the Government, similarly they should speak to the many Muslims who have been dragged out of bed at 4am in the Morning by armed police.
The EDL and the BNP belong in the dustbin of History, it is our job to ensure that this is where they end up, good riddence to bad rubbish!