[Onthebarricades] Anti-fascist protests and unrest, Apr-Aug 2008

[Andy]

ON THE BARRICADES:  Global Resistance Roundup, April-August 2008
https://lists.resist.ca/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/onthebarricades
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/globalresistance/



*  GERMANY:  Mass protest at Nazi NPD conference

*  GERMANY:  Jews protest award to former Nazi doctor

*  US:  Holocaust denier Irving protested at Oregon university

*  GERMANY:  Hitler waxwork beheaded

*  US:  New Hampshire neo-Nazi rally outnumbered by counter-protesters

*  UK:  Protest and direct action target BNP event in Derbyshire; roads 
blocked

*  UK:  Sheffield protesters force cancellation of BNP meeting


http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,3357529,00.html?maca=en-rss-en-top-1022-rdf

24.05.2008
Far-Right Conference Prompts Anti Neo-Nazi Protests

Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift:  Demonstrators gathered in 
Bamburg and in other German cities to protets against the NPD

Germany's main far-right group, the National Democratic Party (NPD), began a 
two-day annual conference in the city of Bamberg Saturday, May 24, with 
thousands of demonstrators outside demanding that the NPD be banned.
The anti-foreigner party was expected to re-elect its leader Udo Voigt and 
affirm its extreme nationalist policies.
Voigt told supporters the government had failed in 2003 in a law case to ban 
the NPD and was now trying to undermine the group by "drying up" its income. 
He said a fine for filing fraudulent accounts had dealt a "serious blow" to 
the party.
The NPD has seats in two of Germany's 16 state assemblies, but has never won 
seats at federal level because of a rule blocking representation to groups 
with less than 5 per cent of the national vote.
About 2,000 people attended two anti-NPD rallies in Bamberg.
After lethal clashes between the opponents on May 1 in Hamburg, riot police 
kept a close eye on about 450 militant leftists who marched into Bamberg 
from its railway station to confront the NPD. Police detained 19, but there 
was no major trouble.
Bamberg mayor calls for peaceful protests
Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift:  Hundreds 
of protestors gather in Bamburg
Mainstream groups attended a "festival for democracy" on Bamberg's main 
square, where Mayor Andreas Starke said his city had vainly sought by legal 
means to prevent the NPD conference taking place there. He called for 
anti-NPD protests to be peaceful.
"This party stokes hate and prejudices, it's racist and anti-Semitic. We, on 
the other hand, avow ourselves to the values of the Constitution, to 
freedom, tolerance and human rights," he said.
Anti-subversion agencies who monitor the NPD estimate its card-carrying 
membership has grown recently by 1,000 to 7,000 as Germany neo-Nazis rally 
to it. The NPD denies that it is neo-Nazi. German law outlaws neo-Nazi 
organizations.
In the northern German port city of Kiel, police counted 1,200 demonstrators 
Saturday at an anti-NPD rally. The protesters were alarmed by poll data 
suggesting the NPD would win some seats in the Kiel city council in an 
election on Sunday.

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,3357171,00.html

24.05.2008
Thousands Protest German Far-Right NPD's Party Convention

Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift:  Masses turned out to 
express their opinions

Thousands of people took to the streets in Bamberg on Saturday, May 24, in 
peaceful protests against the extreme-right wing NPD party convention in the 
southern German city.
Police said 3,000 to 4,000 people took part in the demonstrations, including 
a bloc of around 300 protesters they classified as being prone to violence.

Around 600 NPD delegates came to Bamberg for the conference.

Bamberg Mayor Andreas Stark, a Social Democrat, kicked off the "Festival of 
Democracy" with a call for a federal ban on the NPD.

"This party stokes hate and prejudices, it's racist and anti-Semitic. We, on 
the other hand, avow ourselves to the values of the Constitution, to 
freedom, tolerance and human rights," he said.

Lost in court
Around 6,000 people are expected to show up in Bamberg to demonstrate 
against the NPD over the weekend.

The local council had appealed unsuccessfully to the courts to prevent the 
party convention from taking place in Bamberg, and was forced to rent the 
city's convention center to the extremists for the two-day function.

The focus of the convention is the election a new party chairman. It was 
unclear whether incumbent chair Udo Voigt would run unopposed or not.

http://www.news24.com/News24/World/News/0,,2-10-1462_2328682,00.html

1000s protest against neo-Nazis
24/05/2008 22:05  - (SA)
Bamberg - Up to 4 000 demonstrators on Saturday protested against a congress 
of the minority neo-Nazi National Democratic Party (NPD), saying there was 
no place in this Bavarian town for Nazis.
A large police turnout prevented incidents after it was feared there could 
be clashes with left-wing extremists.
A police spokesperson said only 10 people were briefly detained on Saturday.
Various local associations and several mainstream political parties had 
called for a major demonstration against the NPD congress with the slogan: 
"Bamberg is multi-coloured, not brown."
Under Nazism in Germany, brown was the colour of Nazi stormtroopers' 
uniforms, and the colour is still associated in German minds with the Nazis.
Shops in the historic centre of this ancient town carried placards in their 
windows with slogans such as: "Defend democracy, there is no place here for 
Nazis."
Meanwhile some 300 NPD delegates assembled in a concert hall for their 
two-day meeting.
After the failure of attempts to get the courts to ban the congress, the 
civic authorities were obliged to permit the rental of the hall by the NPD.
A fringe group with only 7 300 members, the NPD is the most radical of the 
extreme right-wing parties in Germany with a policy which is openly 
anti-foreigner, racist and anti-Semitic.
It has no deputies in the Bundestag, Germany's federal lower house in 
Berlin.
But it does have deputies in two regional parliaments, in Saxony and 
Mecklenburg-West Pomerania, both in former East Germany, where there is a 
high unemployment rate.
Although the media were officially allowed for the first time to attend all 
debates at an NPD congress, several German journalists were refused any 
access at all to the hall on Saturday.
They included a team from the main television channel ARD.

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=4939921

Jewish Group Condemns Award to Former Nazi Doctor
Dr. Hans-Joachim Sewering Has Been a Subject of Controversy for His 
Association With the Nazi Party
By DAVID RISING Associated Press Writer
BERLIN May 27, 2008 (AP)
An undated file photo shows Prof. Dr. Hans-Joachim Sewering, chairman of the 
Professional Association of German Internists. Germany's top Jewish 
organization on Tuesday, May 27, 2008 condemned a medical organization's 
decision to bestow its top honor on Sewering, a prominent physician who was 
once a member of the SS and the Nazi party, saying it was "a scandal." Dr. 
Hans-Joachim Sewering, 92, was one of four physicians honored with the top 
award of the Professional Association of German Internists, known as the 
BDI, on March 30. Der Spiegel magazine then publicized the tribute in this 
week's edition, noting that Sewering in 1933 _ the year Hitler came to power 
_ joined the SS, a paramilitary organization loyal to Nazi ideology. He 
joined the Nazi party a year later.
(AP Photo/Bohnert/Neusch, File)
Germany's top Jewish organization on Tuesday condemned a medical 
organization's decision to bestow its top honor on a prominent physician who 
was once a member of the SS and the Nazi party.
Dr. Hans-Joachim Sewering, 92, was one of four physicians honored with the 
top award of the Professional Association of German Internists, known as the 
BDI, on March 30.
Der Spiegel magazine publicized the tribute in this week's edition, noting 
that in 1933 Sewering joined the SS, a paramilitary organization loyal to 
Nazi ideology. He joined the Nazi party a year later.
"This is absolutely the wrong signal and it's a scandal," said Stephan 
Kramer, general secretary of Germany's Central Council of Jews.
He said Sewering's Nazi past was well known — having led him in 1993 to 
publicly decline the presidency of the World Medical Association. The World 
Jewish Congress had threatened to lead a boycott of the international 
association.

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,3366676,00.html?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf

28.05.2008
Protests Erupt Over German Medical Group's Award to Ex-Nazi

Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift:  Sewering, photographed 
here in 1977, denies knowledge of the Nazi's euthanasia program

Jewish Groups and Nazi hunters have slammed a German medical association’s 
decision to honor a 92-year-old doctor suspected of participating in Hitler’s 
euthanasia program.
A spokesman for Germany's Central Council of Jews called the decision by the 
Professional Association of German Internists to honor Nazi doctor 
Hans-Joachim Sewering “a scandal.”
The Simon Wiesenthal Center in Jerusalem has also protested the move.
On Saturday, May 24, Sewering was honored with the top award of the German 
internists group, known as the BDI.
The award was presented for having “perfomed unequalled services in the 
cause of freedom of the practice and the independence of the medical 
profession, and to the nation's health system," according to a BDI press 
statement.
But Stephen Kramer from the Central Council of Jews said Sewering's Nazi 
past was well known. In 1993 he was publicly pressured to decline the 
presidency of the World Medical Association because of his alleged Nazi 
activities.
The BDI, which has some 25,000 members, defended its decision, saying 
Sewering had been investigated by German prosecutors and was never charged.
Magazine: evidence of euthanasia experiments
On Wednesday, May 28, the head of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Jerusalem, 
Efraim Zuroff, asked the group to retract the honor, and to take back the 
Guenther Budelmann medal Sewering was awarded.
Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: 
Wiesenthal Center's Zuroff is a top Nazi hunter
“It is bad enough that Sewering did not have to stand trial for his 
involvement in the National Socialist mass murders,“ Zuroff told DPA news 
service. “It is even worse to honor an SS-man and a liar who has so far 
avoided justice, despite having taken part in euthanasia experiments.”
Since 1978, German news magazine Der Spiegel has published documents 
testifying that Sewering, while a doctor at tuberculosis clinic at 
Schoebrunn near Munich, sent a 14-year-old girl to die at a euthanasia 
center.
Sewering denies knowledge of euthanasia
Sewering has admitted to being a member of the SS, an elite Nazi formation, 
but has always denied being responsible for euthanasia.
For years, the Wiesenthal Center has been trying to get the Bavarian justice 
system to pay attention to what it says is proof of Sewering's euthanasia 
activities.
Sewering is now 92 years old. In 1933 he was a member of the SS, and in 1934 
he joined the Nazi party. As a doctor in the tuberculosis clinic in 
Schoenbrunn, near Dachau, in 1942 he is said to have been involved in the 
euthanasia program, which targeted handicapped children.
According to the Wiesenthal center, Sewering directly signed over six to 
eight patients to the death camp at Eglfing-Haar. Three of them were killed 
there.
Earlier investigations ended
The investigations into Sewering's activities stopped because he claimed 
ignorance about the killings.
“This claim is false,” Wiesenthal Center's Zuroff told dpa. “The nurses knew 
they were killing sick people, and the SS doctor didn't? What a joke.”

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,364764,00.html

Oregon University Hosts Talk by Notorious Holocaust Denier, Amid Protest
Monday, June 09, 2008
By Joseph Abrams
AP
David Irving, a British historian accused of Holocaust denial, is set to 
speak at the University of Oregon, prompting protest from a local rights 
group.

The University of Oregon will play host Monday night to Holocaust denier 
David Irving, prompting protests from a local rights group.
The Pacifica Forum, a group that holds weekly meetings on the university’s 
campus in Euguene, Ore., has invited Irving to make an address about free 
speech. Irving's presentation is part of a nationwide tour which includes 
what he calls the "real history" of Adolf Hitler and Heinrich Himmler. 
Irving is the third accused Holocaust denier who will have spoken to the 
group on campus.
“They cross the line into being anti-Semitic — they create such a 
comfortable environment for bigotry,” said Michael Williams, a board member 
of the Community Alliance of Lane County, a local social-justice group.
Williams is helping organize a Monday-night protest vigil against Irving, a 
prolific historian who has stated that there were no gas chambers in 
Auschwitz and routinely downplays the number of Jews killed during the 
Holocaust.
Irving has been barred entry to Austria, Germany, Australia and Canada, and 
spent 10 months in an Austrian prison for denying the Holocaust. The 
Anti-Defamation League has called Irving “one of the world’s most effective 
purveyors of Holocaust denial.”
The university washed its hands of responsibility for the event, saying that 
it wasn’t sponsoring Irving’s speech and was only serving as a venue. Orval 
Etter, one of the event's organizers and a former professor at the 
university, has the authority to reserve a room free of charge.
“The Pacifica Forum is not affiliated with the university — the space is 
being used under a campus policy that allows retired professors to rent 
rooms on campus,” said Julie Brown, director of media relations at the 
University.
Brown said the school would not seek to block Irving’s presence because it 
has a policy of respecting freedom of speech for all groups.
“The university is really committed to freedom of speech and wanting to make 
sure that there is a place for groups to be able to express their 
viewpoints,” she said.
Williams told FOXNews.com he respected the school's obligation to protect 
free speech, but said the university’s campus was not the right place to air 
the Pacifica Forum’s bigoted views.
“Their [Pacifica Forum] freedom of speech is adequately exercised on a 
street corner in the rain,” he said.
Though he said the vigil was not aimed at “shutting down” the forum, 
Williams hoped to “make it clear that we don’t support the kind of ideology 
that David Irving represents.”
The president of the university, Dave Frohnmayer, agreed. After a different 
Holocaust denier and self-described white supremacist visited the campus in 
2007, Frohnmayer wrote a letter condemning the “gutter bigotry” of the 
Pacifica Forum, but defended its right to speak out.
“My own feeling is that these subjects are better expressed . . . than left 
to fester silently,” he wrote, but stressed that the forum “[did] not speak 
for the University of Oregon.”
Despite his objection to the content of the presentation Monday, Williams 
said he wasn’t concerned that students would attend the meeting or be swayed 
by the forum and David Irving’s anti-Semitic sentiments.
“Students stay away in droves,” he said.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/hitler-beheaded-in-berlin-as-antiwar-protester-waxes-hysterical/2008/07/06/1215282653596.html

Hitler beheaded in Berlin as anti-war protester waxes hysterical

Visitor pulls Hitler head off
Advertisement
David Wroe in Berlin
July 7, 2008
SCREAMING "no more war", a 41-year-old German man ripped the head off a 
controversial wax sculpture of Adolf Hitler at the new Madame Tussauds 
gallery in Berlin just minutes after the museum had opened to the public.
Amid chaotic scenes on Saturday, two guards posted to stop visitors taking 
pictures of the waxwork wrestled with the man, with one suffering scratches 
to his legs, a police spokesman said. Bystanders helped subdue and restrain 
the man until police arrived.
The €200,000 ($326,000) sculpture's head was ruined, staff at the museum 
told the Herald. The museum said it would examine the remains of the 
sculpture before deciding on its future.
The uninjured guard, who returned to duty watching the now empty desk at 
which the model of Hitler had been seated, told patrons later in the day 
that the man had pushed through and leapt over the desk to attack the 
waxwork.
"It was frightening," the young man said. "He just kept saying, 'No more 
war, no more war."'
The Hitler waxwork is part of a large new collection that includes the US 
President, George Bush, Pope Benedict XVI, the Dalai Lama and the German 
Chancellor, Angela Merkel.
Before the opening, the wax likeness of one of modern history's most 
notorious figures had attracted heated debate because of sensitivity about 
Germany's Nazi past.
The 25 artists and sculptors who worked on the piece over four months, using 
more than 2000 pictures and archival documents, had portrayed Hitler as an 
ageing, broken man, staring into space in his bunker as he contemplated the 
fall of the Third Reich, while Russian troops entered the ruins of Berlin.
The attacker, from the nearby Kreuzberg district, a heartland for radical 
political activists, was the second visitor to reach the sculpture after the 
museum opened, said.
Police said the man had said he was protesting against the "possibility that 
Adolf Hitler was once again in Berlin". They said the man was known to 
police for public transport infringements and stealing electricity by 
cutting cables and routing power into his flat. The man would be charged 
with criminal damage and assault, they said.
It is illegal in Germany to display Nazi symbols or art glorifying Hitler, 
which is why the museum took special precautions to stop visitors having 
their photographs taken in front of the Hitler waxwork.

http://www.wcax.com/global/story.asp?s=8624586

'White Pride' protesters outnumbered in N.H.

Associated Press - July 6, 2008 10:15 AM ET
HUDSON, N.H. (AP) - About 10 people participated in a "White Pride" rally in 
Hudson, New Hampshire, this weekend, but they were joined by four times as 
many counter-protesters.
A group called North East White Pride held a rally Saturday to protest 
illegal immigration, holding signs that read "Bring the troops home! Put 
them on our border!" and "Deport Illegals Now!"
On the other side of the street, about 40 people gathered with signs that 
said "One World."
The rally, which lasted more than two hours, was peaceful, with both sides 
quietly holding signs and waving at passing cars.
Information from: The Telegraph, http://www.nashuatelegraph.com

http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/regions/nottinghamshire/2008/08/406887.html

Six people arrested at BNP rally

Six anti-fascist protesters have been arrested at a British National Party 
festival being held in Derbyshire.

About 40 demonstrators clashed with riot police outside the BNP's annual 
Red, White and Blue event taking place in the village of Denby.

The arrests happened during clashes in which police were pelted with stones.

Police armed with batons were able to quell the disturbance. A helicopter 
and dogs were also brought in to deal with the situation.

Barricade thwarted

About 250 officers were involved in the operation.

Earlier some 700 demonstrators from Unite Against Fascism, the TUC and 
Unison took part in a march from the nearby village of Codnor.

Extra officers were drafted in to control the march as a group of protesters 
tried to break a police cordon which had been put in place.

They waved placards as they walked down the village high street to the field 
where the festival is being held.

Assistant Chief Constable Peter Goodman said: "We did have an incident which 
took place with a small number of people, but the majority of people who 
have come here today behaved impeccably.

"A small group attempted to barricade the road.

"We responded quickly and efficiently and they were not successful in 
creating the barricade."

Earlier in the week police in Derbyshire invoked special public order laws 
to restrict the number of protesters who planned to attend the rally.

http://www.thisisderbyshire.co.uk/news/BNP-protestors-descend-Derbyshire-village/article-272444-detail/article.html

Anti-BNP activists attack police
09:30 - 16-August-2008

About 40 anti-fascist activists have scuffled with police near to the 
entrance to this weekend's controversial BNP festival in Denby.
The activists, believed to be from Antifa, started the trouble at 11am in 
Breach Road, at the junction with Denby Common.
But police managed to get the situation under control by 11.30am and six 
arrests were made for public order offences.
The activists tried to pile up a barrier of gates, tyres and drums from 
nearby fields while throwing missles at the police.
Officers managed to stop them from creating the barrier, which it is 
believed was being built to stop BNP members from coming to the festival.

Assistant Chief Constable Peter Goodman said: "There were 250 officers 
involved in the policing operation today. It is unclear how many of these 
were involved in the scuffle but one officer is believed to have received 
minor injuries."
The activists are separate to the 500 protestors who marched down the A6007 
Heanor Road against the BNP Red, White and Blue festival.
Demonstrators from Unite Against Fascism, the TUC and Unison were flanked by 
150 police officers as they marched through the village of Codnor, 
Derbyshire, to rally against the BNP.
Waving placards bearing slogans such as "Jobs And Homes Not Racism", the 
protesters walked down the village’s main high street to a farmer’s field 
where the BNP was holding its festival.
The protesters will later be addressed by Bob Crow, general secretary of the 
Rail, Maritime and Transport Union and Amber Valley MP Judy Mallabar.
But there were a number of hold-ups as demonstrators from the various groups 
argued among themselves about who should be at the front of the march.
Ass Ch Con Goodman said: "Only a small number of people were involved in 
violent protest. The vast majority of protestors behaved impeccably."
A police helicopter is being used for the event and is currently hovering 
over the BNP festival site, while police with sniffer dogs searched nearby 
fields for activists.

http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/06/401448.html

New paint job for the RWB's fascist farmer
Antifascists | 18.06.2008 10:44 | Anti-racism | Leeds Bradford | 
Nottinghamshire
Good morning Farmer Scumbag!

We hope that when the BNP farmer hosting this year's 'Red, White & Blue' 
Nazi-Fest woke up this morning to find he couldn't get out of his front 
gates as they had been chained shut, he liked the new paint job for his 
driveway. The bastard can expect a LOT more.
Antifascists
http://lancasteruaf.blogspot.com/2008/08/red-white-and-blue-protest-pulls-in-700.html

August 16, 2008
Red, White and Blue protest pulls in 700 while Martin Reynolds begs police 
for help
Posted by Antifascist

Around seven hundred people turned up in Denby today to protest against the 
BNP's Red, White and Blue booze-fest. Among the organisations represented 
were members of various unions including NASUWT, Unite, PCS, CWU, and 
Unison, Notts Stop the BNP, Derby Racial Equality Council, UAF and a whole 
bunch of locals determined never to have the BNP anywhere near their homes 
and families again.

They may well have got their way. Around two hundred and fifty police 
officers, some in riot gear, were deployed, plus a helicopter was keeping an 
eye on things from above for most of the day. The cost must have been 
astronomical - and all to protect a load of fascists, their minders and scum 
like Petra Edelmannova, chair of the far-right Czech National Party, who is 
a guest of the BNP this weekend.

The police were pretty much everywhere - though mainly at the 
gathering-point, where there was a number of speakers throughout the 
afternoon, and at the entrance to the RWB itself - though that seemed to be 
well-covered by a number of thugs who looked ready to kill and eat anyone 
who pissed them off.

The march from the village to the site was marred by a brief fracas between 
anti-fascists and BNP members after the former were attacked by the latter. 
The groups were separated by police. On several occasions, anti-fascists 
tried to break through police lines to enter the RWB site itself but were 
beaten back by riot police and officers with dogs. Apart from these brief 
interludes, the event went off peacably, with the assistant chief constable 
of Derbyshire Police Peter Goodman stating: 'We did have an incident which 
took place with a small number of people, but the majority of people who 
have come here today behaved impeccably.'

Six arrests were made during the attempts to break through police lines 
(including across the fields behind the site) but a further twenty-seven 
occurred as the groups began to disperse and return to their homes or 
vehicles, when they were in many cases set upon by BNP supporters.

Some of the more interesting action took place behind the scenes and well 
out of the public eye. One of our supporters had a receiver that could pick 
up the police band and we were treated to a breathless step by step account 
of the chase over the fields that only ended (for us) when the noise from 
the police helicopter drowned out everything else.

Once back on the radio, one of our group pointed out that the police 
referred to us as 'reds' all the way through the day, including the 
anarchists - described as a 'bunch of reds' even though they were dressed 
all in black. Nice to know the police aren't biased in any way.

At 1214 a message was sent to BNP security stating, 'security on the front 
gate, be aware the reds are on their way up'. There were a number of delays 
which led to the BNP's Head of Security Martin Reynolds getting in a major 
panic and yelling for help from the police and anyone else in the vicinity, 
leading to the police having to tell him (at 1310) to 'breathe deep and calm 
down...there's too many security on the main gate and it's starting to look 
a bit shabby'.

Despite having eight of his official gorillas and numerous vicious-looking 
thugs with him on the main gate, Reynolds was still in a panic at having to 
face thirty peaceful anti-fascists and called for help again, only to be 
told by a clearly angry control 'that's enough'. Having embarrassed Reynolds 
into silence, the controller wearily ordered another couple of officers to 
head up to the main gate, just to stop his whining. Shortly after this, the 
police insisted that BNP security instituted a rota system rather than the 
current random mess where anyone who is a violent thug is automatically 
deemed to be a member of the security team. Clearly the current security 
team in the BNP is full of amateurs who simply create problems for the 
police.

All in all, a fantastic turnout, some excellent speakers, a good march in 
(mostly) nice weather and the point that the BNP is not welcome in Denby was 
well and truly made, despite the twat who illegally sells samurai swords, 
guns, knives and air rifles in his tatty shop sticking pro-BNP flags and 
posters up all over it. Well done to the organisers and everybody who 
travelled from afar and let's hope the BNP can take a hint and hold their 
festival on Nick Griffin's land next year. If he likes the festival so much, 
let him put up with the noise, the drunkeness, the dodgy toilets and the 
scum infesting the area around his home. The people of Denby have had 
enough.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/derbyshire/7565354.stm

16 August 2008 17:53 UK
E-mail this to a friend Printable version

BNP protests lead to 33 arrests

Extra police officers were brought in to control the march
Thirty three people have been arrested following protests at a British 
National Party (BNP) festival being held in Derbyshire.
Six arrests were made after about 40 demonstrators clashed with riot police 
outside the BNP's annual Red, White and Blue event taking place in Denby.
Further arrests were made as protesters dispersed in Heanor, police said.
About 250 officers, including some armed with batons were deployed, as well 
as dogs and a force helicopter.
Earlier some 700 demonstrators from Unite Against Fascism, the TUC and 
Unison took part in a march from the nearby village of Codnor.
Barricade thwarted
Extra officers were drafted in to control the march as a group of protesters 
tried to break a police cordon which had been put in place.
They waved placards as they walked down the village high street to the field 
where the festival was being held.
Assistant Chief Constable Peter Goodman said: "A small number of people who 
were not part of the main group seemed intent on causing problems.
"I think our actions today have shown that we will not tolerate disorder of 
any kind in Derbyshire.
"We will be continuing our inquiries to identify and trace those people who 
committed offences but were not arrested today."
BNP chairman, Nick Griffin, said: "We regard them [protesters] as entitled 
to have their demonstration.
"It's unfortunate that some of them want to try and cause trouble for us. 
Hence then the police had to inconvenience local people."
Earlier in the week police in Derbyshire invoked special public order laws 
to restrict the number of people who planned to demonstrate in protest at 
the BNP festival.

http://ukpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5igZNt7Z_BFzKCjyipkVCD-aIn4UQ

Protestors arrested at BNP festival
13 hours ago
Thirty-three demonstrators protesting against a BNP festival were arrested 
following clashes with police.
Riot police were called in after 40 anti-fascist protesters dressed in black 
tried to barricade a road to prevent BNP members reaching their annual Red, 
White and Blue (RWB) festival.
They pelted riot police with stones before officers, armed with batons and 
supported by dogs moved in to quell the violence.
The outbreak took place close to a farmer's field in Denby, Derbyshire, 
where about 2,500 BNP members had gathered for their annual festival.
Derbyshire Constabulary said they arrested six people for violent disorder 
at the scene. Further arrests were made later in nearby Heanor. There were 
no serious casualties although one officer suffered minor injuries.
Peter Goodman, assistant chief constable of Derbyshire Constabulary, said 
250 officers were used in the operation.
He said: "A small number of people who were not part of the main group 
seemed intent on causing problems. Officers responded quickly and 
effectively to minimise inconvenience to local people and those attending 
the RWB event.
"I acknowledge there were delays for road users travelling between Codnor 
and Loscoe but the illegal actions of the protesters who blocked the road 
made those delays inevitable."
The main rally against the BNP took place in the nearby village of Codnor.
It was organised by Unite Against Fascism and included members of the TUC 
and Unison. Bob Crow, general secretary of the RMT, was also at the rally, 
which police said was attended by 400 people.
Thanks scum
16.08.2008 22:24
To the brave boy in blue who batoned my daughter from behind as she was 
walking along peacefully, thanks. You're a piece of SCUM.
Angie
Result
17.08.2008 09:22
The RWB will not be held in Denby next year...job done-total success.
F Ryan

http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/regions/nottinghamshire/2008/08/407025.html

Demo at BNP festival. Pics & report.
Guido | 19.08.2008 00:07 | Anti-racism | Nottinghamshire
After many weeks of bitter sectarian backbiting the demo against the BNPs 
Red White and Blue festival (RWB) finally went ahead. Upon reaching the 
event I was greeted by local IMCer Tash who informed me that there was a 
clear two way split in the assembled anti fascists. “Only two?” came my 
reply. There has never been a single campaign so effective at dividing the 
left as anti fascism. I suppose if nothing else our modern day Peoples 
Judean Fronts should be congratulated on their consistency. In the end they 
did manage to stage an official march on the hate-fest while elsewhere more 
militant anti fascists took the cross country route…


The march itself numbered around 1,000 and proceeded up the hill towards the 
site of the RWB site. At the entrance to the lane leading to the village the 
Police stopped the majority only allowing a small delegation through to 
march passed the entrance of the offending farm. There was a bit of pushing 
and shoving by the detained marchers but there were no arrests or breaches 
of the Police line.

Meanwhile at the gates of the hate fest an eerie silence was broken only by 
the sound of the media and BNP security team photographing each other. Its 
unclear what goes on at the RWB but there were no sounds of laughter or 
music coming from within. The occasional moaning of festival goers trudging 
into the gates with heavy bags of booze could be heard. The locals Tescos 
seems to have been the main beneficiary of the council denying the alcohol 
license. Griffin conceived the RWB a few years ago after he attended the 
French FN festival, which takes place in a breathtaking valley and has 
become the alleged benchmark of Nationalist festivals. By comparison the RWB 
is a poorly equipped campsite in a field of manure near Heanor, with no bar 
and some unspeakably crap folk music. Not many people were coming in or out. 
Those that were, looked more like they were attending a funeral than a 
festival. A friendly billboard greeted those arriving with the words: “ABUSE 
BEATING SEX-SLAVERY RAPE MURDER justice for English victims.” Such cheerful 
rhetoric for a family event? And what about the Welsh and Scottish ‘victims’? 
Is the BNP about to become the ENP and advocate the rebuilding of Hadrian’s 
Wall?

At one point the BNP ‘Department of Security’ came waddling out in force 
when some Anti Fascists appeared in a field opposite. They were being bossed 
around by Griffins personal bodyguard and walking steroid Martin Reynolds. 
Martin you may remember graced the pages of the Sunday tabloids not so long 
ago when he was the subject of a very amateur porn movie. Looking a bit like 
an orgy organised for sumo wrestlers it did not boost the BNPs family values 
image.

The Anti Fash were stopped from discussing the merits of nationalism with 
the BNP by riot police. The delegation from the main demo arrived not long 
after and marched passed the entrance twice, trading insults and chants with 
the fascists, before heading back to the village for another rally. Reynolds 
was warned by the cops not to swear again or face arrest.

Returning to the smoke by coach, news reached us of 33 arrests over the 
course of the day. Over £110.00 was collected for them and given to an 
Antifa representative. The three hour journey was also livened up by a 
little competition to determine what RWB might stand for?

http://www.thisisderbyshire.co.uk/news/Left-wing-activists-clash-riot-police-anti-BNP-protest/article-273516-detail/article.html

Left-wing activists clash with riot police at Denby anti-BNP protest (with 
audio)
07:30 - 18-August-2008
46 readers have commented on this story.
Click here to read their views.
MASKED anti-BNP activists fought hand-to-hand with riot officers and pelted 
them with stones as the party held its controversial Red, White and Blue 
festival this weekend.
The violence happened on Saturday when protesters tried to barricade a road 
leading to the festival.
Police armed with batons moved in to quell the demonstrators, making 27 
arrests.
Meanwhile, a 400-strong anti-BNP march passed off mostly without incident, 
apart from a scuffle when protesters wanted to go further than a pre-agreed 
police cordon.
Shops closed, traffic was disrupted and residents said they felt like 
prisoners in their own homes during the protests.

Now, they are pleading for the BNP not to return so the violence does not 
happen again.
Among those who faced disruption was farmer Chris Sewell, who was forced 
into a violent confrontation with the masked activists as he defended his 
family's land.
The protesters, who chanted "down with the BNP", poured from the farm's 
fields to a junction with Codnor-Denby Lane at 11am on Saturday, with tyres, 
poles, gates and horse-jumps they used to build a barrier.
Police believe this was an attempt to block vehicle access to the festival.
Mr Sewell, 21, desperately struggled to stop activists from re-entering 
George Farm before riot police arrived.
He said: "They were trying to jump back into our fields but I ran along the 
gate and fence pushing them off.
"Then the police arrived with batons and pushed them down the road and they 
leapt over the fence and into other fields to get away from them.
"The police got us to build a barrier so they couldn't come through the gate 
again."
Mr Sewell said the protesters had caused massive damage to his family's farm 
and called their actions "unfair".
He said: "We are still waiting for an assessment of how much damage was done 
and how much it will cost.
"The cows are at the other side of the site so they weren't bothered but the 
horses are all really spooked."
The farmer was not the only person affected by the violence as local 
residents looked on in horror from windows in cars and houses.
John Lumsden, 65, of Codnor-Denby Lane, was on his way home from buying a 
paper when he saw activists pouring across the road ahead.
He said: "I saw masked men charging across with gas bottles, gates, tyres, 
pretty much anything you would expect to find on a farm.
"Two police vans arrived behind me and riot police got out with shields and 
batons.
"They charged the protesters. I saw one-on-one fights and they were throwing 
stones at the police."
Watching from a bedroom window overlooking the road were a retired couple, 
who asked not to be named.
The man, 68, said he feared for his property after seeing some protesters 
charge into his neighbour's garden.
He said: "I think they went in to find more to add to the barrier. A police 
cordon was formed to hold them back – not physically though, they just 
formed a line the people couldn't go beyond.
"Then riot police came with their dogs."
Police took the barrier apart but could not prevent the junction of Denby 
Common, Breach Road and Heanor Road being closed for more than half an hour.
They said about 40 protesters were involved in this clash, six of whom were 
arrested for violent disorder.
The rest made their getaway across fields.
A police helicopter, launched early on Saturday to give a bird's-eye view of 
events, saw the protesters had joined a footpath which led into Kensington 
Avenue, Heanor.
At noon, three vans of officers were scrambled to the village where they 
confronted the protesters again.
The activists threw stones at officers and tried to escape through back 
gardens before police managed to subdue them, making 20 arrests of men and 
women, for violent disorder and breaching bail conditions.
Although the battle took place some metres away from houses, residents said 
they saw the protesters lined up against a fence after their arrest.
Rav Kooner, 39, of Kensington Avenue, said: "Some of them were handcuffed on 
their fronts but the scene was mostly peaceful. Some of the protesters 
seemed young – teenagers.
"It was a big shock to see something like this on our road because it's 
normally so quiet."
Six people were arrested for breach of the public order act.
The police could not say when one further arrest on Saturday was made.
As the clashes took place around the site, a mostly peaceful anti-BNP march 
and rally was held in Codnor, by groups including Stop the BNP, Unite 
Against Fascism and Derby Racial Equality Council.
Buses from across the country brought people into the village from 9am. 
Police estimated that about 400 people took part while Stop the BNP said the 
figure was between 500 and 700.
The march at midday was largely without incident accept from a scuffle when 
protesters tried to go beyond its designated finish point at the junction 
between the A6007 Heanor Road and Codnor-Denby Lane.
Police formed a 26-man cordon but some protesters attempted to push through.
A scheduled protest by 30 protesters nearer the festival entrance also took 
place for about 15 minutes in the face of obscenities shouted from cars 
driven out of the BNP festival site.
The march meant Heanor Road was closed to traffic for more than an 
hour-and-a-half.
The executive director of Derby Racial Equality Council, Kirit Mistry, said 
the official protest was largely successful.
He said: "The march was a bit confused, because there were two separate 
groups which came together for it. It was as peaceful as it could have been.
"When we got to the end of the road there was pushing and people weren't 
responding to instructions.
"But the message has been given clearly to the BNP that we don't want them 
in Derbyshire."
Graham Hopkins, of Denby, brought his six-year-old daughter to the protest. 
The 45-year-old said he did not want the festival near his house again.
He said: "The area is totally unsuitable for this kind of event. It causes 
so much disruption like noise and the traffic from BNP members coming into 
the site."
Other residents and politicians, including most of those disturbed by the 
violent protests, agreed with him.
Peter Murfitt, 60, of Codnor-Denby Lane, described the march past his house 
as "inconvenient" but said the BNP should not come back.
He said: "It used to be a respectable area and we feel the BNP being here is 
a bit shaming."
Other residents said that they had been disturbed by noise from the 
festival, flashing lights and drunken youths making Nazi-style salutes in 
the early hours of Friday.
Labour MP for Amber Valley Judy Mallaber said noise and traffic caused by 
the festival disturbed residents.
She said: "Before it came to Derbyshire they held it in Lancashire, 
completely off the beaten track. I'm not suggesting they should have them 
back, but to hold it in Denby is ridiculous."
Her sentiments were echoed by Derbyshire county councillor Eric Lancashire, 
who said the festival, which also took place on Friday and yesterday, was 
unfair on residents.
Mr Lancashire, whose Horsley ward includes Denby, said: "They've held the 
festival twice there. Twice is twice too much."
Last night, police would not say whether any of the arrested protesters had 
been charged. They said there had been no disturbances inside the festival.

http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/08/407232.html

Anti-RWB Protests, A Very Successful Failure.
The Long And The Short Of It. | 21.08.2008 12:43 | Analysis | 
Nottinghamshire
A critical look at the events of last weekend.

It was less than a day after the RWB festival finished that local news 
reports in the Denby area started reporting that the residents were adamant 
the event would not be held on their doorstep next year.

The fact that local worries about clashes between the left and right had 
been building for several months was it seems only recognised by one group 
of anti-fascists and blatantly missed by others.

Indeed the usual suspects of old school trade unionists and ‘jump on the 
bandwagon’ Trotskyite groups, who had not even begun to mobilise until a 
couple of months prior to the event, ultimately seem to be stuck in the old 
left madness of negotiating with the police for no other reason than then 
becoming the ‘legitimate’ state sanctioned protest, guaranteed to do nothing 
other than portray themselves to be the vanguard in the struggle against 
British fascism.

This tactic is not missed on the majority of the left in Britain, and has 
created such apathy that a protest today is lucky to bring out less than a 
fifth of people it would have done a decade ago.

Their loss of all radical thinking has led to the inability to form any kind 
of strategy, such as one that recognised it would take very little effort to 
sway local feelings to those of outright objection to the RWB being held in 
the future.

This goes way over the heads of it’s instigators who are lost in the 
illusion that joining the machinations of parliamentary acceptability, 
somehow still maintains a revolutionary zeal with an ability to actually do 
anything other than become part of the problem.

How these groups, many linked to the SWP in one way or another, can even 
achieve the pitiful numbers they brought out to march past the RWB, is 
nothing short of a miracle. It is likely however that even those attending 
are in the not too distant future most likely to ‘burn out’, dejected and 
disillusioned, with what has become about as radical as a ‘walk in the park’.

Thankfully however it appears all is not lost. One organisation, Antifa, 
since it’s birth a few years ago, has constantly harangued and bitten chunks 
out of British fascist groups. leaving them with a constant headache they 
appear not to be able to medicate against.

The formation of Antifa, built by a handful of ex members from the untimely 
‘drawing down’ of Anti Fascist Action as well as mobilising from the ranks 
of small but highly politically astute British anarchist groups, has 
rejuvenated a militant tradition going back to Cable Street, the Spanish 
Civil War and the 43 Group.

Watching their ‘tactics’ over the last year in the build up to the RWB has 
been nothing short of watching political genius at work. By appearing to be 
mobilising a mass group of activists from the UK and abroad it was always 
going to be a headache for local authorities not willing to take any 
chances.

Successful ‘no platform’ style actions against the British National Party 
and the likes of neo-nazi cult group the British Peoples Party, Antifa 
seemed to know that even by simply turning out a handful of people willing 
to do nothing more than produce five minutes of chaos, would be more than 
enough to produce the desired result, a Red White and Blue Festival no 
longer being held in Denby and the BNP organisers with a major problem on 
their hands i.e.

“Where do we find a local authority next year willing to take a chance on 
hosting the RWB?”

Amusingly, the fascist and neo-nazis on Stormfront have been having a field 
day.

Their belief that the propaganda put out by Antifa was actually implying the 
organisation genuinely believed they would shut down this years festival, 
and the far-rights lack of knowledge of ‘left-wing’ groups in general, the 
bigger picture seems to have completely passed them by.

So buoyed up with seeing a genuinely vociferous but small protest result in 
mass arrests they have convinced themselves Antifa have been crushed and 
those arrested are going to be doing years and years behind bars, which is 
about as likely as Nick Griffin joining the SWP!

Interestingly enough, at the time of writing, Antifa have not even 
officially confirmed they were actually there, another strategy which shows 
the level of a political militant awareness that leaves the far-right 
nervously cackling from the sidelines, convincing themselves all is well in 
their 'fatherland'.

Where the rest of the British ‘left’ go from here is at present unclear. 
While the likes of the SWP have already claimed some kind of victory out of 
actually doing nothing at all, it is of genuine concern that people will 
still fall for their redundant and impotent style of politics.

One thing is for certain. If the SWP and their front groupings such as the 
UAF are allowed to continue their nonsense, the genuine fervour of many on 
the so called ‘left’ will remain untapped.

There remains an anti-fascist militancy in Britain that is sitting in the 
wings just waiting for its chance to ignite. Let’s hope that the likes of 
Antifa are able to light the spark.

Their actions up to now and the likelihood that their inspired militancy has 
stopped the RWB being held in Denby in the future suggests they are.
The Long And The Short Of It.

http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/07/403691.html

UPDATE - Fascist meeting cancelled
15.07.2008 23:37
Pressure from anti-fascist campaigners has resulted in the cancellation of 
the BNP's meeting in Southey, Sheffield. The fact that the BNP are unable to 
find a venue in the area willing to host their meeting confirms that the 
vast majority of people reject their vile race-hate politics. This is a 
great victory for the campaign to keep Sheffield a BNP free zone. Thank you 
to those people who contacted the venue to protest against the meeting and 
who helped arrange the protest (which has now been called off) at such short 
notice. The next challenge for anti-fascists is to prevent the BNP from 
winning a seat at the European parliamentary elections in June 2009. Please 
contact Sheffield UAF to get involved.