Protest tegen Wilders-supporters in London vandaag
antifascist - 05.03.2010 11:22
Vandaag protesteerd Unite Against Fascism (UAE) tegen een mars van de English Defence League (EDL) in London. De racistische EDL gaat de straat op om Geert Wilders te supporten, Wilders zal een bezoek aan London brengen om zijn anti-Islamfilm Fitna te vertonen.
Deze tekst is van de website van UAF gekopieerd:
All out to stop the EDL in London
Assemble 11am, Friday 5 March, Houses of Parliament, London.
Londoners will be gathering at 11am outside the Houses of Parliament on Friday to protest against the racist English Defence League. The EDL is a group of violent hooligans with links to the fascist British National Party. It wants to march through London to intimidate and harass Muslims and other ethnic minorities.
It is many years since a fascist or racist organisation has openly tried to march in London. That is why it is vital to get as large a turnout of anti-fascists as possible tomorrow to tell the EDL's thugs that their brand of race hate is not wanted here. If they do not meet any opposition, they may go on the rampage against Asians and others, as they did in Stoke-on-Trent in January.
Peter Hain MP, veteran anti-racist and founder of the Anti Nazi League, said today: "The English Defence League, together with their allies the BNP, represent a racist and fascist threat – not just to Muslims but to our Black, Asian and Jewish citizens too. I hope there will be a big mobilisation to oppose their march on Parliament." He is one of several MPs, trade unionists and campaigners to have signed an open letter against the EDL (click here to read).
Tell everyone you know to try and get to the Houses of Parliament for 11am. We will be gathering outside the main entrance to the Parliament buildings. Further decisions will be made on the day, depending on what the EDL tries to do. If you can't get there for 11am, please come along later if you can. We should be there for a few hours at the very least. Updates on the day will appear on the UAF Twitter feed – go to twitter.com/uaf or check the box on this website.
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Open Letter against the EDL
The English Defence League (EDL) has announced that it will be marching in London in support of far-right Dutch MP Geert Wilders, who has been invited to the House of Lords to screen an inflammatory anti-Muslim film. His supporters in the EDL and BNP want to give him a "welcome".
The EDL has a track record of whipping up race hatred against Muslims and Asian people. Its members have been filmed making Nazi "sieg heil" salutes, shouting disgusting racist slogans and chanting "BNP! BNP!" at previous demonstrations. They rioted through Stoke-on-Trent in January attacking Asians and their white neighbours, whom they accused of being "race traitors".
Islamophobia – bigotry against Muslims – is as unacceptable as any other form of racism. It divides and weakens our society by making scapegoats of one community, just as Hitler's Nazis did by targeting Jews in the 1930s. Today the EDL threatens Muslims, tomorrow it could be Jews, Hindus, Sikhs, black people, lesbians & gay men, travellers or Eastern Europeans.
The EDL are a threat to all of us. Their thugs recently attacked a meeting in Bolton called to organise against their planned protest there on 20 March. The EDL are a threat to our democracy. There is no place for racists or fascists in London's multi-racial, multi-cultural and multi-religious community. That is why we stand in solidarity with London's Muslim community and against the poisonous bigotry of the EDL.
Unite Against Fascism has called an emergency protest this Friday in opposition to the English Defence League (EDL). We want to celebrate and defend the multicultural and multiracial nature of London – and send a powerful signal to the EDL that its thugs are not welcome here. The protest meets at 11am on Friday 5 March outside the Houses of Parliament.
Peter Hain MP
Jeremy Corbyn MP
Dawn Butler MP
Andy Slaughter MP
Billy Hayes, CWU general secretary
Bob Crow, RMT general secretary
Mark Serwotka, PCS general secretary
Chris Keates, NASUWT general secretary
Jonathan Ledger, NAPO general secretary
Kevin Courtney, NUT deputy general secretary
David Okoro, The Anthony Walker Foundation
Glyn Ford, UAF national officer
Susan Nash, NUS vice-president
 Website: http://www.uaf.org.uk/news.asp?choice=100304
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