How Do We Deal with Fascism?

By the time this article has been published the EDL will have, for the second time, used Leicester city centre as a platform to broadcast their self-proclaimed anti-Islamic extremist message.

On 9th October 2010 the EDL planned to march through Leicester in a campaign declared to be protesting Islamic extremism. Though these intentions were blocked by Leicester City Council, with marches through the city centre being purposefully banned over the weekend, a static demonstration went ahead regardless. The response this provoked throughout the city was one of outrage, and the great reaction it motivated cannot be forgotten. Members of the community chose not to turn a blind eye to the actions of the EDL, organising a large counter-protest on the streets and various communities drew together for support.

Wherever these EDL demonstrations take place there can always be found a strong call for community action through counter-protests, often conducted by organisations such as Unite Against Facism, and Leicester is no exception. After the storming success of Leicester’s first ever ‘Love Music Hate Racism’ outdoor festival in October last year it’s no surprise that Leicester Unite Against Fascism have chosen the same slogan ‘Love Leicester Hate Racism’ in response to the EDL’s latest demonstration. The UAF assert that mass unity on the streets has been found recently to be greatly effective in the face of the prejudice and racism which courses through the EDL crowds. Whilst the demonstrators march to a steady rhythm of slurring chants, protestors listen to music and passionate speakers in an attempt to create an encouraging positive atmosphere. In the case of Tower Hamlets in September the extent to which locals went out of their way to show support for the East London mosque, which was to be the recipient of EDL protests, left an atmosphere of triumph as the marchers were blocked from entering the borough.

However there are those who believe that counter-protesting is not necessarily the best response to the English Defence League. The greater amount of media attention the EDL demonstration afforded in 2010 was greatly due to the council’s ‘stay at home’ response, resulting in the cordoning off of certain areas of the city centre and road closures affecting public transport. This was, of course, a natural response to the threat of violence associated with EDL protests and is the same course of action taken in cities all over Britain when faced with this danger. Yet this year the council is taking a different route in urging the people of Leicester to continue with their days as normal in the hopes of minimising the disruption caused. The expense of running large police operations in 2010 and the losses afforded by businesses in the centre when forced to close were costly, and the council’s plea for the community to ‘stay at home’ was criticised by many who were offended by the power this awarded the EDL. This year the council is hoping to prevent the previous mass disturbance by urging ‘business as usual’ whilst encouraging youth centres and community organisations to arrange positive activities throughout the day in order to distract attention from the marchers. Leicester University’s own Hope Not Hate society has organised a community cleanup alongside Contact volunteering in the hopes of creating a constructive event to give students their own way of contributing to the local area. Some argue that the actions of counter-protestors, whilst honourably intended, only serve to cause more disruption and violence in giving the demonstrators a legitimate body of people to scrap with. It’s hard to imagine the more thuggish members not being able to find a legitimate group to fight with locked in an empty room, in the past they have been known to fight amongst themselves if no greater enemy arrives, but it cannot be denied that there is a greater strain for control when they feel they are provoked by the presence of activists.

An organiser for Unite Against Fascism, Nahella Asharaf, argues however that ‘the danger of leaving the EDL unopposed is that they then grow in confidence.’ When the EDL do not come against resistance they believe that they have a place in civilised society. Keeping off the streets does not necessarily reduce their volatility, as in previous demonstrations they instead try to provoke communities in their own homes. Following an EDL demonstration in Stoke racial slurs were found spray painted across the Student’s Union, it is this sort of behaviour which cannot be allowed to occur through complacency. It was in this sense that 2010’s ‘stay at home’ policy was found to be patronising with the implication that people should sit at home and accept the EDL’s actions. As can be found on the UAF’s counter-protest flyer, the Nazi National Front were not defeated in Leicester in 1979 by turning the other cheek, but instead by mass unity on the streets.

Nevertheless, this unity need not be seen as aggressive, there is also to be considered the success of the ‘green’ peaceful protests that took place in 2010, most significantly the One Leicester celebrations which occurred on both the previous and following day. An amazing celebration of diversity in Leicester took the form of music, arts, dancing and singing as a stage performances which combined dancers, choirs and singers was brought together in order to support the city of Leicester. Support for further peaceful retaliations, such as the Leicester Cathedral vigil taking place on the 3^rd February, by communities such as the Leicester Federation of Muslim Organisations seems to represent a growing sense of urgency in the Leicester community to promote a positive atmosphere of social unity and to thus, in not responding with anger and aggression, refuse to be affected by the hatred of others. I myself believe that however any individual chooses to respond to the threat of fascists in our streets, it’s important to acknowledge that we must promote a united community that will not be disrupted or disbanded by the promotion of hate and intolerance.

By Roisin Maguire