Uaf - Barking And Dagenham Anti Bnp Rally 9/12/06 Options

[nevski]

Unite against the BNP in Barking and Dagenham
Saturday 9 December, 1pm, Central Park, Dagenham

Unite Against Fascism (UAF) is calling a counter rally and protest against the fascist British National Party's (BNP) rally in Central Park on Saturday 9 December. We need as many anti-fascists as possible to show opposition to the BNP. The BNP will be hoping that the acquittal of Nick Griffin and Mark Collett earlier in November will galvanise their activists. The BNP has 12 councillors in Barking and Dagenham.

The BNP's racist literature publicising their rally is claiming that immigrants receive priority for council housing and that violent crime has gone up in the area because of an increase in the immigrant population.

The reality is that immigrants DO NOT receive priority for council housing. The BNP's racist so-called "Africans for Essex" scheme is a total lie. There is no such scheme that specifically gives grants to Africans. The majority of Africans and other BME communities live in private accommodation paid for by themselves. Minority communities cannot be blamed for shortages in housing and other public services that are the result of public policy adopted in the last twenty years that led to the shrinkage of social housing. The BNP is whipping up racism by making these claims.

Secondly the BNP claim that there has been an increase in violent crime, however there has been an increase in racist violence in the area. Figures from the Barking and Dagenham Race Equality Council show that, in the 2 years between 2004 and 2006, racist incidents have increased by 30%. This corresponds with increased BNP activity in the area. In June 2004 the BNP recorded by far the highest vote averaging 20.5% in the Barking and Dagenham borough in the London Assembly elections, in September 2004 the BNP gained a councillor in Goresbrook with over 50% of the vote, the BNP recorded 16.89% - the highest vote - in the Barking constituency in the general election 2005 (up from 6.4% in 2001, when Barking was one of the five constituencies where the BNP saved their deposit). By contrast, the same period saw a year on year fall in the number of racist attacks recorded by the Met Police across London.

Please join the rally and protest on Saturday 9 December. If you want your trade union or organisation to support this action please reply to this email or tel 020 7833 4916.

[damon]

I was at this a few hours ago. It was pretty crap.
I thought it was going to be IN Dagenham, but it was in a park behind the civic center in the middle of nowhere. Why the BNP chose to have an outdoor meeting in an isolated car park I don't know.
About 200 anti-fascists filed into the park, while the 50 or so BNP supporters were on the otherside of a fence in the car park. When the BNP got going, the left people started chanting ''Nazi scum - off our streets'' while bashing the fence with their placards.
I then walked in amongst these nazi types for a closer look, and to me, apart from some huge steward (who looked like he would have made a fine nazi stormtrooper) the rest of them looked like a bunch of uneducated thick people. Losers. I felt sorry for them. They don't know any better.
I left early.

[nevski]

well done for going down Damon. i felt absolutely rubbish yesterday with a cold, so didn't venture out.

read some reports (from lefty friendly sources, i must admit) that there were 400 UAF protestors and around 70 BNP.