anti-fascism

Last night (December 28th), Channel 4 broadcast a programme called The 50 Funniest Moments of 2012 which, bizarrely, included TV footage of Ilias Kasidiaris, a Greek Member of Parliament and spokesperson for the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party, physically assaulting Communist politician Liana Kanelli.

There is clearly nothing funny about a woman being violently attacked by a man, let alone a man who is a fascist politician. Such incidents must be condemned and organised against. They should not be used as a pretext for comedy.

Over the past year or so, members of Solent Solfed (Local in formation) have attended anti-fascist actions and mobilisations at Tower Hamlets, Hastings, Bolton, Bournemouth, Brighton (twice), Fareham, Bristol, Chelmsford and Walthamstow. We urge all comrades to sign up to the Anti Fascist Network

Brighton has seen off the fascist EDL twice already this year, with successful mobilisations against the March for England and subsequent 'revenge' visit. Now they've decided to target another southern city - Bristol - on the 14th of July. 

Brighton Anti-Fascists are hosting a public meeting on the 3rd of July to discuss mobilising against this threat. It is at 7.30 in the Cowley Club on London Road.

On Saturday 28 April, Liverpool Antifascists picketed Quiggins Attique, owned by National Front mayoral candidate Peter Tierney.

Anti-fascists held a banner aloft over the shop front between 10am and 12.30pm, whilst giving out leaflets and speaking to passers by. Tierney, previously a member of the British National Party before defecting to the National Front, has a prior conviction for attacking a trade unionist with a camera tripod. He was also involved in another fracas in December 2010 which saw his brother charged with assault for punching an anti-fascist.

The response from members of the public was overwhelmingly positive. The only exception was a man who lives above the shop, who tried to threaten the picket with a large dog and a chain wrapped around his hand. He soon fled when the threat failed.

Throughout the event, Tierney stayed within his shop and kept it closed until around 2pm. It was due to have opened at 10.30am.

Around 100 assorted members of far-right groups including the EDL, Infidels, and March For England were vastly outnumbered by up to 1,000 anti-fascists and Brighton residents when they attempted to march yesterday. The route of the march was repeatedly blocked by crowds, and police were only able to force a path through with baton-charges, shields and horses. Despite this, the march was twice forced to divert from its high-profile route down backstreets, where anti-fascists assembled barricades and once again blocked the march.

The North West Infidels (NWI), a splinter group from the English Defence League, are holding a demonstration in Bolton on Saturday 24 March. Liverpool Antifascists is calling on all anti-fascists, anti-racists and organised workers to mobilise in opposition to the presence of these fascists on our streets.

This demonstration comes in the wake of a number of incidents which show that the far-right is aiming to re-assert itself as a physical force on the streets. The British National Party’s electoral support is hemorrhaging thanks to internal splits, whilst the EDL is viewed as just not radical and racist enough for hardcore supporters, allowing the NWI to gain prominence with disillusioned far right activists.

The following article by our Norwegian sister section analyses the political context of the terrorist attacks committed by Anders Behring Breivik.

Concerning the terror bomb attack in Oslo and massacre in Utøya on Friday 22nd of July

Political violence in Norway has always come from the far right. While the police have concentrated on "radical Islamists", far right violence has happened again, this time to a very large, cruel and bloody extent. The NSF-IWA has expressed its condolences to the victims of this bloody terrorism and would like to state the following.

Introduction

As an introduction we will say that it is a dangerous climate during today`s capitalism that affects many countries and also Norway:

A new website has been set up by an informal solidarity group formed of families, partners, friends and comrades in order to provide financial support for imprisoned anti-fascists. After being arrested, having property confiscated, losing jobs and being left on bail for two years, a group of anti fascists have been sent to prison and they need our support.

Resisting fascism is important, and people that are persecuted by the state for resisting fascism should not be forgotten or ignored.

This is a fascinating documentary film about the Spanish revolution featuring personal testimonies from numerous anarcho-syndicalist militants who took part. Today, 75 years after it began, the lessons of the revolution - its successes and failures - remain as relevant as ever.

For more info on the 75th anniversary commemoration of the revolution, visit here (in Spanish).
 

This year marks the 75th anniversary of Hitler’s accession to power, it is appropriate therefore to look again at fascism, and to remind ourselves of those salient features of fascist movements and regimes which have become obscured with the passage of time. There is more to fascism than the legacy of war and genocide. That was where fascism ended, but during its rise, and where it took power in the years before the Second World War, many observers, particularly those on the left, noted its anti-working class bias and the nature of the economic system over which it presided.