HOPE not hate blog: My challenge to Demos: come up to Bradford

My challenge to Demos: come up to Bradford

posted by: Nick Lowles | on: Monday, 23 August 2010, 20:27

I’ve just read that the intellectuals at Demos are arguing that the Home Secretary should rescind the ban of the EDL demo in Bradford. My initial reaction was one of outrage and expletives against the centre left think tank. It’s fine for them to pontificate from the safety of their comfortable lifestyles in London, let them come up here and tell the people of Bradford that the racist EDL should march through Asian neighbourhoods.

At first I was going to ignore them but I’ve decided to take them on.

Demos argue that banning groups only encourages radicalism and, in terms of the right wing, would push people into the hands of “Combat 18 or the Racial Volunteer Force.”

Now, if Demos knew anything about the subject then they would know that neither C18 nor the RVF exist anymore. In fact, C18 has not existed at as organisation since 2002.

Then Demos claim that protest is an important part of a liberal democracy: "Preventing non-violent protest means others do not have the chance to counter-protest and demonstrate the strength of opinion against them. There may be some clashes and serious disagreement but this is part of living in a liberal society."

It is easy for Demos to say “there might be some clashes” but tell that to the people of Bradford whose city is still scared from the riots of 2001.

If Demos had been bothered to visit Bradford, or indeed speak to anyone in Bradford, then they would understand why people wanted the ban. This afternoon I met up with the deputy editor of the Telegraph & Argus, the local newspaper who courageously went out on a limb to back our campaign for a ban. In just three weeks almost 11,000 people signed our petition calling for a ban, that’s almost 6% of all adults in the city. Over 800 people filled in and returned a coupon in the Telegraph & Argus, an unprecedented return the deputy editor told me. What was most interesting was that the majority of the people who returned the coupon appeared, by their names, to be elderly white folk, again, not your usual leftie protestor.

The strength of feeling up here derives from a desire not to have a repeat of the riots that ripped the city apart in 2001, the scars of which remain today. The EDL wanted to march down Manchester Road into Bradford city centre, through areas where large numbers of Muslims live. To the people of Bradford this was provocative and incendiary and would well have led to widespread disorder. Of course we would rather the EDL did not come to Bradford at all but a static protest in the city centre is much more preferable than a march through predominantly Muslim neighbourhoods.

We didn’t call for a ban lightly but in this case the needs must. With Democracy comes responsibility and there has to be a limit to one group’s freedoms when in affects the wider population.

If Demos had bothered to speak to anyone in Bradford they would have understood why the majority of people welcomed the ban. Glibly saying that “there might be some clashes” is an insult to everyone who has to suffer the long term consequences in a city like this.

Posted: 23 Aug 2010 | There are 6 comments

Comments

Comment 1 | From: Alex | Date: 23 August 2010, 20:48

"Preventing -non-violent protest- means others do not have the chance to counter-protest and demonstrate the strength of opinion against them. There may be some clashes and serious disagreement but this is part of living in a liberal society." The indicated section shows the strongest flaw in their arguement in my opnion. Most indications are that an EDL march would -not- have been non-violent.

Comment 2 | From: Brent Cooper | Date: 23 August 2010, 22:05

To be honest direct confrontation via protests will not stop the EDL. The UAF & HNH are using the wrong methods. The BNP fed off the UAF for a number of years to make the case that they where being oppressed and this tatic worked bringing the BNP as the fourth most popular party in England. I have commited many crimes under many names to see the real methods of the far right and how to influence them to self destruct. The UAF needs to take a lesson from the Conservative Government. If you want a end to the EDL you need to target the football terraces. The EDL is a united football firm looking for violence.

Comment 3 | From: Brent Cooper | Date: 23 August 2010, 22:06

Comment 4 | From: Sam | Date: 23 August 2010, 23:50

Demos! Arrghh! Lets have a counter demo outside their offices.

Comment 5 | From: Babs atkinson | Date: 23 August 2010, 23:53

A static demo will also bring chaos + bloodshed. The stopping of the march is the right action 2 take!

Comment 6 | From: Anon | Date: 25 August 2010, 10:59

Demos analysis by supposed terrorism-expert seems to have made no research himself into the nature of EDL. EDL is already led by extremists. These leaders are supported and ideologically watered US- and Brit- based affiliates of shady 'international civil liberties alliance' have who have run their counterjihad europa 'project' since 2006. Toby Archer of RUSI has already written two accessible papers (RUSI: Countering the Counter-jihad; Finland: Learning to love the Jews.This project has been reaching out to the European Far right openly since at least 2007, and covertly since 2006 (see Pat Robertson's CBN 700 Club interviews from 2006 with Stephen Gash of SIOE, Paul Ray, original co-founder of EDL, and Heritage Foundation Margaret Thatcher Centre for Freedom intern). EDL are openly working with extremist nationalist groups in USA (JTF) and this assoc. comes through support of ICLA. ICLA affiliate Aeneas has publicised EDL in Europe (Berlin PI-News organised rally for Geert Wilders) and spoken on their behalf at most recent Counter Jihad Europa Conference. Now we've established that the EDL leadership are extremists already, it's clear that it's violent anti-Muslim rhetoric is already radicalising its membership/supporters. It's 'policies' are identical to that of the less successful SIOE (already linked to ICLA for some time. Grassroots efforts since at least Feb 2010 to encourage EDL leadership to meet up with Muslim leaders have fallen on deaf ears. EDL are set on violent confrontation and demonising all Britain's Muslims. DEMOS analysis is utterly flawed, glosses over the astroturfed nature of EDL, and its cynical use by ICLA as a vigilante group to divide UK people along racial and religious lines, and undemocratically pressurise their government, shunning normal democratic means of campaining, fomenting division in a society already under stress. Bradford petition from HnH delivered nearly 11,000 signatures to the Government. EDL petition to ban Halal and Kashrut dietary regime which labels Jews and Muslims as 'barbaric' managed barely 2,000. HnH were right to create this anti-EDL petition and gather signatures. This is how democratic methods work. EDL have wasted their time scapegoating of Muslims when they could have been fundraising for their children's parks, working to build community centres with the whole community, campaigning for apprenticeships for their youths. The divisions that exist in their minds are manifest in their behaviour. In one year they could have done so much good in their community - instead they have created fear and caused havoc across Britain.

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