Date: Mon, 4 Mar 1996 18:14:38 GMT
From: Steve Wallis <S.Wallis-AT-mmu.ac.uk>
Subject: Fighting fascism in Britain (was Re: buchanan)


Adam Rose wrote:

> In Britain the BNP went for a "respectable" strategy.
> 
> The ANL physically confronted them as far as possible.
> This forced them to bring their seig heiling stormtroopers out
> into the open ( they'd always been there of course, beating
> up Asians wherever they were standing candidates in elections ).
> 
> The ANL was successful. Derek Beacon lost his place on the council - there
> was no French style break through.  This pushed the BNP into a more "terrorist"
> strategy - attacking left wing book shops, left wing individuals,
> stabbings etc. They no longer made such an effort to hide their links
> with Combat 18 ( = AH = Adolf Hitler ). It's slightly horrifying to say it,
> but this was a sign of the ANL's success.
>
> For the moment, the BNP seems pretty demoralised and isn't doing either
> "normal bourgeois politics" or "direct action", although this could easily
> change.

I agree with Adam that due to the success of anti-fascists, the BNP's
electoral tactic is in tatters.  And they have not just lost their
only seat on a council, but they have been forced to close down their
headquarters and they have been driven from their paper sale on Brick
Lane.

This has not just resulted in the BNP becoming more openly "terrorist"
- they have also lost members to Combat 18.  [According to the
anti-fascist magazine Searchlight, most of the BNP's members in the
North West (in which they previously claimed to have a quarter of
theur membership) have defected to Combat 18.  These two fascist
organisations have apparently been at each other's throats for the
last couple of years or so.]

What annoys me about Adam's posting, however, is his claim that the
Anti-Nazi League defeated the fascists single-handed.  I've seen a
fund-raising leaflet from the ANL that claimed much the same thing
(they even claimed sole responsibility for driving the BNP off Brick
Lane, when none of the anti-fascists who did it were in the ANL!!!)
This falsification of history is one of the worst traits of
sectarianism in the ANL/SWP leadership.

Other anti-fascist organisations, including Youth against Racism in
Europe (YRE) which jointly organised both demos to close down the BNP
HQ and played a key role in driving the BNP off Brick Lane, have also
helped defeat the fascists.

It is with some reluctance that I take Adam up on this issue in this
mailing list - there has been too much back-biting here between
different organisations for my taste.  However, unity in action is
particularly important in struggles against fascism, and the ANL/SWP's
antics have alienated a lot of genuine anti-fascists.  Don't get me
wrong - the ANL have played a positive and important role in these
struggles - but a bit more honesty wouldn't go amiss.

Steve.

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   /----------+ Centre for Policy Modelling,         Email: S.Wallis-AT-mmu.ac.uk
   \/\  Steve | Manchester Metropolitan University,    Tel: (+44) 161 247 3884
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