Emeute raciste à Birmingham – septembre 2009
Birmingham riots: young men looking for the excitement of a fight
7 09 2009
David Aaronovitch: Commentary
A few weeks ago, just after the first Muslim Uighur disturbances in China, I bumped into a weird demonstration. About fifty of the most far-out Islamic fundamentalists — men upfront, women and surly children to the rear — were passing the Chinese Embassy, shouting for sharia to be imposed in China.
I think their impulse was more theatrical than practical. They wanted to get a rise out of the locals, and I would not be at all surprised if some of their number were there in Luton in March, helping to make up the tiny group of anti-Army protesters who managed to do so much damage to community relations in such a short time. The desire was clearly to provoke.
And, of course, there are people who want nothing more than to be provoked. Out of England’s hooligan sub-culture, a venerable strain in our nation’s riotous history, came the almost inevitable response.
Updated for the cyber age, and describing themselves variously as Casuals United or the English Defence League (EDL), a group of “football supporters” set itself up to revenge the offence of Luton.
So far this group has managed to hold several demonstrations and most of them have successfully ended in violence, including Saturday’s excursion to Birmingham city centre. The point of these emanations is to attract a counter-demonstration, and create the possibility of a confrontation with Asian youths.
It is an odd characteristic of the synergy between hooligans and far-right groups, that both disclaim each other. The EDL, for example, insists that it “is nothing to do with the BNP”, its website bans “racist or Islamophobic behaviour” and a planned demonstration in the London suburbs in which it is involved gives a long list of “don’ts” to prospective marchers. Political parties, for example, are not welcome — and one doesn’t imagine that they have the Liberal Democrats in mind.
Point three, rather tellingly, proscribes “totalitarian symbols such as Nazi swastikas, Communist hammer and sickle and Islamic star and crescent — unless clearly crossed out or defaced with a stop sign”. Once again, it seems unlikely that they are worried about infiltration from Workers’ Fight or the Muslim Council of Britain.
As The Times has revealed, however, the EDL website was designed by a BNP activist, and fairly obviously BNP folk have been among those chanting “Ingerland!” “We want our country back!” and “Muslim bombers off our streets”. But they are keen to seem reasonable, at least before the fighting starts.
On Saturday a Ms Leisha Brookes argued that “if people come to our country, they should respect our laws. If an English person went to an Arab country they would be expected to dress appropriately, and all we are asking is for them to do the same.” One hopes that Ms Brookes would never be found mooning to disgusted waiters in Faliraki.
Unfortunately, behaving as the British do, last Saturday, involved getting drunk, ripping up seats and urinating on the buses to which the EDL were consigned by the police. Not that this was not a behavioural lesson in Englishness learnt by the “anti-fascist” protesters who turned up to oblige the EDL’s desire for bloodshed.
As one witness put it: “Some of the ‘protesters’ just looked like they wanted a ruck — it was pretty shocking to see.” For years now the British far Left, acting under the banner of the fabled 1936 Cable Street riots, when the British Union of Fascists were prevented from marching in the East End, have given themselves an ideological pass to incite interesting mayhem in the name of anti-fascism.
Of course, today there is no continent-wide rise of fascism, no Spanish Civil War, no Adolf or Musso, no dead Lorca, nothing indeed that would make the comparison stick. But there are young men looking for the excitement of a fight, and just now we have people willing to organise it for them.
UK anti-Islamic extremism protest turns violent
06 09 2009
LONDON — A rally against Islamic extremism in the ethnically mixed English city of Birmingham turned violent Saturday as protesters clashed with counter-demonstrators. Police reported more than 30 arrests.
Trouble broke out when protesters from the English Defense League, a group which says it is opposed to militant Islam in Britain, were met in Birmingham’s downtown area by anti-fascist activists and counter-demonstrators.
Sky News television footage showed police confining members of the English Defense League inside pubs as counter demonstrators held up placards and shouted slogans nearby. The broadcaster said many of the protesters were loaded onto buses and subsequently arrested.
It also showed footage of counter-demonstrators of South Asian descent throwing objects, running down streets and clashing with police. One clip showed passers-by screaming and running for cover as they overran a downtown street.
Police were able to quell « pockets of disorder by several groups of 20 to 30 men, » West Midlands Police spokeswoman Det. Chief Inspector Sue Southern said. About 200 people were involved in the clashes, she said in a statement.
Television footage showed lines of officers separating groups of shouting demonstrators. Sky News said riot police from across the area had been mobilized in anticipation of violence.
Birmingham, a city of about 1 million where nearly a third of the population is nonwhite, had seen similar scenes last month when a demonstration by the English Defense League turned ugly. The group blames counter-demonstrators for inciting violence at its rallies. It has promised protest marches in other cities, including one next month in Manchester.
Violence flares at anti-Islamic extremism protest
06 09 2009
BIRMINGHAM — Police arrested more than 30 men Saturday after violence broke out at a protest against Islamic extremism in Birmingham.
Supporters of the English Defence League, which campaigns against Islamic fundamentalism in Britain, clashed with opponents who argue that they are racists and facists.
Police said they had arrested « more than 30 men » in connection with the violence, which took place in a busy shopping street and involved about 200 people, despite the presence of dozens of riot police.
« Officers acted quickly and robustly to quell pockets of disorder caused by several groups of 20 to 30 men. Police estimate around 200 people in total were involved in the trouble, » a police statement said.
Police had warned they would deal with any troublemakers « robustly » after similar clashes in the city last month, and the English Defence League had also urged its supporters to avoid being drawn into fights.
« We would like to state that anyone who wishes to cause trouble, or use this demonstration to voice any other issues other than Islamic fundamentalists, radical Islam and Sharia will be turned away, » the EDL says on its website.
anthropologie du présent 
No platform for fascists (especially in my home town!)