Anti-fascists Prepare to Stop BNP "Festival"
Notts IMC | 11.08.2008 15:02 | Anti-racism | Nottinghamshire
Between 15th and 17th of August, the fascist British National Party (BNP) is holding its annual Red, White and Blue 'festival' on a farm in Denby, Derbyshire. In previous years this so-called 'family festival' has brought together BNP members and white supremacists from across the world to enjoy Nazi marching songs and drunken glassings. The event has past off largely unremarked upon in previous years, with just a token response from the anti-fascist movement. Last year when the event was held in the same place, there was only one single protester. This time, however, local campaigners involved in Nottinghamshire Stop the BNP have been mobilising since late last year. The call has subsequently been taken up by Antifa England, Lancaster Unity, Hope Not Hate and Unite Against Fascism among others.
Details: Leaflet and maps | Antifa Callout | Google map of site | Photos of the area | Coaches: 1 | 2
Newswire: Will It Be All White On The Night? | The Alan Warner (BNP) Supporters Club | BNP Begin Arriving for Festival, While Anti-Fascists Leaflet Codnor | RWB toilet supplier targetted | BNP's Second Licence Application Rejected! | Protest against fascist BNP's Red, White & Blue | New paint job for the RWB's fascist farmer
Previous Features: BNP Withdraw Festival Licence Application in the Face of Protests | East Mids Campaigners Up The Anti as BNP Make Electoral Gains | Midlands and Yorkshire organise against the BNP
Links: Stop the BNP's RWB Festival | Smash The BNP's Scumfest! | Indymedia UK Stop RWB topic page
When the BNP applied for a premises licence the police, who had initially been happy for it to go ahead, decided at the eleventh hour to require a series of onerous conditions be included, citing concerns about the looming counter-mobilisation, at which point the party withdrew its application. The BNP later tried to apply for a more limited Temporary Events Notice, but had their application rejected.
The event is taking place on land owned by former-Tory Alan Warner. Apparently unpopular amongst local residents even before he began hosting the event, Warner has not endeared himself to his neighbours by inviting hundreds of fascists to the village. Locals submitted a huge number of objections to the licence applications both last year and this. As the campaign against the festival has stepped up, Warner has found himself the target of anti-fascists. The flag which usually seen flying outside his farm was stolen and, in a separate incident, anti-fascist graffiti was painted on his walls. He has also claimed that hypodermic needles were left in his garden. Warner is so concerned that police have apparently fitted a panic button in his house and placed covert surveillance around his property.
Notts IMC
Additions
Red, White and Blue protest pulls in 700 while Martin Reynolds begs for help
16.08.2008 22:31
They may well have got their way. Around two hundred and fifty police officers, some in riot gear, were deployed, plus a helicopter was keeping an eye on things from above for most of the day. The cost must have been astronomical - and all to protect a load of fascists, their minders and scum like Petra Edelmannova, chair of the far-right Czech National Party, who is a guest of the BNP this weekend.
The police were pretty much everywhere - though mainly at the gathering-point, where there was a number of speakers throughout the afternoon, and at the entrance to the RWB itself - though that seemed to be well-covered by a number of thugs who looked ready to kill and eat anyone who pissed them off.
The march from the village to the site was marred by a brief fracas between anti-fascists and BNP members after the former were attacked by the latter. The groups were separated by police. On several occasions, anti-fascists tried to break through police lines to enter the RWB site itself but were beaten back by riot police and officers with dogs. Apart from these brief interludes, the event went of peacably, with the assistant chief constable of Derbyshire Police Peter Goodman stating: 'We did have an incident which took place with a small number of people, but the majority of people who have come here today behaved impeccably.'
Six arrests were made during the attempts to break through police lines (including across the fields behind the site) but a further twenty-seven occurred as the groups began to disperse and return to their homes or vehicles, when they were in many cases set on by BNP supporters.
Some of the more interesting action took place behind the scenes and well out of the public eye. One of our supporters had a receiver that could pick up the police band and we were treated to a breathless step by step account of the chase over the fields that only ended (for us) when the noise from the police helicopter drowned out everything else.
Once back on the radio, one of our group pointed out that the police referred to us as 'reds' all the way through the day, including the anarchists - described as a 'bunch of reds' even though they were dressed all in black. Nice to know the police aren't biased in any way...
More here:
http://lancasteruaf.blogspot.com/2008/08/red-white-and-blue-protest-pulls-in-700.html
Lancaster Unity
Homepage:
http://lancasteruaf.blogspot.com/
ANTIFA PHONE IN THE HANDS OF POLICE
17.08.2008 12:46
Antifa London.
ANTIFA LONDON
Apologies
18.08.2008 17:28
To put a few rumours to rest;there were 80+ activists in the field and more who were stopped by police at the entrance to the fields. 33 arrests seems about right and the amount of shit coming out on Stormshite is astronomical. No Antifa were attacked by fascists and all their guff about running us is pure bullshit...not a suprise to anyone who has the misfortune to read their site; and in pubs afterwards the locals seemed more inquisitive than hostile. As has been posted already, it seems local feeling is against the bnp returning to the area, so you can draw your own conclusions on whether or not this was an effective action.
Antifa London
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