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The battle of Bolton and the media

Expose the BNP (repost) | 20.03.2010 21:42 | Anti-racism | Other Press | Repression

Anti-fascist protesters emerged victorious on Saturday after holding Bolton’s central Victoria Square against the racists from the English Defence League.

But mainstream national media reports are presenting it as a contest between two violent groups – and blaming the anti-fascists for the violence.

Anti-fascists faced brutality from police with dogs and on horseback. There were over 60 arrests – 55 Unite Against Fascism and 9 EDL, according to Sky news – including UAF leader Weyman Bennett “on suspicion of conspiracy to commit violent disorder”. The police commander made disgraceful allegations about the protesters.


Video on the Bolton News website makes it clear, however, that the violence was not coming from the anti-fascists. It shows an elderly veteran of World War 2 who had joined the protest, and UAF stewards can be heard urging protestors to stay calm in the face of apparent police efforts to provoke a riot.

The Bolton News had a reporter in Victoria Square who described on Twitter how EDL members had broken away from the square to cause violence: “Number of demonstrators intent on causing disorder have broken away from protest site. Large numbers of officers deployed to address.” The journalist saw “missiles flying” as the EDL tried to get out of its enclosure.

Anti-fascists clearly outnumbered the EDL, yet the BBC on its website and on TV news cited the police estimates that there were 1,500 anti-fascists and 2,000 EDL. The facts suggest otherwise.

The Bolton News reported on Twitter at 3.30pm: “EDL look to have gone from the sq[uare] but more UAF supporters making their way there. Banners from Hull, London, Birmingham among those seen”

Anti-fascists continued to join the protest. Twenty minutes later the Bolton News reported a “large number of asian youths in ashburner street”, just outside Victoria Square

This was the turning point when hundreds of young Asians joined the protests.

Socialist Worker’s reporter described this moment: “Anti-racists in Victoria Square have been buoyed by the arrival of large numbers of young Asians from the town. Shafiq told Socialist Worker, ‘The police tried to stop us getting here by holding us in a side road for hours. Several times we tried to break through their lines, but they held us back. … Its disgusting that the police have allowed the EDL to do what ever they like here, but we’ve been stopped from defending our own town.’”

About the same time, UAF’s twitter feed reported: “Another huge contingent of UAF supporters finally allowed to enter the square”. Hundreds of anti-fascists had been blocked by police from entering the square.

The BBC’s reporting was execrable, quoting the EDL and repeating its claim that “it describes itself as a peaceful, non-political group”. UAF spokespeople were not quoted.

Sky news at 6pm also reported the protest as a violent confrontation, citing the numbers arrested as if they were proof of violence on the UAF side.

Expose the BNP (repost)
- Homepage: http://exposethebnp.com/2010/03/20/the-battle-of-bolton-and-the-media/

Comments

Hide the following 6 comments

im

21.03.2010 00:00

not to sure of these numbers

they arrested people and released them pretty much straight after.

an acquaintance of mine was arrested 3 times

are these counted to the total arrests?

ballz


number of arrests

21.03.2010 07:03

If the police were arresting, releasing and rearresting then it is clear they were either failing in their duty to keep the peace or they had a concerted strategy of blowing the whole event out of proportion.

Given the large BNP presence in Greater Manchester Police - I'm going for failure of duty.

passing shopper


BBC - always complain

21.03.2010 08:22

When the BBC is guilty of misreporting like this, always complain! If pressed hard enough they will change online news articles, and sometimes TV news as well. Their online journalists almost always rely on other sources and their errors may be the result of ignorance rather than deliberate misrepresentation. If everybody on Indymedia gets on the phone when this kind of thing happens it will have an effect. Do it now!

Harry


When in Rome

21.03.2010 08:50

There was a big national Demoagainst the privatisation of Water, yesterday in Rome.
I heard that there was also another demo but not sure what it was about. Today I found out on the BBC's website, it was reported as a mass demo in support of the PM aka Burlesque Clown, no mention of the anti water demo.

At the same time in Milano another Demo was going off this one an anti mafia rally "To remember the victims of the mafia" with independent reports of 150.000 + taking part. No mention on the BBC of course.

The Police in Rome estimate 150.000 at the pro mafia (Berlusconi) rally, so there were probably around 15.000 as the cops do tend to exaggerate x 10.

BBC (Big Bullshit Corporation)


good article

21.03.2010 08:54

thanks

sup


there was more EDL support/UAF-SWP impotence in direct-action situations

21.03.2010 14:02

It is only the SWP who are saying that UAF supporters outnumbered EDL supporters.

Infact, I heard from two different people on the ground yesturday that there were more EDL people than UAF; apparantly, according to one witness, most EDL supporters did not even get anywhere near Victoria Sq, held and no doubt surrounded by police in the approach to Victoria Square on Knowsley St from the south of the city. Another group coming from the north of the city were surrounded by police; a group of local muslim youth confronted this group, who rose to the challenge in response, but were reported to have been beaten back by police (emphasising that there are 2 sides to the story regarding reports of police accommodation of EDL supporters).

To give the UAF some credit, yesturday's demo was actually well planned by UAF; there had been a decision to split into two groups to stop the two main access routes through Victoria Square so that the EDL route was completely cut off in both directions, and UAF occupied the square. In actual fact, the police enforced this situation, separating a smaller group off from most people in the square. This group then moved as one large block to the top of Knowlsey St - the top of the shopping pedestrianised area (though, as usual, because the SWP hierarchical command structure is so inflexible, this smaller group served no purpose after a while - pleas to SWP lieutenants on the ground fell on death-ears as several of us remonstrated that much of that body of people could have been more usefully confrontational at another location in an adjacent street; after an hour, this was no longer possible as police surrounded them).

Dudley and Bradford coming up. We need more people on our side than we had at Bolton. defence may need to also be stepped up for individual local groups after the incident at the UAF meeting in Bristol and EDL's seeming ability to employ more inventive tactics. Last year, an UAF coach was attacked by fash in London intending to leave for Codnor; one person was badly injured and the coach put out of service. Legal defence and anti-fash monitors are needed.


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