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Antifa Britain founding statement.

Antifa Britain | 22.05.2007 10:12 | Birmingham

Following a national conference in January and a steady increase in activities and recruitment Antifa are proud to release our founding statement. Please visit the website and get involved!

WHO WE ARE

Antifa is a national federation comprised of local groups of militant anti-fascists, affiliated to the international Antifa movement.
We exist to confront fascist ideas, activities and organisations wherever and however they occur.
We utilise a wide range of tactics and believe it is important to confront fascism physically as well as ideologically.
We do not advocate the electoral process as the means of defeating fascism nor will we work with groups that do.
Our structure is anti-authoritarian and non hierarchical. We oppose discrimination based on race, gender, sexuality, disability or age.
We will not work with, accept information from, nor pass information to the magazine Searchlight.

WHAT IS FASCISM?

It is a mistake to see fascism solely in terms of extreme far-right nationalist political parties such as the BNP, NF etc. While these are the most obvious target for an anti-fascist campaign, many policies promoted by other parties are equally fascist in nature, and demand an appropriate reaction. The media is also guilty of pushing far-right ideology (the tabloid treatment of the issues surrounding refugees for example) and their actions often fall within the remit of an anti-fascist group. We should oppose fascist ideology whatever its source. Equally, fascism is often used as a synonym for racism. Racism is a tool frequently employed by fascist movements, but it is important to be aware that fascists can be non-racist and indeed most racists are not fascists. While our major target is fascism, we must be aware that bigotry in all forms (racism, sexism, homophobia, etc) needs to be fought, whether it comes from the mouths of fascists or from elsewhere.

THE ENEMY

There are many fascist groups operating in Britain, but the biggest threat comes from the British National Party who in recent years have done their utmost to hide their fascist politics beneath a thin veneer of respectability. Antifa opposes all fascist activity, but destroying the BNP is our current priority. Their presence on the political landscape pushes the wider political agenda to the right at the cost of working class people.

PHYSICAL CONFRONTATION

Fascism is a violent ideology. Throughout history, fascists have used violence against those who oppose them. Antifa is a continuation of the antifascist tradition of confronting fascism physically when it is necessary. Physical confrontation is only one of our tactics though, we do not aim to fetishise it as one tactic above all others, nor will we allow a hierarchy to develop based on the kudos of street-fighting. If an individual member feels unable to engage on this level they are no less worthy as an anti-fascist than any other member of the group, however those with a moral problem regarding this issue should be advised that this is not the group for them.

HIERARCHY AND GROUP STRUCTURE

In keeping with our anti-authoritarian ideas, we seek to challenge hierarchy within our own movement and elsewhere. We do not believe in fixed leadership or power structures. Within Antifa we make decisions on a consensus basis to ensure that the opinions of all within the group are represented as far as possible. Where an organising role needs to be taken on by one or more people (for example, acting as chief steward during an action), we accept that this is immediately revocable should the members of the group be dissatisfied, and that the appointment of any role that could be seen as leadership is temporary and based on group consensus. There are situations in militant anti-fascism where decisions have to be made quickly and it is vital that those involved trust the person who is making those decisions. It is also vital that appointing those decision-makers does not create any unspoken hierarchy, so we encourage the rotation of roles as far as possible. The structure of our own movement needs to reflect our political goals.

INCLUSIVITY

The success of fascist politics depends on a divided and unorganised working class. Antifa believes that the means to effect social change must mirror the ends we wish to achieve, and therefore, reflecting our wider beliefs, we will never exclude any individual on the basis of their sex, race, age, (dis)ability, sexuality or any similar grounds.

SEARCHLIGHT

We will not work with, accept information from, nor pass information to the so-called anti-fascist magazine/organisation Searchlight, and we will not work with individuals who have any connection to them. As an organisation that works hand-in-glove with State agencies, we cannot trust them or the agenda they pursue. Their influence within, and manipulation of, militant anti-fascism has been deeply divisive over the years, their methods and involvement with State security services are well documented and entirely incompatible with our own position.

THE AUTHORITARIAN LEFT

For decades revolutionary left groups such as the Trotskyite Socialist Workers Party, have opportunistically used the mobilisation against fascism as a way of trying to swell their membership numbers and the coffers of their party. We are not interested in working with these groups, nor with their front groups, such as the Anti-Nazi League™ or Unite Against Fascism™. Our experience is that these front groups exist merely to try and recruit members on behalf of the controlling party, to peddle their papers, and to manipulate and marginalize genuine anti-fascists. In the past we have seen the leadership of such fronts collaborate not only with the State, but also with the fascists themselves. We will not be fooled again, and advise genuine anti-fascists within these organisations to leave, after which we may be able to work with them.

VOTING

Voting is something that allows the State to pretend we live in a democracy, and it is a tactic used by fascist parties such as the British National Party to promote themselves and their policies. While the BNP may be in a position to throw bricks through the windows of a few Asian households, it is New Labour that is locking up refugees and bombing Iraqi civilians. It is ridiculous to suggest that voting helps to stop fascism. This is the sort of insult to working class communities that has allowed the BNP to grow. This is the case whether we are being told to vote for the old Statist parties or opportunist fronts, such as Respect™, which has helped to promote bigotry (sexism and homophobia) in order to further the agenda of its leadership. The problems that allow racism and fascism to flourish will not be solved simply by voting for parties which mask their fascism slightly more cleverly than the BNP, nor for some middle-class tourist standing on a Left-Wing ticket.

THE WIDER STRUGGLE

Eliminating the threat of fascism will not magically correct all the wrongs of the world. The first stage of real lasting social improvement begins with the downfall of global capitalism and its replacement with an alternative that puts working class people in control of their own lives. Members of Antifa are involved in a wide variety of other anti-capitalist struggles, but Antifa itself remains focussed on the fight against fascism, which we believe is linked to the wider struggle. The State will employ fascist tactics if necessary in the cause of suppressing dissent, and the fight against openly fascist ideology, wherever it comes from, is a critical part of the fight against the ultimate enemy of capitalism itself.

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

Fascism can be suppressed by the use of street-level tactics against their attempts to publicly organise. The fascists electoral ambitions can be defeated by the use of counter-propaganda. But a meaningful impact on fascism requires far more than this. We believe that involvement in local communities is critical (and this does not mean parachuting in as outsiders, but people taking action in their own communities.) Education and presenting workable solutions to the problems faced by communities are absolutely vital to the struggle. These may be outside the current remit of Antifa, but we will wholeheartedly support these tactics, and while we may not be able to initiate such activities, we strongly encourage our members to involve themselves in this sort of grass-roots work.

SECURITY AND RECRUITMENT

For tactical and security reasons, Antifa is not an open group. Some of our work may put us in conflict with the authorities, and of course with fascists themselves. We do not seek mass-recruitment and we do not hold regular open meetings. That said, we are always on the lookout for potential new members, who are committed and security-conscious. If you are interested in getting involved with Antifa, or if you would like to assist us in our work, please get in touch.

Antifa Britain
- Homepage: http://www.antifa.org.uk

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Comments

Hide the following 13 comments

Anti-fascists please be aware!

23.05.2007 15:25

Do not be fooled by the above!
This is ANOTHER GOVERNEMENT JOB with the intention of stimulating friction and infighting within anti-fascism with the UAF and Searchlight being effective groups.

This friction is designed to falter anti-fascism because the government actually want the BNP to win a few more seats here and there and INCREASE it's manifesto saleability to the public. The government can then use that public opinion and momentum to force its OWN agenda in the Middle East as well as at home.

Sounds farfetched?
Research and find out for yourself; just a quick look through this weeks news offerings should tell you all you need to know.
Besides, how else would that one eyed wanker be able to walk away from court YET again?

Unless you want to end up on a file and be monitored by the state before heading for a fall and a prison sentence. Stay away!


Solidarity


Oooooooo!

23.05.2007 17:51

Solidarity you are a plank.

Now get ya dick away from the computer and do somet constructive....like topping yourself.

Smasher


Did someone say conspiracy theory?

23.05.2007 19:52

If your looking for a government friendly liberal anti-fascist group then look no further than Searchlight or the UAF, both have MPs as members, the former almost certainly have links with Special Branch and other security services and the UAFs main aim is to get people voting anybody but the bnp, even if that means voting labour, tory or any other Bourgeois, backstabbing, warmongering, lying bastard.

So please do your research before you start slagging off an anti-fascist group that a) refuses to work with state authorities (unlike searchlight and UAF) b) actually takes meaningful action against fascists in their own communities (unlike searchlight and UAF who choose to patronise the working classes and wave placards all day) c) organises along non-hierachical lines (unlike the UAF which is little more than a front group of the SWP central committee and searchlight which is riddled with police informers) and d) isnt affraid to put their own arses on the line in the fight against fascism.

On a final note if you think fighting fascism and its roots in capitalism is just a placard waving hobby to be done outside courts and you have no intention of actually confronting fascists or the state or losing your job as a social worker or place in the labour party then i suggest you keep well away from these reprobates.

for a brief look at searchlights links to the british state see here
 http://libcom.org/library/searchlight-for-beginners-larry-o-hara

BruisedShins


Look and learn

23.05.2007 20:33

Well let’s look at the results then shall we?
The BNP have been stopped at the polls primarily because of grass roots anti-fascist leafleting that prevented them from getting in.
Where in the hell has ‘stickers on lamps’ or ‘threats of attack’ (which usually end up with arrests) ever achieved? Answers please.

Besides the fash aren’t worried one bit about these actions because they know that they will then look the victim in their smarmy suites with crocodile tears for themselves rolling down their faces. This will win them support!

May I suggest you grow up and do something constructive for once and not play into the enemies hands?

Solidarity


FINAL WORD

24.05.2007 11:07

BNP, UAF & Searchlight- State controlled.

C18 & AFA- Closely monitored by state.

Football hooligans are the only real anarchists left.

Julius


liberals dressed as radicals

24.05.2007 13:32

Solidarity, first off the leaflets that UAF have handed out in the past have been highly condescending, have more often than not offered support for the government and have generally offered few alternatives apart from voting the government back into power-ie supporting the very institutions that create the ground that fascism grows in.

I know many non-liberal anti-fascists who put in a lot of hard work around the elections, debumking not only the BNP but all political parties and the hierachical system that is perpetuated by parliament, the difference is they dont just come out of the woodwork at election time and know that fascism is far bigger than the BNP. Describing the work of these people as ineffective is both insulting and naive. A whole array of tactics can be used to confront fascism and many unconventional tactics have been very effective in the past and continue to be so today. However supporting the establishment and the institutions which cause people misery and toil is not one of them.

For the record the BNP certainly does mind if they get a kicking, being associated with any violence even if it is violence against them does them a great discredit in the eyes of nick griffin, that why the lid is well and trully on at this moment in time.

I have little doubt that were the BNP to return to a policy of controlling the streets and asserting their power (a policy which they would almost certainly do even if it were only once they had got into power!) that you would be the first to go running to the police demanding that the state intervene, even if it were far too late.

BruisedShins


Excellent

24.05.2007 19:21

Thats an excellent founding statement - good luck!

Keith


Antifa Britain...

24.05.2007 20:32

..will not work with others (because 'they' are all in on it..), so it's ‘Antifa Britain's way or the highway’, and Antifa Britain are prepared to use violence.

Fascism is a violent ideology. Throughout history, fascists have used violence against those who oppose them.

Those with a moral problem regarding the use of violence (i.e. anti-fascists) should be advised that this is not the group for them…

Paranoid Sectarian Paradox?


Huh?

25.05.2007 10:15

Quote: PSP Wrote
"..will not work with others (because 'they' are all in on it..), so it's ‘Antifa Britain's way or the highway’, and Antifa Britain are prepared to use violence."

If you read the statement it says Antifa will not work with state affiliated groups like Searchlight, this is not through some form of ideological purty (though working with the state to defat fascism is like hiring rats to stop a plague) but because of the cosy position that Searchlight hold with the police and special branch and if you havent noticed being involved in working to undermine a capitalist state normally doesnt go down too well with the police!


Quote PSP Wrote:
"Fascism is a violent ideology. Throughout history, fascists have used violence against those who oppose them."

And what, is it supposed to be ironic because antifa has said that direct action can be a succesful tactic? Thats like saying that grocers cant be taken seriously about their criticisms of tescos cus "theyre selling vegtables too". I think your understanding of what fascism actually represents is a little skewed if you believe that it is just an ideolody that uses violence. Out of interest if you were living in 1930s germany at what point would you consider violence to be part of an appropriate reaction? You cant go running to the state when the fascists have taken control of it!

Unfortunately history paints a bleak picture of what happens when libertarians and militant workers cooperate with the state to try and defeat fascism, Hitler, Franco and Pinochet all succeded in crushing the liberal and socialist opposition that tried to accomodate them. But the seeds of defeat are sewn far earlier when we actually choose that supporting the state is the way to fight fascism, a state that would just as soon turn on us, sack us, blacklist us, arrest, shoot and imprison us, impoverish us, work us and regiment us. If youre looking for a place in parliament, or to be part of an advisory committee or maybe you just want a proud portrait emblazoned in red then go for half measures, cooperate with those who make peoples lives a misery and make sure you dont trip over your own feet as you march round and around and around and around ....

BruisedShins


State sponsored propaganda…or myopic morons?

25.05.2007 12:54

“It is ridiculous to suggest that voting helps to stop fascism”

No, no. It is completely ridiculous to suggest that NOT voting helps to stop fascism!

It is glaringly obvious that not voting only helps the neoliberals and the BNP…..

Paradox


Mud slingers anonymous

27.05.2007 10:00

Quote "It is glaringly obvious that not voting only helps the neoliberals and the BNP….."

Parliamentary democracy is a product of capitalism, the institutions that party politics maintains, the hierachical and "respressentative" political forms that parliament represents are corollaries of a system based on the exploitation and government of the majority by a minority. As with all class struggle anti-fascists it seems that Antifa see fascism as being intrinsically part of the capitalist system. Now if we are to consider fascism as a form of government that the ruling class fall back on when we force them onto the back foot (see Spain 36, Chile 73) then voting for the labour party, tories, swp or any other appendage of capitalism is fairly irrelevant. If we are going to fight for a world based on direct democracy, equality and self management then we are going to have to come to blows with the state at some point whether we want to or not.

Of course if you believe that all is hunky-dory and the only stain on society is the existence of the bnp then carry on supporting the system that makes their views palatable to so many disillusioned and pissed off people.

Voting will not, and never has, stopped fascism.

BruisedShins


Telling the most dispossessed not to vote will not stopped fascism

27.05.2007 19:19

'BruisedShins' - if all of British society thought like you then you may just have a point, but alas our society is made up of many different types of people who share different beliefs, ideologies etc.

The only people you are likely to persuade not to vote are the very people who should be voting. Those who are least likely to be persuaded not to vote are the one who will continue to support the status quo. Therefore all your doing is inidvartantly (?) setting the scene for more of the same...!?!

Hence, your talking through your arse.


Who am i supposed to be persuading?

29.05.2007 19:59

turnouts for the local elections averaged around about 30%, far lower in many wards, i really dont think that i need to convince anyone not to vote.

However that was never my intention anyway, i'm merely pointing out the futility of voting against something that has its roots in the very system we live under, trying to vote out a form of government that can be utilised by democratically elected governments or governments that come to power under a coup is really not the best means of tackling the problem. Like ive said the rise and fall of fascism is largely linked to the militancy and activity of the working classes/masses/people/whatever at any one time, thus voting against a party that has fascist politics is not going to make fascism dissappear, let alone tackle the problems that create a space for fascism.

I've never stated nor implied that not voting was an end in itself.

I do apologise for being hopelessly optimistic and supposing that there may be a time when our choices are somewhat more profound than "Tory, Labour, Respect or BNP". I shan't utter another word.

BruisedShins


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