Saturday 23 May 2009

BNP sucessfully resisted in Bath!


Nearly 100 people responded to a call out from Bath Activist Network to protest a hustings meeting featuring the fascist BNP. The demo was a huge sucess, seeing the front doors blockaded for nearly two hours, preventing the meeting from going ahead. The majority of speakers due to represent their parties pulled out of the meeting and opted to speak on the street instead, many making the descision to do so on the night. A tiny mob of fascists turned up and made a pitiful attempt to force their way in before giving up and spending the rest of the night moaning to the police (one of whom had an anti-BNP leaflet mysteriously taped to his back). The blockade ended when the police demanded that the demo move out of the public view - protesters unanimously refused, and the blockade was violently broken up allowing the fascists entry to a deserted building, as the real democracy was in full swing on the streets! In an interesting side note, members of the public let protesters know that the police were desribing us as 'scum' and we have some interesting video footage of BNP highups haveing a private chat and a laugh with high up cops. The BNP requested that once the blockade was ended, they should be allowed to move in en masse - a request that the police were all too willing to faclitate. The back patting and obvious mutual support between the cops and nazis was sickening, but on the jight the facts spoke for themselves - Public support was overwhelmingly in favour of the blockade, and the 'no platform for fascists' position. It is impossible for the BNP to publicly advertise, or hold a meeting without protection from the police and a huge and angry reaction from the vast majority of the public. Well done to everyone who turned up and showed once again that the BNP are not welcome in Bath.

Tuesday 19 May 2009

'Stop the fascist BNP' protest - this friday (22nd), Bath

SMASH THE FASCIST BNP! FRIDAY 22ND MAY, 6PM, QUEENS SQUARE, BATH This friday (22/05) sees the Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution play host to local fascist and BNP candidate Jeremy Wotherspoon. As a result, Bath Activist Network and other local groups are calling for the largest possible demonstration to oppose this. We are calling for everyone who is disgusted by the fascist policies of the BNP to meet at 6pm on Friday the 22nd in Queens square, Bath to oppose the spread of the fascist lies and hatred propogated by the BNP. Bath Activist Network is an umbrella group and hope to make the protest as inclusive as possible, providing a space for people of all political backgrounds and tactical preference. many of us in BAN hold a 'no platform' position. This means that we do not believe that the BNP should be given the chance to spread their hatred and lies. We believe in peoples right to say and do what they like, until those words of actions are designed to infringe on the freedom of somebody else to do the same. In the case of the BNP, their freedom of speech is used to spread racial hatred, encourage racial violence, deny the holocaust and preach for a society of racial division and white supremacy. Wherever the BNP gain a foothold, racially motivated attacks, vandalism and abuse skyrocket - this is what the nazi BNP hope to achieve with their 'freedom of speech'. We are not willing to sit back and allow this. We also want to spread the message that in these hard times of lying and corrupt politicians and greedy banks and bosses, a vote for the BNP is not a 'protest vote' - its is a vote for fascists, plain and simple. If we want to changesociety for the better, we cannot rely on scumbags like the BNP, Labour or Tories, we must do it ourselves. The last time the BNP held a meeting in bath, it ended in shambles, with the Bath Uni students passing a 'no platform' motion. Banned from the campus, the BNP tried to hold a 'secret' meeting in town which ended with Nick Griffin and 10 hangers on being chased from pub to pub before being allowed a five minute speech in an empty park! It is vital that we continue this resistance to fascism and the BNP and hope you will join us on friday to continue this tradition and join together with people from all backgrounds to demand an end to the nazi BNP. Please help to build this protest by passing this callout on and spreading information to friends and collegues. For more information, please contact Bath Activist Network on bathactivistnet@yahoo.co.uk, or by calling us on 07794774938

Friday 8 May 2009

Mayday! Mayday!




Monday the 4th of May saw BAN and friends take a large affinity group down to the Smash EDO hosday mayday shindig in Brighton. The theme of the event was to oppose militarism greed and war - the main target being EDO/ITT a Brighton based bomb building factory on its last legs after a relentless 5 year activist assault.


The 2000 strong march started peacefully enough, save the odd paint bomb lobbed at army recruitment centres and a little disagreement over wether or not the cops should arrest some activists hanging a banner from barclays. Things got livlier however when the cops decided to stop us airing our feelings outside a local McDonalds. During the scrap, a riot van got smoked out and spraypainted and the police tried uncussesfully to split the protest. From then on, the day became a running battle with angry police, back to the same tactics that have recently brought so much anger thier way. However, the crowd stayed mobile and free of police kettles at all times, using a variety of tactics (paint bombs to obscure police visors being our favourite!). We didn't make it to the EDO factory, but we did leave the police confused and out of control. Throughout the day, the activists were in charge, and despite a few bruises it was us and not the police that controlled the protest. Later in the night, several banks and companies with links to EDO were smashed in solidarity with the protest. Our tactics on the day showed that a fluid, leaderless movement is far more caopable of adapting to situations than the graey, authoritarian structure represented by the police. It is just such fluidity, creativity and diversity that we need more of to create a world of justice and peace, free from the deprivations of capitalism and the state.