EDL - Manchester: Protesters in city demonstrations

[Beorn]

A request to the mods and Admin: Would it be possible to merge and shift all EDL Manchester threads into this one single thread to ensure all relevancy to today's event is not scattered around the forum?

Thank you. :)




E-qenz8_IBU


At least 2,000 people are protesting in two political demonstrations in Manchester city centre.

About 700 members of the English Defence League (EDL) and 1,400 members of Unite Against Fascism (UAF) are separated by a line of riot police.
The EDL members are protesting against Islamic extremists - prompting a counter-protest from the UAF.
Police said 34 people had been arrested in Manchester on suspicion of public order offences.

One arrest was also on suspicion of carrying an offensive weapon.
Both sets of demonstrators are facing each other in Piccadilly Gardens and are separated by a line of police officers, dogs and mounted police.

Mat Trewern, from BBC Radio Manchester, said the atmosphere had turned "quite nasty" compared to earlier on in the day.
He said: "The police are trying to keep the two groups separate and it has been working so far.
"Some members of the UAF tried to break the police line between the two groups, which in turn angered the EDL members.
"Trouble had started when 100 members of EDL arrived at Piccadilly Gardens and they were immediately met with shouts of 'racists' and 'off our streets' by members of the UAF, who had already congregated at Piccadilly.
"The atmosphere is tense."

'Hell-bent on confrontation'

He said the number of protesters from the UAF outnumber those from the EDL by about two to one.
Assistant Chief Constable Garry Shewan said: "The presence of so many protesters in the city has proved a challenge and while many have turned out to protest peacefully, the police reaction has been necessary in order to prevent the few hell-bent on violent confrontation.

"Today we've made arrests, many of whom were thought to be agitators and trouble-makers."
Greater Manchester Police confirmed one man, believed to be heading to the protest, had been arrested in Birmingham on suspicion of distributing racially aggravated material.
Muslim leaders had renewed appeals for people to avoid the demonstrations.
A recent EDL event in Birmingham led to counter-demonstrations and bricks being hurled at riot police. Up to 90 people were arrested.

Nanu Miah, a community leader from Oldham, said: "We are not encouraging people to go, we don't know who EDL is and what could happen."



Source (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/8300431.stm)

[Treffie]

[CENTER][LEFT][I]A request to the mods and Admin: Would it be possible to merge and shift all EDL Manchester threads into this one single thread to ensure all relevancy to today's event is not scattered around the forum?


Wouldn't it be easier to post everything in this thread from now on? Find me the posts and I'll merge them.

As a side, we're expecting a demo this coming Saturday by the WDL - 17/10/09 in my hometown - local council wants to ban it though.

[Freomæg]

Though I wasn't there, Saturday was a great success for the EDL. 700 were part of the main demonstration as well as several hundred in smaller groups who weren't permitted to join the main march. Over a thousand in total. Also, even media footage and photos seems to show almost all of the trouble coming from the UAF, not the EDL who managed to remain peaceful.

[Beorn]

Wouldn't it be easier to post everything in this thread from now on? Find me the posts and I'll merge them.

No, too many posts and threads. If when each march is proposed and executed the relevant thread is created and the articles, videos, etc.., concerning that days march is placed here, future searches by members is infinitesimally easier. You need only write in the search box 'Manchester EDL' and this thread should appear amongst the many results. This saves having to then wade through unconnected marches.


As a side, we're expecting a demo this coming Saturday by the WDL - 17/10/09 in my hometown - local council wants to ban it though.

Your "hometown" or the city you currently call home? I'm presuming Cardiff, as you're not about to get the WDL marching through the jfjhrddddddyyddd valley :D


Also, even media footage and photos seems to show almost all of the trouble coming from the UAF, not the EDL who managed to remain peaceful.

They did. The 2 minutes silence was interrupted by the great red scum. I'm sure that alone has gathered a few more undecided to the general side of the EDL movement.


FqeDsskcSVQ

[Freomæg]

^ That's brilliant. Well done to the boys for keeping silent and not reacting whilst that stupid bitch interrupted the 2 minute silence with her ignorance.

[Beorn]

yB3qnHmfaLg

Scum. Absolute scum.

[Fortis in Arduis]

The English Defence League is a dangerous and obvious “honey trap” fake organisation and is completely proscribed for any members of the British National Party, said Nick Griffin MEP.

Speaking to BNP News after increased media speculation on the activities of the EDL, Mr Griffin said the speed with which that organisation had emerged and the fact that it was able to operate illegally with impunity revealed for all to see that it was merely a honey trap organisation designed by dark forces to cause trouble in Britain and for the BNP.

“Anyone involved in setting up a national political organisation knows that it takes a lot of money and years of hard work to create an infrastructure,” Mr Griffin said.

“The speed with which the EDL has been created shows that there is some dark hand at work — either the state or the far left — which has its own agenda at work. No one can convince us that it is possible to organise national demonstrations, printers, leaflets, posters, websites and media publicity on that scale if it truly was just a bunch of lads as is alleged,” Mr Griffin said.

“Their website shows them posing openly with masks — and the state does nothing. Can anybody imagine anyone else except state agents posing openly with masks and causing violence on the streets without being apprehended? It is so obvious what is going on that only the most stupid — or the most malicious, as is often the case with the controlled media — cannot see it.”

Mr Griffin added that he had been informed that the far left was now actively leafleting mosques in Manchester ahead of the EDL demonstration in that city on 10 October. “This added dimension shows that the far left are also interested in anarchy in the streets. All ordinary decent British people will have nothing do with any of these gangsters,” he said.

Last month the BNP declared the EDL a proscribed organisation. This means it will be a disciplinary offence for any party member to be involved with that group.

“The reasons for this proscription are that the English Defence League, through its activities, brings nationalist and patriotic politics into disrepute. If the English Defence League is not instigated by and its activities are not encouraged by the state (which it quite possibly is), then the track record of this organisation shows that it is run by people who will only bring discredit and probable arrest for anyone who attends its events,” said BNP national organiser Eddy Butler in a statement.

“The British National Party does not wish to be associated with the English Defence League in any way whatsoever.” Mr Butler’s circular ended with a request for any party official who becomes aware of any member who breaks this rule to report such incidents to elections@bnp.org.uk.

http://bnp.org.uk/2009/10/english-defence-league-“honey-trap”-proscribed-by-bnp/

[Osweo]

I think Griffin is too hard on the EDL membership, if perhaps the organisers indeed are what he suspects them to be. The BNP should be trying to siphon off their support, not damning them too much. Calling them 'grossly misguided' should be enough, but he should also make sure not to cause ill feeling amongst the better sort who've ended up in that organisation, no?

[Freomæg]

I think it's wise of the BNP and EDL to be mutually distant from one another - it deepens the pool of patriots in this country. But I do think the BNP are wrong in their certainty that the EDL are a state-funded honeytrap. I'm pretty wary of that sort of thing and I've not seen sufficient evidence to suggest this might be the case. I've been frequenting the EDL forum quite a lot and I think I'd have the evidence by now if there were something untoward about the EDL.