It was brought to my attention yesterday that an English Defence League event was being advertised today to lay wreaths/flowers at the Cenotaph in Oxford. Oxford doesn’t have a cenotaph so I assumed it meant the war memorial, at the top of St. Giles, which is just within my ward. There was a picture on the facebook page which you can see here [Update 9 June I’ve cropped it so as not to advertise the EDL].
I added myself to the facebook event and posted this on the event’s wall: “RIP Lee. I hope this is a peaceful and fitting memorial to a young man so cruelly taken by some extremely dangerous and misguided young men. I know that many Oxford people of all races and all religions would strongly share that with me.” Nobody deleted it so I went along at 1pm. You’ll note that the picture has no mention of Woolwich or of any particular faiths or races.
I arrived to the war memorial just after 1pm to find a huge bunch of people, including some with Socialist Worker Party literature. Here they are:
I stood and watched this group jeering at the people who had presumably laid the flowers on the war memorial and they jeered at them as they walked away down St. Giles. [Update 4 June: I had an email today saying: “Hi tony my name is shane and i attened the demo on sat to pay my respects to drummer lee rigby and was discusted in how the uaf was acting i got accused of being in edl just because i was wearing a help for heroes tshirt .i walk off with a friend. N got jeeard by the uaf . Would they react the same at a repat?”. He gave me permission to add it here]
The protestors were climbing all over the war memorial, as you can see, and when they got up I was horrified to see that they had been sitting on the floral tributes to Lee Rigby that had been laid on the memorial. [Update 6 June: It transpires that the reason the protestors were climbing the memorial is because a local press photographer asked them to. As such that means it’s unfair to blame that action on those present]. The floral tributes were squashed and badly damaged [although I concede I didn’t see them before the protestors arrived so that could have been anyone] and indeed one young woman tried to walk away with half of the flowers. I have a picture of her but it’s probably better if I share it with the authorities than post it here. She eventually put the flowers back after a bit of an argument with me. Here they are.
Now I want to be very clear that I in no way support any sort of hate activities that are associated with any political group, including the EDL, but today I saw absolutely no sign of any EDL banners or clothing and no sign of any stereotypical EDL behaviour. What I saw was a loud and unruly bunch who were showing hate towards what seemed to me to be a peaceful and lawful act of remembrance for a young solider who had lost his life at the hands of two very badly misguided other young men. If I do see any hate activity from ANY group in Oxford I will challenge it rigorously but the only hate I saw today was from the protesters in the picture above.
Decimating a floral tribute and climbing all over a war memorial is to me a mark of sheer contempt and disrespect and I’m afraid will just fuel hate, not peace. I will happily support an act of memorial as ward councillor. I will absolutely NOT support even any hint of racism, Islamophobia or any other form of hate – be it from the EDL or any other group. Today I saw it from another group.
The way to beat hate is with hope, not with hate.
Tony, I have to say, what a joke your interpretation of events is!
UAF would not have turned up to an event which was simply in memorial of Lee Rigby, the reason they were there was because the event was organised by the EDL!
You claim that there was no EDL flags etc. but that does not take away from the fact that the occasion was organised by the EDL in an attempt to promote their organisation – exploiting the death of Lee Rigby.
If you would of read the leaflets that the antifascists were handing out you would see our reasoning. The family of Lee Rigby have expressed their wish that the EDL do not exploit his death, organisations such as Help for Heroes have also done so.
Loud and unruly! Ha! What a joke! If you think that is loud and unruly maybe you should talk to the people who have had their homes, mosques and shops attacked by the EDL, or those who have to witness drunkards giving Nazi salutes in their high street. The counter-demo was very quiet and good mannered. Several people said a few words at the end, including one young student who said that her grandfather and great uncle who died fighting fascism in WWII and the Spanish Civil War would find the EDL disgusting. Their fascist elements have been well documented.
Instead of joining an EDL wreath laying, maybe you could create your own, one which is not based on dividing the community and promoting islamophobia.
As far as the SWP mentions go, I’m not, never have been, nor probably ever will be a member. Neither were many of those in attendance. But if SWP members come along and want to peacefully counter-demo the EDL then so be it!
By the way, the name is not real, because I’m afraid members of organisations such as the EDL have a habit of tracking down their opponents and sending them hate mail or kicking their heads in.
Mr Brett, I am shocked and disgusted – you signed up to attend an EDL event? In the week where we’ve heard nationally that race hate crimes are up 10%, where people of various faiths and cultures have been physically attacked by the EDL for “appearing” Muslim and where the EDL has attacked and injured police officers. And where Lee Rigby’s family, his regiment and Hope for Heroes have all condemned the EDL exploiting a murder. Shame on you.
You signed up to attend an event which seeks to discriminate between members of the armed forces on the basis of their colour, organised by people who, on their webpage state “the streets of our cities are to be littered with the bodies of those butchered in the name of Allah “ and “We cannot afford to show Islamists any sign of weakness, we cannot allow them to roam free in our country” and “This is a war on Muslims. It may not always be easy to define ‘the enemy’, but whoever or whatever it is we are fighting, one thing is certain: you can’t escape it. Quite simply, we need to cut out the cancer that is Islam. This is a war in defence of our culture, our rights, our freedom and our country”. Really?
I was one of the anti-fascist protestors (I’m in your picture) and like Mr Dunkerley I am not, never have been and chances are never will be a member of the SWP. Your comments here are not only massively wide of the mark but out and out lies. I was stood next to the floral tributes. They weren’t sat on or stood on at all. The whole time I was there (and that was until there were only seven or eight people left) they were treated with the upmost respect and to claim otherwise is a disgusting lie. We don’t know whether they were left by the EDL, I assumed they were markers left by someone honouring a fallen relative or comrade. Men like my grandfathers or like the grandfather and great uncle of the speaker mentioned above or like the thousands of other soldiers – of different races, nationalities and cultures who have served and do serve in the British Army. The rather lacklustre looking flowers (I assumed they’d been there a few days, they certainly weren’t a “wreath”) were treated with respect. As was the War Memorial. Yes we stood and sat on the memorial, respectfully, to mark our defiance against those who would seek to try and divide our community with racist lies. I stand in defiance against those who would seek to exploit a senseless murder for political gain. And that includes you, Mr Brett, who have not only publically aligned yourself with a violent, racist organisation but also with denigrating and suppressing a truly, honestly community based resistance to that sort of organisation.
By the way, the name is not real (although it is factual), because I’ve already been a target for the EDL and don’t fancy being at the painful end of more EDL violence.
I signed up on Facebook so I could comment. Respectfully. You could learn from that. I was representing myself and stand by what I did. This was some EDL members respectfully remembering a fallen man. It was not an EDL rally. I will challenge people for how they behave, not who they are are what they are members of. I am very clear about where the bad behaviour came from today. Squashing and then trying to steal the flowers is what was shameful.
Wow, Mr Brett. Where was I rue? Where was I disrespectful? I stated what happened from someone close enough to see. I didn’t comment on your claims someone tried to steal the flowers – I didn’t see that incident so I only commented on what I did directly see from close enough to actually see something. I commented on what happened whilst we were sat on the memorial. People sit on that memorial all the time – during the St Giles Fair, waiting for friends, I’ve seen people drinking cans of lager sat on there – we were denying racists the right to make political capital against the wishes of Drummer Rigby’s family, his Registment and Hope for Heroes. How can you say it was not an EDL Rally – it was a rally called by the EDL – the picture you posted is emblazoned with EDL. The reason it wasn’t a “rally” was that, thankfully, there is little EDL support here in Oxford. I am not sure what more you need to show it was an EDL event – and look at the other EDL events this week and what the EDL stand for in general. Supporting the EDL is highly inappropriate for a City Councillor and counter to the Council’s own policies on anti-racism. I hope your party and your constituents hold you to account for this.
Is supporting EDL events Lib Dem policy now or is it just you’re own naivety? Either way I think you need to apologise for this nonsense rapidly before it becomes your downfall!
I have a feeling residents prefer their councilors to be truthful and not support fascist events. Where are the decimated flowers you refer to? Let’s see how the residents of Carfax feel about your flagrant sensationalism and casual support for fascist events.
The only sensationalism I saw was from the protestors, along with their total contempt for the memorial and flowers.
Hi Tony,
The counter event was called by Unite Against Fascism and supported by groups against racism and fascism but not subscribing to UAF.
Your report was inaccurate – all the literature was produced by UAF or one of the unaffilated groups – not SWP.
People stood peacefully on the pavement (otherwise the police present would have intervened). The groups assembled at the request of the Oxford Times for a photograph – very similar to the one you post.
It is not wrong to feel strongly opposed to fascism. You really can’t beat fascism with love.
Your comments are akin to your political colleague and Liberal MP at the time Evan Harris who complained that police had not been robust enough with the 1500 people who protested outside the Oxford Union in 2007 against the platform given to holocaust deniers and convicted criminals Nick Griffin and David Irving. Evan Harris too felt that sharing a platform with the fascists was acceptable.
The Bournemouth newspaper today reported uncritically that the EDL placed a wreath at their cenotaph, giving the fascists a credibility they do not deserve and we should not welcome. In Oxford the story if printed will be a one of opposition to the exploitation of Lee Rigby’s death by a fascist organisation.
As in 2007 Griffin and the BNP hoped the headline would be \triumpph for freedom of speech – Nick Grifffin speaks at the Oxford union\ – instead the headline of the Independant read – \Uprising against fascism\ exposing Griffin and the BNP for what they are.
Unlke some other areas the BNP and EDL remain cautious about coming on to our streets. A fact we should welcome and acredit to the anti-fascists who so determinedly oppose them.
Sadly your attacking of the anti-fascists can help no-one but the EDL.
Tony,
you are straight up wrong on this one:
In the previous comment you stated \It was not an EDL rally.\
How about you look at the image that you posted at the top of the page, it clearly states \English Defense League\! This was an event arranged by, and intended for EDL members.
\This was some EDL members respectfully remembering a fallen man\ – what you mean the ones who have likes for \Demo Riot Squad\ on their facebook pages?!
Get a grip, your argument is a mess, and your account is filled with inaccuracies.
Regards.
Mr Benn:
I’m not a socialist, and I will always stand against the EDL’s functions in the Oxford area. Or rather, sit, I should say, because I did sit down because I have a mobility problem. I had been protesting the bedroom tax (the one your party uses within the coalition government to victimise the poor and vulnerable) when I heard that the EDL were going to use the monument as a rallying point. I would walk across town twice over to preempt that vile recruitment tactic.
I suggest that you reexamine both your political affiliation and your choice of friends before accusing people of hate. In this matter of defending racists as well as in your party’s collusion in the attacks on this country’s most vulnerable people, you demonstrate a profound lack of empathy.
I am not defending racists. I am defending the rights of people to mourn the dead peacefully and respectfully. I will NEVER defend racism.
Shame you couldn’t join in in Oxford, here’s what you missed in London – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tjeAr5KttE
Fascist salutes and all. You think they wouldn’t do that in Oxford if people didn’t make it clear that we don’t want that happening in our town? I hope you’re just being naive about the EDL, and don’t realise quite what you’re condoning.
Isobel my post is about what happened in Oxford. Some Muslim extremists in London committed terrible atrocities on 7/7. That doesn’t mean I don’t want Muslims in Oxford. In Oxford we have great interfaith trust and dialogue and I’m very proud every year to attend the interfaith friendship walk. This year’s is in just under two weeks and I’ll be there. See http://www.oxcof.org.uk/?page_id=109
By generalising so grossly you are doing the very thing you are condemning.
You can’t compare Islam and the EDL – one is a religion and culture and the other is a right wing political group.
A lib dem turning up to a EDL march.
Your reasoning seems very misguided, the EDL heavily promote violence and even from a political viewpoint are at the different end of the spectrum to the lib dems.
From reading your argument it seems either ignorance or a belief that every mans action is for good.
This is from someone who doesn’t agree with the UAF, as they often make mountain out of a molehill.
Erm, it was not a march. Someone had laid some flowers on the war memorial to mark the death of a member of the armed forces. I don’t know who it was for sure as the place was totally swamped by UAF people. They were jeering at a person who eventually walked away. I don’t actually know if he was part of the EDL or not and I don’t actually know if he put the flowers there either.
Tony, a friend of mine got a close look at the flowers and said they were not fresh – they had been there at least a few days.
Another person I know works nearby and confirmed that the flowers had been there at least a week.
So it seems that the two EDL that did turn up didn’t bring any flowers after all. Does that fit with the flowers you saw?
The flowers themselves seem like a bit of a red herring anyway – the central point is right-wing bigots trying to make political capital out of a murder.
But since you seem so concerned about the fate of the flowers and what they represent to you I thought it would be worth mentioning.
Nationalists are always so keen to co-opt the memory of the dead, but who knows what those killed would say if they were still alive? What right has anyone to speak on their behalf? As one person at the counterdemo mentioned, many of those who fought fascism might be turning in their graves.
Tony you say \It was not an EDL rally\. The event you posted on was clearly an EDL event – it says so on the graphic, so it is dishonest of you to claim otherwise.
The EDL called 60 of these events across the UK. It was a targetted media stunt to boost their popularity. No-one else called for these events and the family disowned them as did his regiment who warned veterans not to get involved with \far right extremists like the EDL\.
The only flowers there were crumpled before protesters appeared. We had a scout who reported them and there state while we were at Carfax. They looked like they’d been around a long time. if the EDL brought them then they scimped as they were certainly not fresh.
I saw with my own eyes that the UAF folk were sitting on the flowers and a young woman tried to steal some of them, only putting them back when I asked her to do so and then only after some argument.
I was standing beside the flowers and multiple people were sitting in front of them (they were on the first tier of the memorial that we had been asked to sit on for the journalists to get their photograph). The flowers could not be seen from the street because of those sitting in front of them but I can see how you might mistakenly think they were sat upon.
I don’t know anything about someone taking them afterward but the majority of people had left before I did and they were still in place then.
AA number of individual present had lost relatives in the fight against totalitarianism and it was certainly not their wish to give any impression of disrespect.
As has been pointed out previously the EDLs actions were part of a country wide organised campaign and should be viewed as such. The fact that we dissuaded them from pulling their publicity stunt against the will of Drummer Rigby’s family and his Regiment should be seen as a victory for the right thinking people of Oxford. Let us hope the EDL rally tomorrow is similarly weak.
The flowers were back because I demanded the woman who stole them – red hair, big sunglasses – put them back. She did after an argument. Once the disgraceful rabble had left I could see very clearly that the flowers were very badly squashed and in a pile. I put them back up on the memorial.
Tony,
two things:
1) the war memorial is made of stone. Your complaint against anti fascists that they stood on it is absurd – there is nothing wrong with anti fascists standing on the steps of a stone memorial to those who gave their lives fighting fascism. There is something wrong with fascists expoiting the death of someone now, and of soldiers who fought fascism in the past, to bring people together for their cause.
2) your behaviour is at best mind blowingly naive. Of course the fascists were respectful when performing a stunt at a memorial to those who gave their lives fighting against fascism. But it was a stunt performed by fascists to recruit fascists. If, as individual citizens, they had chosen to lay a wreath, that would be one thing. But if they do it as the EDL, as you say they did, that’s directly against the wishes of the familiy of Lee Rigby, and it is for very clear political ends.
I suggest you apologise immediately for your bizarre comments.
1. Climbing on a memorial is disrespectful.
2. I didn’t see the flowers (they were not wreaths) being laid. There was no sign of anyone who looked even vaguely EDL-like (whatever that is). All I saw was a rabble jeering at a man who looked like he was upset.
1) well, you can think it’s disrespectful if you like, but if so, you have to admit at least that it’s perfectly normal – the Tirah war memorial, in Bonn Square, always has people sitting or standing on it. All across the country, it’s qite normal for people to sit on the step of the war memorial in their town square. I have never seen anyone complain about this.
2) The reason I think it was an EDL event is that you said at the top of your post that it was an EDL event… and the fact that the person didn’t look EDL-like? I don’t know what you mean by that.
Ah Tony, you can’t shake the devil’s hand and say you’re only kidding. Interpretation of events aside, you condemn a group for the action of one. You criticise anti fascism while signing up to a facist group. I think the proof was in your pudding. I was with that group, who were not in the least unruly. I did not get pictured as the war memorial itself has no wheelchair access. We had support from passers by, and conducted ourselves absolutely peacefully.
It seems to me you have arrived at the scene with a mindset for critical interpretation, and as the experimenter effect leads, discovered what you wanted to. Your mindset is revealed to be sympathetic with racism and facism. I wonder how your voters feel about your sympathies?
I hardly think ticking a box on a facebook event to say I’ll be there is the same as joining the EDL is it? I have not signed up to the group and never will – come on, let’s get a bit real here!
Can you explain at all how my mindset is sympathetic with racist and fascism? I certainly can’t and I don’t think you can either. Being present to ensure a peaceful event and challenge any bad behaviour is hardly fascism is it!
You’re right that I arrived with the potential of criticism in my mind. I had thought I might have to criticise the actions of some EDL members but no, I had to criticise the disgrace that was the behaviour of the UAF, culminating in my preventing the theft of flowers left as a memorial.
“Being present to ensure a peaceful event and challenge any bad behaviour is hardly fascism is it!”
Interesting to see how your story is changing a bit!
To understand that if there had not been an anti-fascist presence there would likely have been some nasty behaviour from the EDL you only need to glance at the page that created the event you signed up for. All of these are on the Oxford EDL page:
“Wavveyy Chris well to be honest it looks like we should start killing eachover before kill us and get away with all i think is bullshit coz i layed one finger on one of them then thats me sent to prison lool its unfair”
“Mark Waterman We need to demonstrate about immigration. It’s because of immigration that we have foreign scum in Britain trying to terrorise the British people.”
“Andrew Marlow Burn all the fuckin mosques.
27 May at 02:05 via mobile”
this one by the page admin – “The EDL the biggest street movement in the last 3years have been to many towns and city’s up and down the country demonstrating against the evils and barbaric cult of ISLAM trying to highlight the rape and grooming of underage WHITE girls, spreading there hatred bombing our underground . Killing innocent people. And the country has been sleeping well it’s sad that what has happened in London today has woke so many up. This is a big fight for us but united we can win. This page is growing by the hour pls share and stand together enough is enough NFSE”
As your photo shows the flowers were not in fact ‘decimated’, and as someone has already pointed out, when we assembled for the photo that a journalist asked us for, everyone was careful not to sit on them and they were left in the same state that they were when we arrived – slightly bent and crappy looking supermarket flowers.
We judge individuals and groups likely future actions by their past ones. In many other places round the country there were fascist salutes at war memorials. Why do you think that wouldn’t happen in Oxford, with the evidence of the comments they’ve already made all over facebook? One of the speakers at the Oxford counter assembly talked about her grandfather dying fighting fascism in WWII, mine did too – us defending our town’s war memorial from misuse for fascist propoganda is not disrespectful, it’s the best way to SHOW respect.
Councillor Brett-
The leader of the EDL – a group which you admit you officially decided to support – is former BNP member and Stephen Yaxley-Lennon who served 12 months’ imprisonment for assaulting an off-duty police officer.
I would have thought Liberal Democrat politicians should avoid contact with such far-right organisations. Particularly as the EDL have officially endorsed a rival political party for local elections, UKIP.
Or are the Lib Dems in Oxford considering an electoral pact with UKIP now?
If so – I think the Oxford electorate should be told. Don’t you?
Oh Tom – get real. I went along to something happening in my ward to support peace and hope. I don’t even know who the leader of the EDL is and am not interested in that. I am interested in people’s right to mourn peacefully in the ward that I represent on the City Council.
I am not supporting the EDL – either officially or unofficially and I never said I was. I believe in engaging with the enemy to start dialogue. I am not ashamed of that.
I’m not even going to answer the UKIP nonsense.
These people died to fight fascism not to support it.
One final thought – I disagree with removing flowers from a war memorial, or attempting to, and clearly almost everyone else present has the same feeling, or they wouldn’t have been there still when most people had left. But it’s a whole other level of wrong to ‘give the authorities’ a photograph of someone who you’re saying did try to do so. It might be distasteful, but do you really want the police to harass an activist over a distasteful action? The police stood around watching Oxford EDL doing Nazi salutes today, and much as I was disgusted by the salutes, I don’t think they should have been arrested for it, and I won’t be giving photos of the people who did that to the police.
Maybe you aren’t just being naive in your support of an EDL event, if that is the kind of state you want to live in. Makes a bit of a mockery of calling yourself a ‘liberal democrat’ though.
Folks – ask yourself this: Would a fascist or fascist supporter approve so many comments that disagreed with his point of view? Remember comments on this blog are moderated. I have removed one comment that has offensive content about a lobotomy but otherwise they are all intact. I welcome discussion on this issue but urge you all to consider that your point of view might not be the only correct one. I have made it crystal clear that I do not support any form of hate from any group and for any of you to say otherwise is just plain lies.
You say I should hate _all_ EDL people because _some_ of them engage in hateful activities. Would you say I should hate _all_ members of other groups (perhaps faiths or races) if _some_ of their members engaged in hateful activities? I don’t think so.
I wish you could see just how badly you are all missing the point here. You are doing exactly what the EDL wants you to do – fuelling hate with hate. Please don’t and please stop.
“You say I should hate _all_ EDL people because _some_ of them engage in hateful activities…”
No. I say you should oppose them as an _organisation_ because their _organisational aims_ are hateful.
Please stop making simplistic straw man arguments. It’s possible to perceive people as individual humans while still understand that their collective aims are horrendous!
To fail to grasp the EDL’s aims as an organisation, and to ignore their history of racist violence – somehow imagining that when they lay flowers they only have respectful intentions – is mindboggingly naive.
No one asked you to hate anyone, the issue is that someone with a great deal of local clout is legitimising a very unpleasant group. And criticizing those who peacefully stand up to a group that is promoting violence and sieg heiling around the country, including this very branch of it, today in abingdon. You’re not on the right side of this one, however much you try and spin it to make it sound like you’re the one preaching tolerance.
“You say I should hate _all_ EDL people because _some_ of them engage in hateful activities” – Wrong interpretation (I guess deliberate).
One shouldn’t hate EDL people; one should pity them.
But one should fight the organisation, and stand up against every single event organised by the organisation, even if it is disguised as a peaceful and honorable one. The reason is that the goals of the organisation are utterly condemnable, and every action the organisation takes fits in trying to achieve these goals. Don’t be naive.
And yes, unfortunately sometimes that involved standing up against individual persons. Not because you want to fight those persons, but because you want to fight the organisation which they so misguidedly support.
Councillor Brett, I am astonished to be called part of a a \disgraceful rabble\ for peacefully protesting against fascists – who organised the very event you were keen to put your name to and attend. There is much more I could say but it has already been said. I am proud to stand with my fellow citizens of Oxford to defend peace, multi-culturalism and tolerance. What a shame you take a different view. I think you should issue an apology and if the position you have taken represents your Party then they should be ashamed.
“You say I should hate _all_ EDL people because _some_ of them engage in hateful activities. Would you say I should hate _all_ members of other groups (perhaps faiths or races) if _some_ of their members engaged in hateful activities? I don’t think so.”
This comparison is WAY off the mark, and I think shows where your original misguided plan to support the EDL event comes from. “EDL people” are NOT analogous to a faith or race group – the EDL is a political far-right organisation, with political aims which members must agree with. That’s why people opposed the wreath-laying – because it was an attempt by a fascist movement to gain political capital out of a tragic murder. It’s not about “hating EDL people”, it’s about opposing the fascist agenda of the EDL.
I have to ask you : when you “liked” the event on the EDL facebook page, did you not see that that was essentially a thumbs-up for a fascist group? Do you not see why people are incredulous you should attend such an event?
No – it was a not thumbs up for a racist group and I made that extremely clear. It was a thumbs up for a mark of decent respect for a fallen member of the armed forces.
Whatever your intention, it was a thumbs up for a racist group trying to gain legitimacy using a tragic death. As I say below, I would suggest that as Deputy Lord Mayor you refrain from commenting on or linking yourself to groups that you profess to know little about.
Tony, I can appreciate the sentiment of your actions but the purpose of EDL, as I’m sure you are well aware of, is anti-muslim. Their intimate connection with neo-nazism is well documented. Your role as deputy Lord Mayor of Oxford and as a ward councillor makes it incredibly inappropriate for you to attend any event organised by such a group. Similarly it would be inappropriate for you to attend any event, however innocent, organised by Ku Klux Klan, Al-Qaeda or IRA. It doesn’t matter if the members “engage in hateful activities” or don’t conform to your expectations. As a government official you cannot engage with groups that are defined by their hatred. And you know that. So if you feel the need to chastise anyone for overstepping the mark, you need only look in the mirror.
Lib Dem is a party of opportunists and Gladstone must be rolling in his grave seeing the disrepute it has brought on itself. Come the next general election and it will be history.
Come on guys… I get that we’re talking about politics, so we have to be angry. It is clear that the guy isn’t racist and doesn’t support fascism, or fascists, or the EDL. You really need to twist his words to create drama that isn’t there?
-Obviously-, if it comes down to a choice between the EDL and the SWP, we’d all choose the SWP unless we are hateful racists who want to see people’s lives destroyed. But when the EDL aren’t in the picture, people in general are quick to criticize the SWP, which is far from perfect. We are able to choose neither group. That’s all he’s doing…
Yes, Tony Brett isn’t an EDL supporter in the usual sense – but he did choose to attend an EDL-organised event, which as a councillor himself was bound to send a message of implied support. In this case, the message seems to be “The EDL are OK by me if they’re doing something I don’t disapprove of”.
I disagree with Tony Brett in that I DO disapprove of the EDL trying to make political capital out of a hideous tragedy, but let’s leave that aside for a moment.
It’s quite simple : if a fascist group does something you don’t disapprove of, they’re still a fascist group, and should be opposed. An analogy….the BNP are in favour of organic farming. So am I; but if the BNP held a demo to support organic farming, I wouldn’t touch their political opportunism with a bargepole, because they’re the BNP. What would you do Mr. Brett?
Saw this blog post through an petition calling for your resignation. I wont sign it because I believe your intentions were sincere.However, I think through your attendance and your blog post you have created a false sense of this problem and simplified it to a foot ball match where you’re scoring the two sides.
I struggle with many anti-fascist groups because many members of such groups can be far too eager to react with violence. However that was clearly not the case here. I used a war memorial the other day as part of a game of tig with a 4 year old and received happy, not disapproving, looks from passers-by so I don’t believe you can define that action as disrespectful. The actions of these individuals, or by the reports of others, perhaps only of one person who, yes, disrespectfully, may have tried to take some flowers, are not indicative of the organisation as a whole or of their intention. The problem people have is that the EDL are entirely defined by their support for violence and intollerance. To compare a disregard for members of the EDL to the EDL’s own disregard for Muslims is flawed – Islam is, in many respects better, and certainly no worse than Christianity or the majority of religions and does not preach hate as the EDL do. I can understand why would might think it was sensible to attend this memorial to try and encourage respect from the EDL or to show your own respect for a dead soldier but in doing so and you validate the EDL who, it appears, were not supported in their actions by the soldiers family.
To try and spread peace and hope is one thing but, to look to one of the greatest at that game, Ang San Suu Kyi has often refused to participate in actions with people she disagrees with, rather than participate with and legitimise their actions.
You are using the actions of individuals as a shield for your own, I would say, misguided actions. Respond to people’s anger at your decision to participate in an EDL organised event, rather than deflecting or venting your own anger about a group who may not have behaved entirely appropriately but were standing against a wave of ignorance and violence that has been spread through our country, not just by the EDL but by bias media portrayal. Be bold and say that, yes, maybe you misjudged the situation. Your intentions were sincere but that you can understand people’s anger.
Furthermore, I think you should appologise for comparing the EDL to ‘religious or ethnic groups’. Compare them to the Taliban or the KKK or the Nazis rather than large and loose collections of people whose personal beliefs are extremely divergent and rarely potent. It is important not to make such sweeping comparisons because all Muslims and many other groups in Britain (and across the world) face the oppression of misguided and often unintentional fear mongering such as your own.
Mr Brett,
The problem is you are not just a local councillor but also currently the Deputy Lord Mayor and as such you represent our diverse and multi-cultural city. It is simply not acceptable for you to ‘join’ an event on Facebook organised by the EDL. Whether you intended it or not, your ‘joining’ of this event lends the EDL legitimacy by virtue of your position as Deputy Lord Mayor of Oxford. Further, I do not expect a high profile representative of my city to be defending the EDL, however indirectly, not least on their official blog. You neglect to mention that the EDL is a demonstrably racist organisation and the legitimacy which your comments above have lent them has already been noted on a number of EDL facebook groups. I also have no great love for the SWP but this simply isn’t an appropriate arena for scoring cheap political shots. I find it hard to believe you are unaware of the true nature of the EDL (and even who leads it!) after the past 2 weeks and would respectfully suggest that, if so, you refrain from committing on or linking yourself to groups that you know nothing about. I am afraid I think your actions wholly inappropriate as Deputy Lord Mayor and shall be raising it with my local councillor.
Further to my previous post – I agree with Daniel that your resignation is not needed but a prominent apology and clarification certainly is.
Tony Brett –
This blog post is a calculated insult and provocation to me and all anti-racist campaigners across the UK.
This Sunday I was out in Lancaster with around 40 or 50 other anti-racist campaigners. Why? Because the fascist EDL had organised an event in our city to opportunistically exploit the death of Lee Rigby. The EDL has time and time again proven itself to be racist, islamophobic, sexist, homophobic, anti-worker, anti-left – and dangerously violent. Unlike you, we were not taken in by the fascists’ rhetoric; we were under no illusions as to the type of thugs we were dealing with. Nor were the police who attended.
Within minutes of the EDL descending on Lancaster there had been an attempted assault by EDL supporters on anti-fascists monitoring them. Despite this, we bravely stood our ground – young and old, able and disabled alike. We refused to let these nazi-sympathisers and holocaust-deniers desecrate the memorial with their fascist and racist materials, although we did allow a few to enter sans iconography, to lay flowers on the memorial. We were not their to block peaceful remembrace but to defend the living and the dead from the fascism that wishes to walk our streets once again.
Unfortunately, none of the courage, maturity and political intelligence of my fellow protesters is shared by you. In light of your sympathy towards the EDL and your gross slurs upon anti-racist and anti-fascist activists, which privilege a few petals over the harmony of a community, I urge you to resign your post immediately.
You may not recognise my accusations. But, in the dangerously charged moment in which we live, this post by you is a green light to racism and an attack from the so-called ‘mainstream’ on those who dare to oppose it. You should be ashamed, and you must resign.
Chris Witter
Lancaster, UK
Sir,
Still fail to understand how an EDL-organised event could ever have been considered (in your words) a ‘fitting memorial’ to this young man?
The attempts by the far-right to exploit a ghastly tragedy for divisive political ends have sickened and disgusted most of us – including, by all accounts, Rigby’s family.
If you had wanted to do something positive & constructive you could have lain a wreath at the memorial on any other day, at any other time, perhaps with your fellow Councillors? You could have organised a book of condolence or a service of remembrance?
Instead you chose to align yourself with a ‘tribute’ organised by members of a local hate group (to whom you are now giving further publicity)? Why?
Emma I have clearly said that I went along ready to challenge and bad behaviour by the EDL. I couldn’t actually discern any EDL presence at all other than that some flowers (not wreaths) had been put on the memorial. I assume the UAF people knew that the man they were jeering at was part of EDL. It wasn’t obvious to me and he just looked intimidated and bemused. I was shocked that the bad behaviour I saw was actually from the UAF.
I am strongly and firmly opposed to any and all forms of fascism (and any other form of hate) but I am also strongly opposed to the sort of unruly and disrespectful protest I saw in Oxford on Saturday. Stealing the flowers was just a sign of the utter contempt in which some UAF members clearly hold the basic rights of others to mourn the dead, WHATEVER their motivations. I am stunned at how so many here are so badly missing the point I am making.
Why was a Lib Dem attending an EDL rally in the first place? And yes it was an EDL rally, last weekend the EDL were holding rallies up and down the country to try and cynically use the death of Lee Rigby to boost their failing organisation. The demonstration you attended was organised and set up by the EDL in Oxfordshire under direct instruction from the EDL’s national leadership.
Are there any other EDL supporters in the Lib Dems? Is supporting the EDL an official policy of the Liberal Democrats today? Is attending EDL demonstrations condoned by the leadership your party, even after the family of Lee Rigby put out a letter urging people not to demonstrate you decided to ignore their wishes and go join in with the EDL instead? I think this needs to be followed up.
Ned – it was not an EDL rally. It was nowhere advertised as a rally. The only rallying going on, complete with megaphone, was by the UAF.
The point is Councillor Brett is that you are a representative of the people of Oxford as the Deputy Lord Mayor. This is a peaceful multi-ethnic city which you failed to represent. You should have taken a strong stand against a racist and fascist organisation trying to exploit a tragic murder to fuel racial hatred in our community.
Instead you chose to attack the student groups, feminists, BME and trade union groups trying to prevent a fascist organisation capitalising on a tragic murder.
The EDL were not engaged in anything respectful – exactly the opposite – the EDL disprespected the wishes of Lee Rigby’s family and his Regiment who asked that no group try and exploit his death to promote anger and revenge. Their campaign disrespected the memory of those who died fighting fascism and are rememebred at the memorial.
We acted correctly in exposing their actions.
In Abingdon on Sunday the true face of the EDL was shown with threats of violence agianst anti-racists. They shouted homophobic abuse without provokation.
The anti-fascists present who stood their ground and refused to be intimidated off the street to prevent the EDL gaining uncritical media coverage of their “respectful action” were the same ones you traduced and faslely represented in the press. Their courage is worthy of support and respect.
Your actions do not make you a fascist supporter or a racist – however it does make you unfit for office as you appear incapable of understanding the issue or providing a clear lead when our multi-ethnic commmunity is under threat from a fascist organisation.
Contrast this with the actions of the Lord mayor in 2007 who lead a public meeting of 250 in Oxford Town Hall in a chant of “No platform for fascists” and supported the demonstration of 1500 people against two holocaust deniers (Nick griffin and David Irving) speaking at the Oxford union.
http://www.oxforduaf.org.uk.
(Ok for some reason my original post didn’t get published, I suspect something went wrong technically so apologies if this is a double post)
Mr Brett,
First may I say that, like most people here I expect, I believe you have been breathtakingly naive rather than deliberately offensive. However, the point is that you are not just a local councillor but also currently the Deputy Lord Mayor and as such you represent our diverse and multi-cultural city. I simply do not think it is acceptable for you to ‘join’ an event on Facebook organised by the EDL, an organisation that is demonstrably racist. Whether you intended it or not, your ‘joining’ of this event lends the EDL legitimacy by virtue of your position, a legitimacy reinforced by your comments above which have already been circulated on a number of EDL groups on Facebook. You suggest that you don’t know much about the EDL, and if so then may I respectfully suggest that you, as Deputy Lord Mayor, avoid commenting on or indirectly supporting them in any way as it is grossly irresponsible, particularly at the present time. Like Daniel I do not call for your resignation but I do call for an prominent apology and clarification. If you cannot see why your actions were misguided then I would submit that you are not suitable to be Deputy Lord Mayor of our diverse city.
This is going to be the last comment on this post because I think it’s going round in circles now. I completely and wholeheartedly agree with this response: http://t.co/zuVN4TUBrF It’s from Mohamed El-Gomati, Professor of electronics at York University, and elder at York mosque. It ends: “to all those who want to characterise Muslims as this, or all EDL members as that, I say: sit down with a cup of tea and don’t shout at each other. Listen. And hear.” Please read the whole article. I quoted the York mosque example to some UAF members at their demo on Saturday.