The dreaded EDL march in Bristol on 14th July 2012 became the cause of much laughter and the butt of many jokes from counter-demonstrators when it transpired that their turnout was far lower than expected. That said, their march was not without incident, and the EDL took several swipes at counter-demonstrators and police. Here follows my eyewitness account of events admist chaos, confusion, projectiles, kettles, cordons and the occasional violent outbreak.
Standing Stone's Blog has made a short video showing many of the incidents documented below:
Stepping off the train at Temple Meads, myself and a small band of Bath activists were greeted by around 20 police, whom we were able to walk past without hassle. Some Bristolian friends we had arranged to meet near Temple Meads had been moved on, and we arranged an alternative meeting point. En route to meeting with our Bristolian friends, we took a look at Castle Park, where the police were under the impression the counter-demo would be starting from. The surrounding streets were lined with riot vans, but the only people in the park itself were a couple of dog-walkers.
We arrived at the pub around 10:50 and waited for the rest of our friends to turn up. While waiting, we were informed that around 30 EDL were in the pub next door, including Mickey Bayliss, the organiser of the EDL march. Shortly afterwards they left the pub and walked past the window. News came in that there were around 70 EDL at Temple Meads and around 150 anti-fascists, and news came in from elsewhere about a racially-motivated attack by the EDL. Our friends arrived just as we had decided to head to the fountains for the large demo, only to learn that they were being kettled. After a long round-a-bout hike, we ended up near Redcliffe Church, where we saw the EDL march for the first time. A large group of anti-fascists had gathered, but the two groups were separated by a blockade of police vans and a line of cops. We soon decided to head off and see what else was happening.
EDL marching in Bristol, 14th July 2012
Police cordon near Redcliffe Church
Soon we encountered the union march being kettled by police, with mounted police on standby close by.
Kettle of trade union march
Mounted police
We were able to get around the kettle and headed for the riverside, where we were able view the EDL demo from afar, moving very slowly across the bridge. As they were scheduled to finish at Queen Square, we made our way onto Prince Street to attempt to get close. Here we encountered the Pride anti-fascist demonstrators, dressed largely in pink and all holding placards. One of them was handing out free veggie burgers - much needed after a long morning of walking.
One of the Anti-racist Pride marchers
A large contingent of anti-fascists then made their way up Prince Street, and were soon confronted by riot vans and police cordons. Riot vans soon lined the entrance to the bridge, and a police cordon made its way towards us. We rushed into a nearby pub to escape trouble, and when we came out we saw an EDL member being dragged into a riot van to the sound of cheers and clapping from the remaining anti-fascists.
We had a call saying that there was a plan to block the EDL's exit, so made our way around, only to be confronted by a huge police blockade. Another meeting point was arranged, and after a long detour we met up with a large group of anti-fascists on the riverside, and soon mobilised to finally confront the EDL. We took a route that led us up to a cliff overlooking an area of waste ground into which the EDL were starting to pour into. From here we could see the whole lot of them, and people laughed and joked at the feeble turnout of around 250 morons. Shouts of "Racist scum" and "Equality" erupted from the anti-fascists. The EDL then sang us a song. The monsters, it seemed, were merely a tone-deaf third-rate street-theatre outfit. They unveiled a Pride flag to much laughter.
The EDL march was this small.
And then the pelting began - stones flew over our heads and several people were hit. Several highly-aggressive EDL members somehow made their way up to us and were stopped by police. The police then came at us with batons and formed a line to move us on. Several people were pushed and shoved against their will. Dogs and mounted police showed up. We moved backwards slowly until we came to a bend, at which point we left, went up the road and turned a corner. A girl was clutching a towel to her head after having been hit by a stone thrown the EDL. Bastards. We made sure she was ok and got her friend to call for an ambulance and wait with her. A huge soundsystem on a trailer rounded the corner heading in the direction we had just come from. Back we went, dancing to our new soundtrack. We soon got turned away again, so headed back onto the roads in order to catch the EDL on their way to the train station. On the way we passed a pub with a group of EDL members sat outside. Recognising us, they threw several glasses, one just missing my leg, and began to give chase. I ran as fast as I could, and myself and a few others dived into a hedge. Several EDL ran past, one with a large rock, which he kept throwing at the pavement. They were spreading out looking for us. Police came up the other end of the road, so we took our chance and ran again. We joined a large group of anti-fascists at a high point overlooking the EDL march. The EDL were fighting and struggling with the police, who kept them contained. From here we were able to launch a mini counter-demonstration, but soon the police came with dogs and forced us to move on. We stopped again and continued the demonstration, and again the police and dogs moved us on. We headed out into the road and a police cordon began to form around us. They moved us back and split us, and we were moved back towards Temple Meads. From here we were prevented from being able to reach the end of the march, but the video below shows what happened next. Our only option was to backtrack, and so we headed to College Green to show solidarity with the Pride festival, and celebrate with a beer.
With less than 300 people, the EDL showed Bristol that they were an insignificant minority, and their violent and aggressive behaviour towards counter-demonstrators and the police throughout the day put rest to their claim that they demonstrate peacefully. The police did their best to divide us, but even though we were separated into lots of small groups, we were united in our cause. People came out in force to make it clear that fascists are not welcome in Bristol, and I would like to congratulate all of those thousands who marched and lined the streets in opposition to them. Well done people. Let's hope they never come back.
There were many incidents of violence and aggression by the police. If you witnessed or were a victim of one of these incidents, please contact NetPol http://networkforpolicemonitoring.org.uk/
This Saturday (14th July), the English Defence League will be marching in Bristol, and with it there will be counter-demonstrations by anti-fascists. "We Are Bristol" is a coalition of anti-fascist and activist groups, trade unions and other groups and individuals opposed to the EDL. See my previous blog post Anti-EDL Demo in Bristol this July for the statement from We Are Bristol. The following is the most up-to-date information that I have on the counter-demonstrations, and I will update this post regularly up until Friday night/Saturday morning as and when I get any further information.
Last updated: 14/7/12 at 08:47 All info on this post was correct to my knowledge at 8.47am. I will not be updating this post anymore as i am off to the march. For latest updates, I recommend following the live updates at Bristol Indymedia. Please note that this post is not an "official" source and the information contained within has been collated from my contacts and information posted elsewhere on the web.
The EDL have agreed a route with the police and full details can be found on the Avon and Somerset Constabulary website here.
There will be three separate counter-demonstrations. Currently two of these are planned to start at 11am, at Bristol Temple Meads and at the fountains opposite the Hippodrome. The third will involve a group of LGBTQI people marching as an Anti-Racist and Proud Block on We are: Proud Pride Parade. For this march, meet at Berkeley Square, just off Triangle at 10.30am (the march leaves at 11am)
Several media sources have today printed a story saying that the demonstration has been moved from the fountains to Castle Park. My sources from the Socialist Party and Bristol AFed (part of We Are Bristol), along with this Indymedia article claim that this is not currently the case - Castle Park was not agreed upon in any meeting and the DEMO IS STILL STARTING AT THE FOUNTAINS. At 6.16am on Friday, Bristol AFed @BristolAF tweeted "the official #wearebristol position is still meet 11am at the fountains, we'll update if this changes. #stopedl" I was informed at 14:50 today (Friday) by a member of Bristol AFed that this is still the case and that the Temple Meads demo is still happening. Bristol Anti-fascists tweeted the following around 16:00 today (Friday) "we've heard the police are having their own march against the EDL at
castlepark. Try not to get mixed up in it yourselves though!" - follow them at @stopedl. BADACA have also stated today that the demos at the fountains and Temple Meads will still be going ahead. The Bristol Indymedia front page was updated at 19:48 clarifying that the fountains is still the meeting point. An article was posted on Bristol Indymedia at 22:38 on Friday, apparently by We Are Bristol, advising people to stay clear of Castle Park. Despite all of this, Unite Against Fascism seem adamant that the demo has been moved to Castle Park, and that there will be trade union appointed stewards re-directing people from the fountains. In which case, the fountains still seem a sensible place to head for, at least initially.
We have no idea how many people will be attending the EDL march or the counter-demonstration. A Facebook event "UNITY Against the EDL + Racist Hatred in Bristol" has 1719 people confirmed as attending with 419 as maybe attending. Many more have not, and will not, advertise that they are attending on Facebook (including myself), and also it is likely that some will not show up. This article from the Bristol Evening Post gives a figure of approximately 500 EDL members and 1000 police (700 according to the BBC). From past experience with the BEP (owned by the Daily Mail), I wouldn't trust any figure that they publish. Whatever the figures are, this is going to be a big one.
Police will be out in force. Street clothing (as opposed to obvious activist clothing) is advised, i.e. no T-shirts with Anarchy or other protest symbols, V for Vendetta masks, scarfs over face etc. Also, I would stongly advise not carrying anything that could be classed as a weapon, or any illegal drugs - you may be stopped and searched. The last thing we want is unnecessary arrests on our side. The more you look like an ordinary member of the public, the less likely you are to be stopped by the police.
There will be legal observers on the day, according to Searchlight Magazine, however they can't be everywhere at once. If you see anyone being arrested, make notes of the incident, including the badge number and name of the officer, and a name and/or detailed description of the person being arrested, and notes of the incident itself. Use mobile phone/video cameras if you have one. It may just help to let an innocent person off (or convict someone who has committed a serious offence).
A "Bust Card" has been produced with advice on what to do if approached or arrested by the police
Bristol Indymedia will be covering events on their website during the day, and also on their Twitter feed. Please inform them if you have any new information, prior to or during the demo.
Advice for people wanting to film the demo is here.
Details of solicitors are here. It's a good idea to write a phone number on your arm, just in case you need it.
"Sikhs against the EDL" will be joining the counter-demonstration and will be starting at the fountains at 11am
If there is anything that I have left out or if you have any further information, please contact me either by leaving a comment below or e-mailing standingstonesblog@hotmail.co.uk
Standing Stone's Blog will report back following the demo with an eyewitness account from the ground.
The English Defence League (EDL) are planning a demonstration in Bristol on 14th July, according tothis source (note that the original date of 21st July has been changed to 14th in the most recent sources).
Two separate counter-demonstrations are being planned, with events set up on Facebook. The first has nearly 700 people confirmed as attending and has attracted a lot trolling from EDL supporters, while the second, advocating a peaceful demonstration, has nearly 100 people confirmed as attending.
The alliance, calling themselves "We Are Bristol" have put out the following statement (the original source is here):
The English Defence League (EDL) has announced its intention to hold a March and Rally here in Bristol on July 14th.
The EDL is a violent, racist group riddled with fascists, dedicated
to promoting hatred and intolerance in society. We agree that
Islamophobia - bigotry against Muslims - is as unacceptable as any
other form of racism. The EDL aims to create divisions in society by
using diversity as a cause for hatred rather than celebration. The EDL
is trying to create a street movement to terrorise ethnic minority
communities and attack socialist and Trade Union organisations.
They have staged many provocative demonstrations across the UK over
the past three years. Whenever the EDL march they bring disruption and
violence. We do not want that here in Bristol.
The route they are planning is through the city centre and coincides
with Bristol Pride – We are: Proud - , itself a celebration of
diversity. Pride is a celebration of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgender (LGBT) community. It is organised by the LGBT community for
the people of the South West. There is no place for the EDL here in
Bristol's multi-cultural, multi-racial and multi-faith community.
WE ARE BRISTOL is a broad-based network of local
community groups, political organisations and Trade Unionists and,
supported by Unite Against Fascism, will organise a counter
demonstration to keep the EDL out of our city. We urge all decent people
of this community - irrespective of colour, faith or beliefs to join us
in opposing the EDL. They want to create hatred and division - Let's
Unite to stop them.
Please add your name to the growing list of supporters.
WE ARE BRISTOL can offer speakers and publicity for your union branch, community group, church or mosque.
For more information or to send messages of support please contact southwestuaf@gmail.com
