Category Archives: Far right racists

Göteborg: anti-mosque protestors outnumbered by counter-demonstrators

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Goteborg anti-mosque protestors
National Democrat protestors make up for lack of numbers with lots of flags

Hundreds of proponents and opponents held rallies in Sweden’s second-largest city Goteborg on Saturday to voice their opinions over the building of a mosque there.

Heavy police presence kept the two groups appart and a spokesman for the force said only one person had been arrested for violent behaviour toward an officer. It was the biggest police effort in the city since the EU Summit in 2001, when several thousand people gathered to protest against U.S. President George W. Bush, the EU and globalization.

Mosque opponents claim the construction will ruin a nearby park and that the area is not suitable, while supporters say the opposition is racist. The mosque – which will be the city’s second – is due to be completed in mid-June.

Associated Press, 21 May 2011

The anti-mosque demonstration involved the National Democrats and the Swedish Defence League – the sister organisation of the EDL, who sent a delegation. But the National Democrats reportedly refused to co-operate with the SDL who they regard as pro-Zionist.

The National Democrats, who split from the far-right Sweden Democrats in 2001 because they opposed the party toning down its racist rhetoric in the interests of electability, distributed a leaflet headed “Warning! Sweden is occupied by a foreign power!” which claimed Islam was responsible for suicide terror attacks, rape gangs, child marriages and robbing pensioners.

The counter-protest was organised by Göteborg Against Racism and the Left Party. About a hundred people joined the anti-mosque protest and they were met by 700 counter-demonstrators, according to police figures, though the organisers put the figure at over 2,000.

SDL and EDL

Cultural festival in Kent will oppose EDL racism

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Courier front pageRacist revelations in Sherwood have prompted concerned residents to plan an event promoting more integration.

Exposure by the Courier of anti-Muslim remarks on the Facebook pages of local English Defence League activist Adrian Ratcliffe and English Democrat candidate JoJo Stanley have led to calls for a festival of cultural diversity.

Ideas centred on a fete are being backed by social housing chiefs Town and Country, which said many residents had found content on the website both “racist and upsetting”.

A spokesman said: “Residents felt that it was not a true reflection of life on the estate, which in their experience was a diverse and welcoming place to live. They wanted to counter any negative impression and felt the best way to do this would be to focus on the many positive things which make it such a friendly and inclusive place to live.”

Plans to celebrate different races and cultures on the estate include proposals for a music and dance stage, along with marquees containing various attractions and diversity themes.

Inspiration has been gained from a recent Spirit of Kindness project in which more than 20 events celebrated all the good things that Sherwood residents did for each other.

It is hoped the initiative will help soothe tensions arising in the community following the exposure of Ratcliffe last month.

The 61-year-old, who lived in Greggswood Road and was a preacher at St Philip’s Church in Sherwood, had denied he was racist but claimed he would do “whatever necessary” to fight “militant” Islam in the UK.

Nasir Jamil, president of the West Kent Muslim Association, said it welcomed efforts to improve cultural relations. He said: “We always campaign for community cohesion. We have difficulty with negative propaganda all over the world and need these type of events.”

Anyone wishing to contribute ideas or help out is invited to talks at the Robin Hood pub on Thursday, May 26 from 6pm. For more information call Brendan McGowan on 01892 523464.

Kent & Essex Courier, 20 May 2011

Update:  Exposing… draws our attention to the fact that the EDL are threatening to attend both the organising meeting on Thursday and the festival itself.

Bulgarians lay flowers in solidarity with Sofia mosque

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Sofia mosque flowers

A number of Bulgarian citizens have come to the Banya Bashi mosque in downtown Sofia to lay flowers as a gesture of apology, ashamed of Friday’s incident in which the nationalist party Ataka assaulted praying Muslims.

The incident occurred as the far-right party led by its leader Volen Siderov rallied near the mosque to demand a ban of the use of loudspeakers but the rally quickly got out of hand.

The event entitled “A Flower for a Free Bulgaria” gathered 1,200 supporters on Facebook until Saturday afternoon, after it was announced Friday afternoon as a reaction to the brawl in downtown Sofia.

The organizers originally called for a gathering to lay flowers at the Banya Bashi mosque Saturday evening in order to demonstrate to the Muslims who were assaulted that there are “other people” in Bulgaria who condemn the acts of far-right extremism. However, many Bulgarian citizens have flocked to lay flowers during the entire day on Saturday, as well as Friday night.

Messages for tolerance, which is traditional for Bulgaria, prevail on the Facebook wall of the initiative, together with calls to find a solution to the problem with the loudspeakers of the Sofia mosque.

Novinite, 21 May 2011

Another small EDL protest in Shotton

Posted on by Bob Pitt

More than a hundred English Defence League protesters have marched through a Flintshire town to the site of a proposed new Islamic cultural centre.

The site at the Shotton Lane Social Club was burnt down in a suspicious fire in February. Flintshire Muslim Cultural Society was planning to turn the property into a multi-cultural centre. Police said their strategy ensured the protest passed off without incident.

Early reports had suggested between 200 and 300 people were taking part but police said it was just over 100. The march ended with speeches outside the Shotton Lane Social Club before the protesters dispersed.

BBC News, 21 May 2011

Update:  And over at the Casuals United blog you can find the EDL endorsing the arson attack on the social club.

Dutch socialist leader walks out of parliamentary debate in protest at Wilders’ anti-Muslim comment

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Dutch News reports that during a debate in parliament yesterday the Socialist Party leader Emile Roemer walked out of the chamber after Wilders said that the Labour Party had spent 30 years bringing “Islamic voting fodder” into the country. Volkskrant says that Roemer later challenged prime minister Mark Rutte, whose government relies on support from Wilders’ PVV, to dissociate himself from the comment. Rutter replied that it was a “very inappropriate term”.

Via Islam in Europe

EDL teams up with BNP to attack anti-racist meeting

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Barking broken windowThe racist thugs of the English Defence League teamed up with their Nazi pals in the British National Party to attack an anti-racist meeting in Barking on Thursday night.

They smashed the windows of Crown House on Linton Road, where the meeting was taking place. A woman NHS worker who was attending the meeting was injured in the attack. She had to receive hospital treatment.

The meeting went ahead despite the EDL’s attempts to storm it. It had been called by local councillors and trade unionists together with UAF to defend multiculturalism in Barking & Dagenham.

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Catalan far right capitalises on anti-Muslim sentiment

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Plataforma per CatalunyaIt’s a blunt campaign message – a video shows three attractive young women in miniskirts skipping with a rope in the Spanish city of Igualada, to the accompaniment of a traditional Catalan folk song.

Suddenly, the image changes to “Igualada 2015” and shows three women dressed in burkas skipping to the rhythm of an Arab song.

Plataforma per Catalunya is a far-right party created nine years ago by former supporters of General Francisco Franco in the north-eastern industrial province of Catalonia, and running in Sunday’s regional elections in Spain. Last year the party gained almost 3 per cent of the vote in the regional elections and now expects to increase its local vote five-fold, going from 17 to more than 100 council members across Catalonia and possibly winning control of some cities.

Plataforma per Catalunya is riding a growing wave of anti-immigration sentiment, where many blame foreigners – 12 per cent of the Spanish population – for rising crime and a lack of jobs, in a country with 20 per cent official unemployment.

“We didn’t have much money so I did this video to create an impact, but I never imagined the huge reaction it would provoke,” Roberto Hernando, the party’s number two candidate and director of the video, told The Scotsman yesterday. “We keep getting e-mails and letters from people across Spain begging us to expand nationally. With this crisis we shouldn’t allow more immigrants into the country, especially Muslims who want to impose their culture upon others.”

Scotsman, 19 May 2011

French mosque covered in racist and fascist graffiti

Posted on by Bob Pitt

El Hijra mosque

Le Progrès reports that the walls of the El-Hijra mosque in Champagnole were covered with swastikas and slogans such as “Death to Arabs” and “France for the French” on Saturday night. In thirty of existence the mosque had never had to face this kind of aggression or experienced any particular problems in connection with its activities. The association that manages the mosque and the mayor have both filed complaints.

Via Islam in Europe

Flintshire residents advised to avoid Deeside as English Defence League prepares for protest

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Police are alerting people to steer clear of Deeside this weekend as controversial right-wing group the English Defence League (EDL) stages a second protest against “militant Islam”. A march is to be held in Shotton from noon on Saturday, organised by EDL Deeside division member Graeme England.

He said: “We will be meeting at Shotton train station and will march from there to the site of the old Shotton Lane Social Club, where there will be some speeches. It will be an unofficial demo as the EDL leaders won’t be there, but we are expecting hundreds of members. It will be larger than last time we protested.”

About 100 EDL supporters marched through Shotton in January to voice their opposition to Flintshire Muslim Cultural Society’s plan to open an Islamic cultural centre at the derelict site of the town’s former social club, which was torched a couple of weeks later.

Mr England said: “We will also have the North West Infidels with us on the march. They are similar to the EDL in that we are fighting for the same cause – both our groups are against militant Islam. Our primary aim is to protest against a proposed mosque for Shotton. Burning the club down was a sign the community does not want it here.”

Flintshire Chronicle, 19 May 2011