Edinburgh Anarchists

EDL reveal their Scots roots by pissing on English Heritage

We owe the English Scottish Defence League an apology. We thought that they were just a bunch of racist football hooligans who wanted to see some rain and hills, so transplanted their wannabe-race war to Glasgow last month.

We thought the fact that their SDL hoodies have the English St Georges Cross on them was proof that they had no links here.

However. The photo here proves us wrong. It shows “English” patriots pissing against the historic and very English Nottingham Castle.

Clearly there’s only one explanation. The English Defence League are all secretly Scottish. Having got a taste for bamming up English cops in Manchester last year, a paramilitary branch of the Tartan Army set up the EDL using “dirty war” tactics learned in Northern Ireland.

Now their secret is out, claims that the Scottish Defence League are an attempt to franchise dumbfuck English Nationalism can be shown up for what they are.

Apparently this is public: the English Scottish Defence League are coming to Edinburgh (they say) on February 20th.

So, there will be counter-protest(s). Discussion at the Meadows Bar on Buccleuch St., tomorrow (Weds 9th) @ 7PM.

A reader has sent us this first hand report of the protests against the SDL’s march in Glasgow.

The protests in Glasgow against the Scottish Defence League can broadly be called a success. Anti-fascists were certainly successful in preventing the group from assembling in any significant way on the street, and the number of people who came out to fight the fascists was extremely impressive. However, as was the case in Leeds where a comrade was handed over to the police by a steward, the actions of the self-appointed leaders of the anti-racist movement – Unite Against Fascism (UAF) – were disgraceful.

Anti-fascists met outside the St. Enoch Street subway station in significant numbers with the intention of going to Cambridge street, where the majority of the SDL were drinking in a bar behind a sizeable police line. We set off through the streets towards their hideout as a loose group, but soon the UAF banner was at the front of the march and Weyman Bennett was stopping for photo opportunities, and commandeering a megaphone to tell the group to slow down to accommodate the cops! Despite this, those who were interested in actually opposing the SDL on the streets walked on towards the bar.

Having got to Cambridge street, Bennett and his supporters once again took control of the megaphone and began telling protesters to head to the ‘Scotland United’ demonstration at Glasgow Green! This created a split in the group leaving only 50 behind to oppose the SDL where they were, with the majority following the UAF banner away from any confrontation and towards the official protest. This not only left those who stayed in danger, but also allowed the SDL briefly outside the bar.

The actions of the UAF group on Saturday were despicable, but not unexpected. Their history of state collusion against radical anti-fascists and collaboration with religious groups, political parties and the forces of the state is no secret. It is becoming increasingly clear that they cannot be trusted as a genuine anti-fascist group, and are not an effective means of combating fascism in Britain.