EDL Update: Collapse in Wales, Opposed in Leeds

south west | protests | news report Sunday November 01, 2009 19:02 by antiBNP

After supposedly being refused permission of march in Bristol, the closest to the West country the far-right group came was EDL's Welsh branch, the WDL, who made plans for marches in Swasea and Newport. Meanwhile the EDL planned a march in Leeds. Here is an update.

EDL supporters get down 'defending England' by doing Nazi salutes

First off, the EDL announced a demo is Swansea on the 17th October. About 60 people turned up to support the WDL - far less than they had expected. Opposing them were 200 anti-fascist protesters. The police arrested one WDL supporter for racially aggravated public order offence and the usual crowd of skinheads doing Nazi salutes appeared in support of the Swansea demo. The EDL claim they are not a racist organisation. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/south_west/831...3.stm

Following this disterous turn-out, the WDL moved to cancel the Newport demo on the 24th. Anti-fascist protesters gathered anyway, should the WDL have tried to pull a fast one. Around 600 turned up to oppose the WDL; "WALES IS now an E/WDL-free zone" declared Socialist Party member and Unite convenor Rob Williams as over 600 people defied the attempt of the English/Welsh Defence League to spread their racist poison in Newport. After being marched out of Swansea the previous week the EDL did not even dare show their faces in Newport last Saturday as the city's John Frost Square filled up with anti-racist protesters. http://www.socialistparty.org.uk/articles/8291

Then on the 31st saw a larger demo in Leeds. Estimates of around 900 are put at the EDL figure and around 1500 anti-fascist protesters. And so began the next few hours of the police battling to keep the two groups apart. Whilst the EDL seemed quite happy to drink lager and shout slurred, racist chants, many attempts were made by the anarchist antifascists to break out of the Library pen in numbers, only to be pushed back by both the police and the UAF stewards who were shouting over the megaphone "We have to stay and defend the library". Who they were intending to defend it from is anybody's guess as the fascists were quite happily swaying down the road. Occasionally, a small group of fascists would attempt to make their way to the library, only to be chased down by Antifa activists and spirited away back to their pen by the police to chants of "Police protect the fascists". http://northern-indymedia.org/articles/288

It would seem in Leeds that the EDL were far more dispersed and in places given freedom to roam around starting trouble while the Anti-fascist protesters were penned in: http://www.northern-indymedia.org/action_timelines/3