Munki about Town

Oh dear, it's ages since I wrote anything longer than a Facebook paragraph or 140 Twit characters, so I thought I'd better remind myself that I do actually have a blog and post this burst of activity here.

Prompted by the plans for the EDL to march in Brighton again under their spurious "March for England" front this coming April 22nd, here is my email to local MPs (an adapted one for the Hove Tory, natch) and I'll also contact the licensing committee too about the Railway Bell just in case they decide to go there again.

Updated 16.2.12 with reply from Caroline Lucas - see bottom of post.



==============
Dear --

I am writing to you regarding the return to Brighton of the far-right "English Defence League" (EDL) under their banner of "March for England". They are currently planning to return to Brighton on 22nd April.

I wrote to you last year after their Easter demonstration and you kindly sent me back a very considered response. I attach a copy of my email from last year [SEE BELOW], so I won't reiterate those points, other than to stress that I still do not wish to see them banned, rather controlled and kept out of sight of Brighton & Hove's residents and visitors.

However, since I last contacted you, there have been a number of developments in the less than illustrious progress of the EDL, which I think makes action against them even more important.

Whilst the EDL portray their ideology as being opposed to Islamic extremism (which most would agree with, including, undoubtedly, the majority of Muslims), in reality their record shows they are an overtly racist organisation despite their protests to the contrary.

Here is just a handful of examples of their true face from the past year:
- a Plymouth member was arrested for publishing racially inflammatory material on YouTube. He had threatened to put on a suicide vest and blow up a mosque;
- Two EDL members were imprisoned for an arson attack on a mosque in Hanley, Stoke on Trent;
- the EDL were exposed for selling wristbands 'for the troops' while keeping all the money to fund their own activities;
- the EDL organised 'spit on a Muslim day' as a Facebook event;
- two women members attacked a Plymouth kebab shop's staff and are due to attend crown court charged with racially aggravated assault;
- 175 members were arrested on Remembrance Day for threatening to target the police with snipers and physically attack the Stock Exchange 'occupation' camp at St Paul's, as they already had at various other 'occupy' camps around the country;
- the EDL also had a run-in with the Royal British Legion, who were forced to cancel their 90th anniversary Poppy Appeal launch in Birmingham due to the presence of an EDL demo, despite requests to cancel it from the RBL.

But most seriously, Norwegian mass murderer Anders Behring Brievik was revealed to have been closely linked with the EDL. The EDL 'Jewish Division' (yes really!) said the murdered young people deserved it and were scum Many EDL members claimed that Muslims had launched the attack and used that to whip up anti-Muslim feeling. EDL leader Steven Yaxley-Lennon (who goes under the false name of Tommy Robinson) said that he 'understood why he [Breivik] did it'.

This is all just the tip of the iceberg, and just a few reasons why these people are not wanted in Brighton & Hove by people who appreciate the relative freedom we have here to live our lives as we wish without interference from people harbouring prejudices. Indeed, even David Cameron has described the EDL as 'sick'.

I'm sorry this email is rather long, but I think it's important to be aware of the threat these people present to a harmonious society. They are not a valid political force as the BNP once threatened to be, but their modus operandi has the power to destabilise communities by creating tensions and fostering prejudice.

Regards,
Melita Dennett
etc

========
And here's last year's one....

Dear

I’m contacting you in a personal capacity regarding the “March for England” which took place this Easter Sunday in Brighton.

I’m raising my concerns with you because I believe an event like this seriously harms Brighton’s image as a welcoming tourist destination and has a hugely detrimental economic impact on the city.

The March for England was billed by its Portsmouth-based organisers as a ‘family fun day’, and they claim not to be affiliated with any racist group, yet there are clear links between this organisation and the far-right “English Defence League” (EDL) and a lesser connection to the British National Party (BNP).

I was present on Sunday in a personal capacity and observed a flag clearly identifying “Essex Infidels”, who led the march through Brighton. This group is present at many EDL events and appear to have a friendly affiliation with that organisation. I have also seen a photo online of Sunday’s event showing a marcher with an EDL banner, although the organisers asked them not to display them publicly for fear of association with that group, and read a comment on the Argus’s website from a resident in Surrey Street who heard them chanting “EDL”.

Despite organisers’ claims to the contrary, monitoring their online activity on websites, YouTube and Facebook, there was clearly an undisguised presence of EDL activists (significantly, I’m pleased to say, very few from Brighton) on the march, who are very happy to come out into the open after the event.

Therefore I conclude that the march took place under false pretences, and only served to boost the morale of an organisation that started as a group of football hooligans and has developed a racist political ideology overtly hostile to Islam (but covertly prejudiced against many other minority groups), and have created violent disorder in many parts of the country.

I can only start to imagine the image that greeted visitors to Brighton station on Sunday morning. While I found the police presence a huge over-reaction, I would not criticise them for their response as I understand the organising groups of the counter-demonstration (of which I am not a member) had not met with them so the opposing campaigners presented an unknown quantity.

However, the heavy police presence, the kettling of the opposition protesters and the relative freedom of the “March for England” demonstrators to drink beer from 11am whilst chanting and haranguing passers-by outside the Railway Bell pub, then parading through town chanting and waving flags did not present a view of Brighton that many of us would wish to give a visitor.

The police presence, from Kent, Surrey and Hampshire as well as Sussex and the addition of a helicopter must have cost a significant amount of money to the town. I understand a planned Scouts parade for St George’s Day through town was cancelled as a result of the presence of these marchers.

I am concerned about the role played by the Railway Bell pub in facilitating the presence of these marches. It’s not the first time they’ve welcomed them to meet there, giving an opportunity to consume alcohol for an hour or two before setting off, and providing them with a welcoming home base after the march. I passed by the pub that evening at about 10pm and there were still crowds of marchers draped in flags outside bellowing at passers-by. If the pub’s licensee were to be discouraged from allowing them to meet there, this would hamper their ability to congregate (and drink) for an event like this, and may discourage them from returning.

On an associated note, credit must be given to the King and Queen pub which has been used in the past as a place for marchers to drink after the event, and who closed their doors for the duration this year, probably at some economic cost to themselves.

And passing by the Strada restaurant in New Road today, I was dismayed to see two large “BNP” graffiti sprayed on their wall, the appearance of which may just be unfortunate coincidental timing, but this again is surely not an image one of Brighton’s premier tourist streets would wish to give.

I would not for a moment wish for the council or police to ban the presence of these people, as they have a right to express their views, however unpleasant one might consider them. However, I would urge a change in tactics to discourage them from further visits to Brighton such as making it harder for them to congregate, only allowing a static protest rather than a march and rally, or encouraging them to march outside of central tourist areas (a rally in Preston Park would cause far less disruption).

Yours faithfully,

Melita Dennett

Hove

==================
UPDATE 27.1.12
I received a letter from Hove MP Mike Weatherley today, sounding like he's taking it a bit more seriously than last time, and says he'll talk to the police about an alternative option for them gathering, and that he takes "extremism seriously".

Update 16.2.12 - Reply from Caroline Lucas MP

Dear Melita,

Thank you for your message. I have been in touch with the police about concerns relating to EDL and have been assured that they are carefully monitored locally and that the police are very aware of some of the connections and links you highlight in your email.

I will contact both the city council and the police again with regards to the planned demonstration on 22nd April to ask what steps can be taken to control the EDL's presence in our city, whilst still allowing them to exercise their right to protest.

I will get back in touch with any updates and appreciate you bringing this to my attention.

Best wishes,
Caroline