COMMUNITY
groups and anti-fascists in London’s East End last week called on their local
police chief to stop a planned march by the Islamophobic English Defence League
through Tower Hamlets – an area with a large Muslim community.
The
community leaders and local residents sent an open letter to Dave Stringer,
Borough Commander, Tower Hamlets:
Dear
Mr Stringer,
At
a meeting with Mayor Lutfur Rahman on Tuesday 20th August, members of the many
diverse organisations represented by United East End were informed that the
police are proposing three options for how the EDL's threat to come to Tower
Hamlets on 7th September will be handled:
1. The EDL will be allowed to march through
the borough.
2. The EDL will be told they cannot come to
the borough and must hold their demonstration in central London (probably
Whitehall).
3. The EDL will be allowed to hold a 'static
demonstration' in the borough.
We
wish to say to you, in the strongest possible terms, that only option 2 will be
acceptable to the vast majority of people in Tower Hamlets. We believe that the
EDL must be kept out of our borough, for the following reasons:
a. The EDL is a racist, bigoted, violent
organisation. Their presence anywhere is an affront, but their intention to
come to Tower Hamlets is a direct provocation and incitement. As borough
Commander, you will appreciate the diversity of our multi-cultural community.
The very qualities we value are the ones the EDL hates. The Metropolitan Police has joined us in
saying that we are 'One Tower Hamlets', but the EDL seeks to divide us.
Allowing the EDL to enter our borough, whether for a march or static
demonstration, can only undermine the years of progress towards mutual
tolerance and respect that we have all worked for.
b. The EDL is targeting Tower Hamlets
because we have one of the biggest Muslim populations in the UK. The EDL has an explicitly Islamophobic
agenda. We reject the demonisation of
Islam and the whole community will unite to peacefully defend Muslim places of
worship and our friends and neighbours who are Muslims. However, allowing the EDL into the borough
brings the inevitable risk that some will act with violence to oppose
them. We believe the people of Tower
Hamlets are entitled to go about their peaceful lives without fear on 7th
September and every other day of the year.
c. We think it is very important to
recognise that the dangers posed by the EDL have changed significantly,
particularly in the aftermath of the murder of Lee Rigby. United East End has joined others in condemning
the brutal killing of Mr Rigby, but we are also aware that the EDL and other
far-right elements have attempted to exploit this situation to their own
divisive ends. Numerous attacks have
taken place on mosques since 22nd May that have raised anger and fear. Under
these circumstances, the presence of the EDL in a borough with over 30 mosques
represents a clear threat to public safety.
d. Allowing the EDL into Tower Hamlets
will entail a significant police operation, as it did in 2010 and 2011. We believe that public money would be better
spent on local community projects than policing the EDL.
In
contrast to the EDL, UEE is a peaceful organisation comprised of groups and
individuals who live in the East End, of all faiths and none.
As
in previous years, we plan to celebrate our community’s diversity on 7th
September. However, we are concerned
that allowing the EDL into Tower Hamlets will result in serious disorder and
ongoing disruption to our community.
The immediacy of this threat was illustrated
in Hull on 17th August when a peaceful demonstrator was attacked by the EDL,
but this is just one of a litany of incidents when the EDL has shown that it is
not, as it claims to be, a peaceful and legitimate political organisation.
We are all committed to the principle that
Tower Hamlets is “No Place for Hate”. Only option 2 can ensure that this
remains true. We request that you pass
on our comments to Scotland Yard and the Home Secretary as a matter of urgency.
Thank
you for your assistance in this matter.
Yours
sincerely
Glyn
Robbins (Convener, United East End)
Rev’d
Alan Green (St John’s Bethnal Green and Chair of Tower Hamlets
Inter-Faith
Forum)
Jack
Gilbert (Co-Chair, Rainbow Hamlets LGBT Group)
Rebecca
Shaw (Co-Chair, Rainbow Hamlets LGBT Group)
Max
Levitas (Veteran anti-fascist campaigner, Battle of Cable Street 1936)
Sabbi
Dhalu (Joint National Secretary, Unite Against Fascism)
Abdullah
Falliq (Islamic Forum of Europe)
Abdi
Hassan (Ocean Somali Community Association)
Sister
Christine Frost fcJ (Neighbours in Poplar)
Al-Huda
Mosque
Leon
Silver (East London Central Synagogue)
Dr
Jackie Turner (Local GP and Chair of Tower Hamlets BMA, p/c)
Brian
Nicholson (London Dockers Club)
Kerie
Anne (Assistant Branch Secretary, Tower Hamlets UNISON)
Amanda
Bentham (East London Teachers Association – NUT)
Gerry
Gable (/Searchlight/ and member of Metropolitan Police Independent
Advisory
Group)
Ben
Owusu (Chair, Metropolitan Police Independent Advisory Group)
John
Azah OBE (Member of Metropolitan Police Independent Advisory Group)
Christine
Yau (Member of Metropolitan Police Independent Advisory Group)
Roger
Graef (Member of Metropolitan Police Independent Advisory Group)
Rabi
Laay (Member of Metropolitan Police Independent Advisory Group)
Len
Aldis (Chair, Tower Hamlets CND)
Phil
Maxwell (Film maker, ‘From Cable Street to Brick Lane’)
Hazuan
Hashim (Film maker, ‘From Cable Street to Brick Lane’)
Stephen
Beckett (Secretary, Tower Hamlets Co-operative Party)
Dr
Kambiz Boomla (Tower Hamlets GP)
Dr
Anna Livingstone (Tower Hamlets GP)
David
Rosenberg (Jewish Socialist Group)
David
Hoffman (Tower Hamlets resident, photojournalist, NUJ)
Guy
Harper (Tower Hamlets Left Unity)
Peter
Ashan (Waltham Forest UNISON p/c)
Sasha
Simic (USDAW Shop Steward p/c)
Lorna
Solomon (Homerton Hospital UNISON p/c)
Hsiao-Hung
Pai (NUJ)
Dean
Harris (We Are Waltham Forest)
Wendy
Wood (We Are Waltham Forest)
Tash
Munoz (We Are Waltham Forest)
Liz
Ray (We Are Waltham Forest).
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