by New Worker correspondent
LUNAR
House in Croydon is the Home Office’s place where immigrants, refugees and
asylum seekers are required by law to go to register if they want to be allowed
to remain in Britain. For this reason it has often been the target of racists
and fascists who want to demonstrate their hatred for all immigrants and to
lobby for a ban on immigration.
The South-East Alliance (SEA), a small group of assorted
racists and fascists – former members of the English Defence League, the
British National Party, the National Front and others – planned to hold a
protest rally last Saturday outside Lunar House against immigration.
The date they chose was just one week after a brutal racist
attack outside the Goat pub in Croydon by about 30 racists on a Kurdish-Iranian
boy, Reker Ahmed, who was left fighting for his life in hospital.
Unite Against Fascism (UAF) responded with a counter rally,
starting two hours before the planned SEA protest, drawing around 100 local
trade unionists, activists from DPAC (Disabled People Against Cuts), Wandsworth
Against Cuts and many other groups. The civil service union PCS was there in
strength – it represents many of the workers in Lunar House, who are fed up
with racist activities and intimidations on their doorstep.
There were trades council banners from Croydon and Bromley
and scores of placards saying that immigrants are welcome.
As two o’clock approached police herded these anti-fascists
into a specially prepared pen and started preparing another pen about 50 yards
away for the SEA supporters.
At two o’clock the SEA racists emerged from the nearby pub
where they had been assembling – about 25 of them altogether with an assortment
of flags.
At the same time hundreds of young anarchist anti-fascist
activists suddenly emerged to try to block their path.
Even greater numbers of police were deployed to try to
force a way through the young anti-fascists, which they did slowly and with
several arrests. As they were moved away, the young activists were moving in
every direction and thwarted all police attempts to push them into the pen with
the UAF anti-fascists.
Once the SEA people were in their pen with barriers and a
police cordon around them, the young anti-fascists surrounded the whole
enclave, many standing on a low wall that separated the SEA pen from the
pavement.
All the anti-fascists were chanting slogans very loudly.
Then the young anti-fascists deployed two large amplifiers next to the SEA pen
and blasted the SEA with music so that it was impossible for the SEA to make
their prepared speeches – or for their slogan shouting to be heard.
One of the tracks played by the anti-fascists was Stormzy’s
hit track Shut up.
After about an hour, with many complaints from the SEA to
the police, the police ordered the amplifiers to be turned off. But the slogan
shouting from the young anti-fascists kept the volume high as the fascist
speakers tried to make themselves heard.
Eventually the police marched the SEA racists away towards
East Croydon Railway Station and there were a few more scuffles with young
anti-fascists on the way.
After the fascists had gone the young anti-fascists held an
impromptu meeting sitting on the steps outside East Croydon Station.
Paul Sillett, UAF national campaigner, said: “This
protest is about rejecting the hate politics and poison from The South East
Alliance; people who have a track record of fascism and Islamophobia.
“We say these people have no place in society, and
refugees and asylum seekers should be welcome because the fascists are not.”
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