Fascists attack union leader at London demo

By New Worker correspondent

Fascist thugs launched a surprise attack on a group of railway workers outside a pub following a racist demonstration in central London last weekend. Although they were mob-handed the attackers got back twice what they gave, despite the advantage of surprise and numbers. But Steve Hedley, the deputy leader of the RMT transport union, suffered a head injury when he was glassed during the fighting.

This unprovoked attack by supporters of jailed English Defence League (EDL) leader Tommy Robinson and US president Donald Trump came at the end of a day of violence which, amongst other things, saw the blockading of a London bus by EDL supporters because the driver was a Muslim woman wearing a headscarf.

The EDL had called a ‘Free Tommy’ rally in support of their jailed leader Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, who calls himself Tommy Robinson. Robinson was sentenced last May to 13 months' imprisonment after pleading guilty to contempt of court. Their numbers were easily dwarfed by the size of the anti-Trump demo the previous day, which police put at 250,000 but was easily well over that number.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was greeted with cheers as he spoke at the huge anti-Trump rally in Trafalgar Square. He told protesters to “build bridges, not walls” and said that they were showing their “love for democracy, diversity unity and hope” by being there.

“We’re asserting our right to demonstrate, our right to free speech, and our right to want a world that is not divided by misogyny, racism and hate,” Corbyn declared.

Steve Hedley had earlier addressed a counter-protest to the EDL rally in support of Trump and Robinson, and this is probably why he was singled out when the racist thugs went on their rampage. The railway workers were attacked because they are trade unionists, anti-fascists and left wingers, and because the RMT had played a prominent role in the counter-demo against the far right. It was an organised and targeted attack that happened in an area which was full of police.

Speaking on social media with blood still visible on his head, Hedley said: "We got attacked by a load of thugs, completely unprovoked,” adding that: “If you oppose Tommy you get attacked by a glass and a chair – we have to stop this.”

What this goes to prove is that the EDL is a fascist organisation with a classic fascist agenda. The EDL like to portray themselves as working-class English patriots and fighters for “English values” against the alleged or perceived “Islamisation of Britain”. But by attacking a leader of one of the country’s most militant trade unions they showed that they are opposed to working peoples’ organisations and the right of workers to organise themselves. The EDL are little more than a gang of degenerate football hooligans who are being directed by the shadowy fascist forces that always come to the fore whenever there’s an upsurge of militancy amongst the organised working class.

The police said that a total of 12 people were arrested: eight men on suspicion of assault at Storey's Gate in Westminster, two men on suspicion of public order offences, one man on suspicion of violent disorder and another man on suspicion of fireworks offences.

Steve Hedley’s partner, Bridget, who was held for 10 hours by the cops, was badly bruised in the fighting and was taken back to hospital with breathing difficulties on Monday.

As Hedley put it: “We in the RMT who were attacked by fascist thugs yesterday were not victims. We defended ourselves very well, beating off a larger group. We are not afraid and will be out next time in greater numbers to oppose them. No Pasaran!”

Another Year of Struggle

 

Andy Brooks speaking

by  New Worker correspondent
 

Comrades gathered at the Party Centre last weekend to celebrated the founding of the New Communist Party, which was established by Sid French in July 1977. Friends and comrades, old and new, joined NCP leader Andy Brooks and Party Chair Alex Kempshall in celebrating the anniversary with speeches. food and drink, and welcomed honoured guests that included three candidate members of the Communist Party of China on a summer course at the London School of Economics, Korean Friendship Association chair Dermot Hudson and Marie Lynam from the British Posadist movement.

Some friends, such as our comrades in the RCPB(ML), were absent because they were taking part in the great Durham Miners’ Gala but their greetings, along with others that included the British section of the Italian communist party and the Workers Party of Korea, were read during the formal part of proceedings.

Sadly ill-health prevented NCP National Treasurer Daphne Liddle from joining us but everyone wished her a speedy recovery during the New Worker appeal, which was made by Alex Kempshall. The collection raised £424 for the fighting fund to ensure the continued production of the New Worker.

Ukrainian fascist regime denounced!

By New Worker correspondent

A protest was held on 12^th July in Whitehall, London, opposite the prime minister’s residence in Downing Street, in solidarity with anti-fascists in Ukraine. The protesters called for the British government to end its support for the fascist-infested government in Kiev such as sending military personnel to train members of the Ukrainian army, including those currently engaged in the four-year-long conflict in Donbas.

The protest was organised by the New Communist Party of Britain, Socialist Fight, Posadists in Britain and members of Solidarity with the Anti-Fascist Resistance in Ukraine. They pointed out that residents of the anti-fascist Donetsk and Lugansk people's republics have been subjected to constant military attack and economic blockade since April 2014.

Despite the 2015 Minsk Agreements negotiated by the ‘Normandy Four’ (Germany, Russia, Ukraine and France), which promised peace and semi-autonomous status for the Donbas republics of Donetsk and Lugansk, Kiev, egged on by Washington, has slammed the door on any peaceful outcome to the conflict.

The conflict continues day after day, month after month, whilst the western media only reports from the Kiev side and is still recycling fake NATO claims – based on satellite images and photos from different regions and dates – of an alleged Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The protesters highlighted the role of the openly fascist Right Sector and the far-right, openly anti-Semitic Svoboda Party in the February 2014 violent coup in Kiev, and said that the ‘Euromaidan’ protests received massive support from Washington and European leaders to the tune of billions of dollars.

The Right Sector is an openly Nazi organisation that displays the red and black flag of forces which collaborated with Nazi Germany during the Second World War along with White Power and Hitler-loving images, and Svoboda has links with the British BNP and Hungarian nazi Jobbik Party.

Since 2014 trade union offices have been ransacked and burned, Second World War Holocaust memorials have repeatedly been vandalised, the Communist Party of Ukraine (the largest opposition party) banned, communists, socialists, Jewish and gay people have been attacked, and members of the judiciary intimidated by fascist hooligans.

The war in the Donbas that began in 2014, in which 10–15,000 have been killed, mainly civilians, is still continuing, and men, women and children in the Donbas are being killed or injured daily.

This war in Ukraine has been all but blacked out in the western media, and in recent months the main source of news and comment from the Donbas itself, Donbass International News Agency, has been shut down on its website, Facebook and Twitter platforms with visitors getting the message “Attackers might be trying to steal your information”.

The protestors defended Russia against being blamed for the war in Ukraine, and said that Russia’s humanitarian and economic support, including giving thousands of Donbas children breaks in holiday camps, had greatly aided the Donbas republics to survive four years of war and blockade.

The British government continues to support the illegal fascist-backed Poroshenko regime in Kiev, including sending military personnel to train Ukrainian troops. The protesters called on the British government to end all support for the current government in Kiev and to back a peaceful, negotiated end the war in Ukraine.