IN THE AREA ------------- Midlands --------- Once again Midlands AFA have been at the forefront of recent events. Acting on 'information received', an AFA stewards group had assembled in a pub in Birmingham. Because it was a Saturday afternoon there was some early confusion as to who this group were, initially being mistaken for a football firm. Oldham thought they were Villa, Villa thought they were Blues. The Blues knew it was AFA but weren't sure who they were after - and finally the main course arrived. This was a fascist Villa firm, 40 strong, and led by well-known local fascist Tony Burke. The fascists got battered all over the place, which is the first serious reverse they've suffered since getting geed up by the England 'riot' in Dublin back in February. It has become increasingly difficult for militant anti-fascists to operate on the streets as the police continue to criminalise AFA. Back in April, Midlands AFA mobilised to stop a BNP leafleting taking place in Kirkby, only to be confronted by a heavy police presence. When AFA refused to disperse, they were baton charged by the police, leaving one activist with his leg broken in five places, while the BNP were allowed to continue their activity. Again AFA tried to get at the fascists only to come under another heavy police attack leading to further injuries. The AFA group was then held in the middle of the road for an hour while the fascists were allowed to scuttle away. Edinburgh ---------- Similarly in Scotland 10 anti-fascists were arrested in Edinburgh on Saturday, June 3rd, after encounters with fascists, loyalists and the police. Anti-Fascist Action had mobilised supporters from Scotland and the north-east of England to oppose the proposed BNP/Loyalist counter-demonstration aimed at stopping the James Connolly Commemoration in Edinburgh. Despite large numbers of fascists and loyalists being arrested, it was only the anti- fascists who were charged and held in St. Leonard's police station over the weekend. The police operation which led to the arrests of the AFA members is seriously suspect. As the AFA contingent was making its way towards the march, they were attacked by more than a dozen men. By the casual nature of their dress and their aggressive attitude, it was instantly assumed that they were fascists. The anti-fascists defended themselves against this attack. It was only when their attackers appeared to be taking second prize that they apparently decided to 'break cover' and identified themselves as police officers. According to press reports, four policemen were hospitalised as a result of this incident. Ten anti-fascists were arrested and charged with "Police Assault", "Resisting Arrest" and "Breach of the Peace." A solicitor acting for one of the defendants has told him that, if found guilty, he can expect to serve a jail term of between 18 months and 3 years. While the anti-fascists were closely monitored, prevented from confronting the fascist mob, and finally attacked and arrested, the same cannot be said for the fascists. No action was taken when two young lads got battered for wearing Celtic tops and the fascists were allowed to attack the march. Even those arrested were released without charge. The police's role on the day was far from neutral, and further serves to undermine the arguments of those who call for more state intervention against the extreme Right. Edinburgh AFA has launched a defence campaign. Leaflets are available, and donations should be sent to Edinburgh AFA, PO Box 421, Edinburgh EH11 1QD. Dublin : The 'Invent A Nazi League' ------------------------------------ The juvenile antics of the Socialist Workers Movement/Anti Nazi League (Ireland), with their pointless marches and petitions, have always been ignored by AFA in Ireland. However, in the aftermath of the Landsdowne Road 'riot', Socialist Worker again revived the ANL, calling a march to "Keep Ireland Nazi Free" over two months after the Ireland v. England match. This sudden interest in fascists at football was merely a new bandwagon for the ANL to jump on, as they had nobody at Landsdowne and their 'analysis' was based solely on newspaper reports. AFA was the only anti-fascist group with a presence at the match. As part of the publicity hype for their Saturday afternoon stroll through Dublin the ANL created a 'nazi menace' that does not exist with a view to boosting numbers attending the rally. In the end this ploy totally collapsed, with ordinary people ignoring the rally. Three days before the march the Evening Herald, Ireland's largest evening paper, carried a front page headline "Nazis Target City's Blacks, Fascist yobs in vicious terror drive", over a story fed to the paper by the ANL. It claimed that a "group of North Inner city paramilitary skinheads" were running a "reign of fear" to drive Black families out of Dublin. A spokesperson for the ANL claimed that "It is an organised campaign by a group of skinheads who have swastika tattoos on their arms and dress in military gear." This fantasy stemmed from a number of racist slogans which had been painted on the walls in the Blessington Street area of Dublin. The graffiti which had appeared six weeks before the story, was immediately painted out by members of AFA. Through our contacts in the area AFA was aware of the isolated nature of the incident and that there was no involvement of organised fascists. The ANL knew that AFA had removed the graffiti and they also know that there are no organised nazis in Dublin; AFA beat them off the streets in the late '80s. It is no surprise to AFA that the ANL\SWM will use any cynical, ineffective or childish ploy to aid recruitment, but this incident goes far beyond their usual standard of dishonesty and lies. This is a serious matter. The ANL are attempting to create a group of nazis, where none exists, to justify having a campaign against them. The one or two racist morons who wrote the graffiti will be delighted at making nation-wide publicity and more graffiti has since appeared. The night before the rally a debate between AFA and the ANL had been organised by a Dublin radio station, 98FM. Shortly before going on the air the AFA spokesperson was informed that the ANL representative had pulled out of the discussion. The result was a ten minute plug for AFA and several listeners phoned in to commend AFA. From not having the bottle to confront the nazis the ANL now refuses to debate with anti-fascists. Leeds ------ While the situation in Yorkshire remains as confused as ever, we were pleased to hear that militant anti-fascists have responded to the recent wave of fascist attacks in the area. A van load of BNP members, on their way to a 'secret' meeting, ran straight into an anti-fascist ambush and got well and truly splattered. This sort of action puts pressure on the fascists, who have to operate more and more secretly to avoid attack - making them more and more isolated. If militant anti-fascists have the information, fascist activities can be stopped or disrupted. Blackpool ---------- The exact opposite to what happened in Leeds is the recent situation in Blackpool, where by withholding information a major fascist activity was allowed to go ahead unhindered. The C18\NSA meeting in july passed off without incident because the details of the meeting were deliberately withheld from AFA, while at the same time being given to local Special Branch - effectively vetoing any action against the fascists. While AFA militants from the Northern Network had been active in Blackpool previously, causing some serious problems for the BNP candidate in the May elections, there has never been a Blackpool branch. In May '95 Searchlight magazine included a Blackpool AFA branch in their list of contacts, despite no such branch being recognised by AFA. This group's refusal to pass information over to AFA, their dealings with Special Branch, and their opposition to the most basic AFA principles is why the Northern Network (AFA) has said that militant anti-fascists should have nothing to do with them. Once again we have to state that the only bona fide list of AFA groups appears in Fighting Talk. West London ------------ One of the few areas where the BNP have maintained a semi-public profile is around Feltham, on the West London/Surrey border. Sporadic BNP paper sales and leafleting over the last year led up to Warren Glass standing in a local election in August. During the run-up to the election, there was a clash between AFA and the BNP in Feltham High St., and despite the fact that 30 to 40 BNP supporters came piling out of the Moon On The Square pub, throwing bottles and glasses, once again it was the militant anti-fascists who suffered all the arrests and police harassment. At the count a few days later, there were further disturbances as a combined BNP/C18 team attacked the ANL counter-demo. In the aftermath of the violence, the BNP candidate Warren Glass (who came 4th with 119 votes - 4.42%) was quoted in the Evening Standard as saying "It has nothing to do with me. I have no idea what happened." Glass's "unfamiliarity" with fascist violence can clearly be seen in photographs which show him leading a group of C18 stewards for a UVF march through Central London, in April '95. Hate Mail ---------- Producing a magazine can at times be a hard and unrewarding job, so it always cheers us up to receive the anonymous little messages the fascists find time to send us. The best one recently was an AFA sticker sent to us covered in fairly conventional right-wing slogans, but including the classic line "Mensi pisses the bed"! Kent ----- And finally, we are pleased to announce the formation of a new branch in Kent. Kent AFA now replaces the previous contact address which was the Kent Anti-Fascist Action Committee (KAFAC). KAFAC and AFA have worked well together in the past, but KAFAC doesn't share the same analysis as AFA, and while this is an amicable separation, it seemed sensible to establish a separate AFA group that will fully participate in the activities and structures of National AFA. Undoubtably we will work with KAFAC in the future, but all AFA supporters should contact Kent AFA, c/o BM1734, London WC1N 3XX.