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Race-hate fears over new protest group
Reporter: RICHARD HOOTON
Date online: 22/09/2009
A GROUP branded as far-right fascists has formed in Oldham sparking fears of a return to racial clashes.
The branch of the English Defence League — recently involved in violent disorder in Birmingham — has been set up by a football hooligan involved in the 2001 Oldham race riots, and already has 50 members.
Equality campaigners fear their emergence could harm the good work done to create community cohesion and have vowed to work even harder to ease tensions.
EDL’s leaders insist they are not racist, far-right or fascist, condemn the BNP and organise only peaceful protests against Islamic extremists.
But four specialist national police units are investigating the EDL, including detectives with a background in prosecuting hooliganism, extreme violence and terrorism, while a police summit has been organised.
During the recent Birmingham protest, EDL members clashed with anti-fascist campaigners and riot police resulting in violent skirmishes on busy shopping streets and ending with 50 arrests.
Birmingham Respect Party Councillor Salma Yaqoob labelled the EDL as a far right fascist group, while Government Minister John Denham compared their tactics to the fascist street marches of the 1930s — accusations vehemently denied by the EDL.
A similar protest is planned in Manchester on October 10 and will be attended by the Oldham branch, while demonstrations in Oldham could follow.
Tariq Rafique, from Oldham Race Equality Partnership, said people were scared at the prospect.
He said: “Their main priority is to undermine the good work done in places like Oldham.
“They are trying to move us back into the dark days that no one wanted to ever see. It now pushes us even further to defeat people who are just interested in promoting hate and dividing our communities.”
Race-equality champion Father Phil Sumner said the group was clearly anti-Muslim and survived off creating conflict.
He added: “They will try their best to upset what has taken place and at times they will succeed in upsetting people because of their tactics.
“Initially, people will be caught up in reacting to them but it creates a lot of energy and does not achieve anything.
“The basis of the work we have done and continue to do has established relationships that will enable people in our area to recognise what’s going on and not be dragged into it and allow the good work to be destroyed.”
The EDL emerged in March as a reaction to a group of Muslims protesting against soldiers returning from Afghanistan parading through Luton.
Their leader from Luton, who gives his name as Tommy Robinson, claims there’s growing demand, resulting in 100 branches forming.
He said: “The people who are fascists in this country are the Islamic extremists who preach hatred and go completely unchallenged.
“They are preaching an incorrect form of Islam and we need this problem that’s infecting this country to be dealt with.
“Muslims have many voices and councils across the whole country are bending over backwards to help them but we don’t feel we have a voice as a community.
“I can see that in a town like Oldham with racial tensions from years ago it might look alarming but if the Muslim community look and listen to what we are asking it’s non-racist.”
He claimed protests had gone wrong because yobs had attached themselves to his group and young Muslims fearing they were under attack by fascists had retaliated. He said far-right racists are not welcome at their protests.
He insisted EDL members are just football fans and he didn’t want hooligans running the organisation.
But Det Sgt Mark McDowall, from Oldham’s Hate Crime Unit, said: “We are certainly keeping an eye on it. We monitor anything that could cause some sort of tension. We are monitoring the reported protest in Manchester.”
The organisation Hope Not Hate is campaigning for the Manchester protest to be cancelled. Visit action.hopenothate.org.uk/manchester for details.
Violent background of branch leader
THE English Defence League’s Oldham branch leader Michael, who does not want to give his surname, admits he has criminal convictions for assault and public disorder and served a two-year order banning him from football grounds — though he says that is in the past.
The 25-year-old has led football firm the Fine Young Casuals, involved in the Oldham riots, for 10 years. The father-of-two said: “You can’t win a fight without people like that. The BNP are not working. It’s time to have a go. Whatever needs must.
“These will be peaceful protests but trouble comes to us from the far left and we have to be prepared to stand up for ourselves. Football hooligans are prepared to stand up and fight.
“We have a good group from Oldham who are ready to protest and do whatever they need to do. We are determined. We want to have extremist Muslims off the streets.”
Asked if he was proud of his involvement in the riots, he said: “We were standing up for something we believed in at the time. But it’s a long time ago and I was young then.”
Have Your Say
Erm EDL were attacked by the anti fascist bunch and not the other way around. As for community cohesion in Oldham, I would like to see it pointed out to me as it looks to me like there still is none and whilst many refuse to integrate there never will be.
nothing was learned from the 2001 riots. we all know that!
its all brewing up again.
I can't comment on the EDL as I know nothing about them. What worries me is the words "Oldhams Hate Crime Unit" in the police. This country gets more Orwellian every year. It will be the Thought Crime Unit next.
Here we have the Oldham race equality whipping up a mass hysteria in cahoots with the marxist searchlight funded hope not hate group.
The lefties are the ones causing the trouble, if you read what the EDL are about it is about anti extremist Muslims being allowed to preach hatred on British streets and tell us how the Sharia flag will fly over Downing st and not the normal peace loving members of the Muslim community.
The best action people could take would be to ignore the group, that way their words would not be noted, but I suspect that the left will use the occasion to cause another disturbance and be there in droves seeking violence as usual. We hear calls to Moslems not to rise to the taunts of these people, but that should apply to everyone. Let them say what they feel they want to and ignore them, then they'll go away - dissapointed
I agree old Mancunian and these so called race hate units only ever seem to act against one race.
Judging from other headlines in the Chron, it's not some obscure group of racists we need to worry about, but a minority of the Asian community who deal drugs and use firearms against other dealers.
Michael's comments sound ok to me, give him/them a chance, lets face it we have the BNP in Europe fighting for Oldham then lets give these people a level playing field instead of all this do-gooders stuff.
Oldham doesn't need football hooligans saying its "time to have a go" and "stand up and fight".
The EDL aren't defending me with their needlessly provocative approach.
They condemn the BNP, but from what the Chron reports above, they condemn them for "not working".
Let the Muslim community sort out their own extremists. One of the meanings of Islam is peace - so lets see it on the streets of Oldham.
in around 70% of racially motivated attacks the victims white. Has this group done anything, or said anything illegal?
I thought that in a democracy you had free speech. All the leftist do-gooders and muslim fanatics have had their say regularly without any censorship, its about time the white working class had theirs without ant interference or fear of reprisals from the police or politicians who have all bent over backwards to help the so called minority groups.
The EDL sprang to life following the discraceful scenes of Al Mujaharoon members demonstrating against British troops returning from Iraq to Luton.
It's all too easy (and normal now) to blame the nasty white people, but I would like to invite Mr Tarique Rafique to unreservedly condemn Al Mujaharoon, because to date I've never heard OREP ever criticise a Moslem no matter how extreme.
Intergration, i dont think so. The majority of the Asian community have no intention of even trying to integrate. I have a few Asian mates who have intergrated nicely into the english ( as we are England )way and are bang on mates. I think if they dropped the barrier and attitude then the EDL wouldnt get involve and begin stirring the pot.
Well said billabog5. 70% of the victims of racially motivated attacks are white as you say.
However you omit to mention that therefore 30% of the victims must be non-white and therefore being as the non-white population of this country is less than 30%, then you are more likely to be the victim of a racist attack if you are non-white.
If you march with EDL and are identified you will end up with a file. You will then be unable to join the forces, the police, be a teacher etc etc.
adwilliams134. Be careful with your statistics. Yes asians are more likely to be victims(30% of attacks ON only 10% of the population) but also Asians are significantly more likely to be the instigator of a racist attack (70% of attacks BY 10% of population). Ultimately all attacks by whoever need to be stopped.
Old_Mancunian - I'm white and I was the victime of a racist attack carried by ...... whites.
So there's a white victim of a racist attck who wasn't attacked by non-whites.
The colour of the victim and the perpetrator have got nothing to do with whether it's a racist attack or not. It's whether the victim or the Police perceive it to be racially motivated.
Well adwilliams you should be careful using statistics in this way as they will come back to bite you!
It might well be the case that an ethnic minority member is more likely to be attacked, but the same group is 2.5 times more likely to be the attacker rather than the victim. If you go further and accept a 5% minority then the figure becomes a staggering 50 times more likely for a minority member to commit a race attack than a white person.
shame tariq could not speak out when British Troops were abused and swore at by members of the public.Disgusting. It has nothing to do with race as such, more ignorance and an unwillingness to integrate into society. I dont agree with our foreign policy, but i dont react by abusing hero's who have lost friends, family etc. If they feel so strong they should go fight themselve.
adwilliams134. I guess that is socialist Britain were any opinion that does not fit is a criminal offence. Marching with the EDL should never lead to any blacklisting if you have been peacefull. But then we now have race hate units in the police who seem to target only 1 race.
The EDL sprang to life following the discraceful scenes of Al Mujaharoon members demonstrating against British troops returning from Iraq to Luton.
It's all too easy (and normal now) to blame the nasty white people, but I would like to invite Mr Tarique Rafique to unreservedly condemn Al Mujaharoon, because to date I've never heard OREP ever criticise a Moslem no matter how extreme.
The TV pictures I saw showed gangs of Muslims running riot, unless of course the BBC selectively edited their footage.
The EDL may be an unpleasant lot, but if Muslims are allowed to call our troops murderers, the EDL should be allowed a voice and the right to demonstrate.
There seems to be a great fear of allowing any criticism of or objection to Islam in this country.
AdWilliams. You missed my point. It should not matter what race creed or colour you are. An assault is an assault and should be treated equally by the police. Hate crime units seek to make one type of assault more important than another and that is fundamentally wrong.
The call for jihad did not come from white folks thats why it must be defended against otherwise democracy has gone out the window and we end up living in their world,not the world we chose,we all have rights .
They are just ignorants with nothing better to do than stir up trouble. Why do they have to try and ruin all the hard work that people in Oldham have done over the years, obviously you will always get the minority who ruin it for the others.
By SSN @ 22/09/2009 13:48:05
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