A statement expressing SURHUL’s position on the Tower Hamlets anti-fascist demonstrations and arrests, on Saturday the 7th September 2013
A statement expressing SURHUL’s position on the Tower Hamlets fascist demonstrations and arrests, on Saturday the 7th September 2013
On Saturday the 7th September 2013, over 280 anti-fascist demonstrators were arrested by the Metropolitan Police in London Tower Hamlets. They were taking a stand against the English Defence League (EDL), who were protesting against the presence of a Muslim community in the London area. The EDL make people feel unsafe; they are physically threatening fascists who are intolerant of other cultures and religions. Fascism is an authoritarian and nationalistic right-wing system of social organization, and the EDL fall into this category.
The anti-fascist groups in Tower Hamlets were making it clear that the EDL’s ideology is not the view of all Londoners. They were establishing that the destructive and scaremongering protest by the EDL is not acceptable, and that any religion or ethnicity is a welcome addition to the wider community.
Of the anti-fascists arrested by the Metropolitan Police, some were Royal Holloway students. These students were not sent as a SURHUL delegation, nor were they part of Unite Against Fascism (UAF). They went of their own volition to defend London from poisonous ideas. They have now been released on bail with conditions, many of which include not being able to protest against fascism until further notice.
On the 13th November 2012 Students’ Union of Royal Holloway voted to have a no platform policy on fascists. As a Union, we feel that our university and our campus should be a haven that is safe from fascists with aggressive and intolerant ideals. We have a fantastic Love Holloway Hate Fascism campaign which highlights the necessity for proactive awareness campaigns.
We believe that protests are an essential element to democracy. The mass arrest on Saturday has worrying implications for the right to protest, such as on the United Nations Charter, of which the UK is a signatory. Aaron Peters, a student at Royal Holloway and a writer for the Guardian notes “In an age when policymakers claim to want a strong civil society and frequently ask how to politically engage younger generations, mass arrests, primarily of young working-class people whose only crime is assembly, renders clear how insincere such questioning actually is.”
We oppose the mass arrest by the Metropolitan Police of the anti-fascist demonstrators, who were helping to protect the Tower Hamlets community from the intimidation of the EDL. We criticise the bail conditions which prevent further demonstration against fascist ideals. We stand in solidarity with the SURHUL students who put themselves in a vulnerable situation, in order to stand for what we as a Union believe is right off campus and in the wider community.
Signed by Sabbatical Officers on behalf of the Executive Committee:
Amarbeer Singh Gill, President
Sidonie Bertrand-Shelton, Vice President Education & Welfare
Jamie S Green, Vice President Communications & Campaigns
Ian Stewart, Vice President Student Activities
Aaron Peters’ article for the Guardian: ‘Peaceful protest will not be tolerated’ click here.
If you would like to find out more about our No Platform for Fascists policy, find out more here.
To find out more about the Love Holloway, Hate Fascism campiagn click here.
To contact our Black & Minority Ethnicity Officer, email them at ethnicity@su.rhul.ac.uk