Contrary to the ultra left some do not get hot under the collar when people & communities (quite clearly there IS a groundswell of community opinion to BAN this EDL march) want to oppose the EDL. Contrary to some round here some do not think that the EDL represent anything but some far right politicos & there already existing footy social networks. They are not a genuine 'new social movement' at all, rather like the Countryside Alliance in some ways, we are indifferent & either we do not think it matters too much, rather it is the political work people can do in & around these conditions, & the events themselves that are important.
JUST WEST YORKSHIRE’S RESPONSE TO THE CHIEF CONSTABLE NORMAN BETTISON’S CALL FOR A BAN ON THE EDL MARCH.
JUST West Yorkshire welcomes the decision by the Chief Constable to apply to Bradford Council for an order prohibiting the English Defence League from holding a public procession in Bradford. The jubilation at the prospect of an EDL ban is however likely to short-lived as the EDL will almost certainly apply to hold a static protest in the full knowledge that neither the Chief Constable Norman Bettison, Bradford Council nor the Home Secretary can prevent their them from coming to Bradford.
The evidence around the country suggests that the EDL are adept at side-stepping the legislative powers accorded to the Chief Constable in supporting a ban on a procession or march. Instead they have used the provisions within Section 14 of the Public Order Act to assert their legislative right to hold a static assembly. Despite EDL’s protestations that they are asserting their democratic right to peaceful protest, as a civil liberties and human rights organisation, JUST has been monitoring the public disorder and violence that have accompanied the EDL presence in Birmingham, Nottingham, Leeds and Dudley. JUST is in no doubt that their intention in coming to Bradford is to provoke violence, incite Islamaphobia and sow discord among the city’s residents.
The EDL are calling the Bradford demonstration ‘The Big One’ and the traffic on their website clearly demonstrates their intent is to incite mischief. The fact that they are coming into the city during the Muslim holy month of Ramadaan with a clear declaration “to oppose Sharia and appeasement of Islamism” is a calculated attempt to inflame racial and religious tensions in the city.
It is in this context that JUST believes the true resolve of the Chief Constable in listening to the views of local residents and working in their best interest will be tested. Section 14 of the Public Order Act asserts clearly that if the Chief Constable considers that a public assembly will result in a serious public disorder he can impose restrictions on the numbers of people who take part in the assembly, the location of the protest and its maximum duration. A true measure of the Chief Constable’s leadership would be to respond by setting the strictest limits on the EDL presence in this city and designating a venue for the static assembly in an area that is least likely to inflame racial and religious tensions.
The scars from the 2001 disturbances continue to be a weeping sore in the city’s memories and the government’s so called ‘war on terror and extremism’ has brought relations between the police and Muslim communities to their lowest nadir. The Chief Constable’s leadership on the issue can go someway towards re-building bridges with the Muslim community
In the face of a potential EDL presence in the city next weekend, Bradfordians have shown unique resilience in coming together to resist EDL’s attempts to divide us on racial and religious lines. We will be looking to the Chief Constable to demonstrate the same commitment by holding faith with its residents first and foremost and taking a tough line against a far-right extremist organisation intent on fanning the flames of racial and religious intolerance.
200 people, mostly Muslims imprisoned for a total of 604 years during the Bradford disturbances is a heavy price for any city, let alone any one community to pay. The Chief Constable would be well advised to learn lessons from the city's sad history.
Ratna Lachman
Director
JUST West Yorkshire
(Promoting racial justice civil liberties and human rights)
01274 542222
http://lancasteruaf.blogspot.com/2010/08/west-yorkshire-police-call-for-ban-on.html
JUST West Yorkshire welcomes the decision by the Chief Constable to apply to Bradford Council for an order prohibiting the English Defence League from holding a public procession in Bradford. The jubilation at the prospect of an EDL ban is however likely to short-lived as the EDL will almost certainly apply to hold a static protest in the full knowledge that neither the Chief Constable Norman Bettison, Bradford Council nor the Home Secretary can prevent their them from coming to Bradford.
The evidence around the country suggests that the EDL are adept at side-stepping the legislative powers accorded to the Chief Constable in supporting a ban on a procession or march. Instead they have used the provisions within Section 14 of the Public Order Act to assert their legislative right to hold a static assembly. Despite EDL’s protestations that they are asserting their democratic right to peaceful protest, as a civil liberties and human rights organisation, JUST has been monitoring the public disorder and violence that have accompanied the EDL presence in Birmingham, Nottingham, Leeds and Dudley. JUST is in no doubt that their intention in coming to Bradford is to provoke violence, incite Islamaphobia and sow discord among the city’s residents.
The EDL are calling the Bradford demonstration ‘The Big One’ and the traffic on their website clearly demonstrates their intent is to incite mischief. The fact that they are coming into the city during the Muslim holy month of Ramadaan with a clear declaration “to oppose Sharia and appeasement of Islamism” is a calculated attempt to inflame racial and religious tensions in the city.
It is in this context that JUST believes the true resolve of the Chief Constable in listening to the views of local residents and working in their best interest will be tested. Section 14 of the Public Order Act asserts clearly that if the Chief Constable considers that a public assembly will result in a serious public disorder he can impose restrictions on the numbers of people who take part in the assembly, the location of the protest and its maximum duration. A true measure of the Chief Constable’s leadership would be to respond by setting the strictest limits on the EDL presence in this city and designating a venue for the static assembly in an area that is least likely to inflame racial and religious tensions.
The scars from the 2001 disturbances continue to be a weeping sore in the city’s memories and the government’s so called ‘war on terror and extremism’ has brought relations between the police and Muslim communities to their lowest nadir. The Chief Constable’s leadership on the issue can go someway towards re-building bridges with the Muslim community
In the face of a potential EDL presence in the city next weekend, Bradfordians have shown unique resilience in coming together to resist EDL’s attempts to divide us on racial and religious lines. We will be looking to the Chief Constable to demonstrate the same commitment by holding faith with its residents first and foremost and taking a tough line against a far-right extremist organisation intent on fanning the flames of racial and religious intolerance.
200 people, mostly Muslims imprisoned for a total of 604 years during the Bradford disturbances is a heavy price for any city, let alone any one community to pay. The Chief Constable would be well advised to learn lessons from the city's sad history.
Ratna Lachman
Director
JUST West Yorkshire
(Promoting racial justice civil liberties and human rights)
01274 542222
http://lancasteruaf.blogspot.com/2010/08/west-yorkshire-police-call-for-ban-on.html
