Anti-Fascist Network

UNITY DEMONSTRATION AGAINST THE DFLA – SATURDAY 13th OCTOBER

12:00, BBC BROADCASTING CENTRE, PORTLAND PLACE, LONDON

As you may have already heard, Tommy Robinson’s footsoldiers, the ‘Democratic Football Lads Alliance’, otherwise known as the EDL Mk2, are planning on marching in London this Saturday 13th October. The DFLA have formed the backbone and the main numbers on the streets for all the recent hate-filled Islamophobic ‘Free Tommy’ protests, including the demo back in July where RMT trade unionists got attacked in the pub and a female Muslim bus driver was surrounded and taunted.

The DFLA have attracted all the elements of the old far-right – at their most recent demo in Sunderland they marched with EDL and BNP members as well as members of banned neo-Nazi terror group National Action. The DFLA includes members convicted of racist and far-right violence. They are happy associating with white supremacist groups like Generation Identity and their leaders hang out with with Ulster Loyalist terrorists and post Nazi propaganda online.

Now is the time for us all to come together to oppose the rise of the far-right. We can see the poisonous spread of nationalism and anti-migrant and anti-Muslim hate across Europe and increasingly across the world. In this country it is represented by the massive attention given to Tommy Robinson’s bullshit  ‘journalism’ and by the thousands of mainly DFLA members who turn out to support him.

Their only message is hatred for Muslims and a narrow nationalism. Their only direction is to move ever further to the right. We must oppose them on Saturday with a politics of working class solidarity.

They seek to use women’s experiences of sexual assault and violence to promote a message that refugees, migrants and non-white people more broadly are inherently a danger to ‘their’ white women. We must oppose them with a politics of genuine inclusive feminism that opposes ALL sexual violence.

Women’s Strike Assembly UK have organised an anti-fascist feminist bloc on Saturday to show the DFLA what a real feminist response to sexual violence looks like.

They seek to represent themselves as representatives of working class football fan culture. We must show them that their bigoted worldview does not represent that of the majority of football fans in this country.

The Football Lads and Lasses Against Fascism have organised a bloc on Saturday to show the DFLA they do not speak for all football fans.

Together with a large list of other organisations we have called a unity demonstration to oppose the DFLA on Saturday.

Join us.

Transport to London

There is transport running from around the country for the demonstration

Brighton

Reading

Birmingham

Cardiff

Merseyside

See also FLAF, who are providing transport from a variety of other locations

More info

– For info and updates before Saturday and during the day, follow AFN on Facebook and Twitter

– Women’s Strike Assembly are hosting a meeting in preparation for Saturday on ‘Anti-Racist Feminisms: Past, present and future’ this Thu 11th in London