All language subtitles for BBC2 Anti Fascist Action Doc _ _Fighting Talk_

program open space is given over to

anti-fascist action

the program uses disturbing archive and

news footage to highlight their violent

and emotive struggle against supporters

of the extreme right

[Music]

first they came for the jews i didn't

speak out

because i wasn't a jew then they came

for the communists

i didn't speak out because i wasn't a

communist

then i came for the trade unionists i

didn't speak out

because i wasn't a trade unionist then

they came for me

there was no one left to speak for me

pastor nay muller

victim of hitler's nazis

and then they came for me

then they came for me then they came for

me

they came for me because i'm meant to

sing and the angelic upstarts

fascists attacked me here they intended

this to be my final gig they wanted me

to stop playing because i've always been

an anti-fascist

at the same time they were attacking a

variety of bands with working-class

followers

including big names like the pogues and

desmond decker

this was part of a wider plan by the

extreme right that influenced the music

scene by terror

luckily there was someone to speak out

for me and the fascist action sorted out

and i'm still playing

alpha as we're known is not a protest

group we're not in the business of

complaining about nazis we're in the

business of stopping them

inevitably this means confront them on

the streets

alpha was settled in 1985 to revive the

militant

anti-fascist tradition our original aims

were drawn up on the back of the beer

mat

and they stated that the purpose of the

new organization was to confront the

fascists

both physically and ideologically

for the media the rise of the far right

in europe is something that happened

overnight

missile le pen the leader of the french

national front by being allowed to use

the issue of racism

is now setting the political agenda

surrounded by women in chanel suits

his image is as artificial as his glass

eye the original street fighters

have now been joined by the middle

classes the first stage has been lost in

france

[Applause]

they haven't seen anything about race

yet till we get going

that's quite enough of that this is the

british national party

who are currently the main party of the

extreme right here

we've stopped them talking in this film

for the same reasons as we're trying to

stop them on the streets

we've learned from our experience that

the greater freedom they are allowed

the greater the influence and the worst

their subsequent behavior

their policy of repatriation tomorrow

encourages

violent racial hatred today

in britain there are 70 000 races

attacks a year

of which tower hamlets in east london

has the highest ratio

it is no coincidence that this is the

area of london that the bnp concentrate

their energy

in the general election they received

two and a half thousand votes in this

borough

using the battle cry right for white

obviously this was a conscious

vote for their agricultural policy

[Applause]

clearly for a grown minority of the

white working class who have been

betrayed by

all the mainstream parties especially on

issues like jobs and housing

the bnp are seen as the only radical

alternative

many governments today dishonestly put

the blame for unemployment on

immigration

in germany in the 1930s the unemployed

correctly put the blame on the

politicians

then hitler began to put the blame on

the jews many of those same politicians

found it convenient to support him

only one thing could have stopped our

movement if our enemies had

understood its principle and from the

first day had smashed

with utmost brutality the nucleus of our

new movement

adolf hitler

in britain hitler's disciple was sir

oswald mosley

founder of the british union of fascists

otherwise known as the blackshirts

he used provocative marches through the

jewish areas to control the streets

to impress his establishment backers the

most famous

ended in the battle of cable street my

friend and i

were both 12 and we decided we'd like to

be part human wall

and we went along on that day at that

thousands and thousands of people

at first the police they were they were

mountie police

all they tried to do was allow the

traffic through

but there were too many people and were

pushing the people who were in the road

onto the curb

there were people being pushed through

the plate glass windows of gardeners

which was the big store on that corner

the

police horses were out onto the pavement

and

women were falling to the feet of the

horses

uh there were screams there was blood

absolutely terrifying for two young

girls

but we decided to stick it out we never

saw a fascist all day

all the fights were with the police when

the police had

uh started trying to charge the

barricades

and they weren't very successful we

repulsed them

and finally as they were going back the

women in the buildings above

uh these uh sheds and that started

chucking everything

that they could lay their hands out on

down on the place

hot water and scraps from kitchens and

other things as well and the police

didn't know what to do and they ran into

the sheds and locked themselves in and

then the police uh

was attacking and one black cop was just

about to bounce his

trenching over my nut and i just

stuck at her a right hand and he went

down

a little bit later they came up

with their hands up surrendering we've

never seen a policeman surrender

we didn't know what we took it

and told him

battened away and smashed and mounted

police were battering away

for four solid hours and they still

couldn't drive the people back

and finally mostly who is uh the leader

of the fascist party in those days the

racist party

was forced to withdraw and had to go

back

many of us was arrested no fascists were

arrested

i was sent to prison for four months

many people

about my friends were sent to prison as

well

and when i was arrested all these

couples around here decided to help me

to the police station and when they got

there they just picked me up

like a bathroom ram they didn't open the

police station door with a handle

they just opened it by banging my head

against the door

when they got to me inside they just

started stamping on my head and

banging me over there with truncheons

and i

faded from the scene and when i woke up

a couple of hours later

i heard great cheers from all over

because the news had come through

the races hadn't broken through and the

chief of police

had ordered mostly couldn't march mostly

was the leader of the races

couldn't march and had to go back

tremendous feeling of pride

that we were part of all that for me

that was the beginning

of the feeling of anti-fascism that they

they shall not pass and they did not

pass

that day i don't think the jews were so

badly attacked as the asians have been

here partly because the young jews were

quite well organized

but it never was as bitter then jews

weren't burnt out in their homes the way

asians have been here

it may have been the isolated incidence

of being attacked if they met them in

the street

uh or even in their sometimes they'd

come to their actual homes

but there was none of this burning out

and um

terrible attacks that the asians have

had bombs thrown through the doors the

petrol bombs we never had anything like

that

fascism is a movement of force

against the working class people

irrespective where they are

person does away with trade unions

fascism lives on racial hatred

fascism doesn't believe in the

betterment of the conditions of the

working people

it is the strong arm of the capitalist

system

in my view i started

to become actively involved against the

national front in

the middle of 1974 where we carried on a

campaign

up until the end of the 70s by then the

national front had splintered and broken

off

i suppose the most significant part of

that was the actual demonstration in

louisiana where they were

literally smashed they got a terrible

pounding literally a pounding on the

streets

their old philosophy didn't seem to be

working and it wasn't their philosophy

it's the philosophy of one adult hitler

controlling and ruling the streets the

national front became

very aggressive and it started off by

the obvious thing attacking

particularly people selling newspapers

uh in the streets

shows this workers party but not only

socialist workers party they attacked

people saying in the morning star they

attacked people selling million

and they were becoming very aggressive

and we decided that

we'd have to stop it we'd have to try to

stop it uh

so what we did then uh we

formed a system where people would have

a telephone we'd be on the end of a

telephone

usually on saturday morning and uh

we used to be waiting and if there was a

presence of nf

even barking stratford upton park east

dam

we used to go usually

between 10 or 12 which is to go over

there and try to

uh if you like remedy the situation

i'd be perfectly honest with you i was

very surprised when i when we started

actually coming to physical contact

and i mean physical contact with these

people i was very very apprehensive at

first

most of us look very very aggressive

someone used to wear military uniforms

which don't mean

nothing probably never none was ever in

the military

to use an east end terminology they

weren't very good on the payment

and we started getting a bit more

confident we started feeling that these

people were not

superman you know i mean and they're not

going to go around bullying people and

threatening people and beating up people

in the streets

because in our opinion right we're

putting forward poison

they were putting forward ideas about

people's

color racist stuff that was poisonous

and if people like that are allowed to

just literally do as they please then

then they become acceptable so we've

gone then from a situation of

complete defense you know in fact being

devastated

to stabilization right with the fighting

outside the station when we're selling

papers to being

in front by having a demonstration went

right through the middle of their

heartland

and it wasn't attacked so we we

considered we were in front

it was then that the the idea came

across about having

a big march by the national front to

counteract that balance

they were losing with the momentum they

were smashed to pieces

and unfortunately a lot of people in the

left

side of politics thought it was a

disposable item

that the issue had gone away it might

have gone away for them in particular

but certainly didn't go away for asian

families in

in brick lane or in canon street road or

even around here

you know it's all very well saved people

got right to express their own opinions

but when they

when their opinions could lead to some

young asian people as they did at that

time

out of ali a young asian worker was

coming down the spot when brooklyn he

was stabbed to death by two

skinheads for no apparent reason just

because the fact he was asian and if you

allow those people to sell

that sort of muck that is the end result

[Music]

it's probably quite a few good

old-fashioned liberals out there

trendy lefties who are feeling quite

uneasy with all this talk of violence

and they're saying there's other ways

well we're not

either or we're both

we'll try all methods we have marches

we have carnivals music events

we even have a traveling exhibition

showing you

all the truths of fascism history has

proven

that the fascists base their philosophy

on physical

force if you're not prepared to meet

that force

with physical force then you must retire

from the political arena

because the fascists feed on fear

and to ignore them is to encourage them

here at least six people have been

arrested and a policeman was injured

in scuffles between two groups of

demonstrators members

of the british national party clashed

with a group of anti-fascists

who were protesting at the march through

thames mead in south london

the march by the extreme right-wing

british national party

was through a highly sensitive

unfortunately many of today's

anti-racist groups refused to learn from

the past

in an abject display of political

cowardice the organizers of the counter

demonstration of this bnp

march who with the support of local

people outnumbered the fascist tender

one

chose to march away from any

confrontation the militant anti-fascists

were left to register their protest

precisely because they weren't smashed

at thames mead the bnp

consolidated their position there and

felt confident enough to expand their

activities

in the neighboring areas just 12 weeks

later having won support from local

people

the odds of ten to one against the

thames mead had swung a tenth of one in

their favor in nearby birmingzi

later that day fascist controlled guns

rampage through the streets attacking

black people at random

first thing i got involved with um the

anti-nazi league in january

after it's re-launched the anal mark two

fortunately where i live

and there was nothing other there was no

other alternative

the main reason why i left there now to

join upper is

after as you know giving out leaflets on

the um

on the street trying to sell the purpose

i mean you have a mark

they'll have a match the bmp are marched

in one street police over there calling

off the air and i'll be shouting nazis

out nazis out but the nazis know that

the nazis they don't need to be told

that

i mean they're playing the placard and

all that oh you know nice and

clicky sort of thing i mean after a bit

well me included

would be outfit along that street

halfway across it with a placard on me

and

smashing it over to dead i mean what's

the point of like saying

oh oh there's some fascists here quick

let's get a nice little banner out let's

get some nice little middle class school

teachers

it's all band together in their old chat

nice little 60s in the summer of log

songs against them

well it's true but unfortunately for me

i mean you hear about the people

in left-wing papers that i've read peter

paperson is down next door to right-wing

sellers

you know having exchanging pleasantries

of the day i mean it's sick i mean it

might as well be a sunday afternoon car

boot booking sale

because as far as i know i mean they're

talking oh nice thing

nice weather they'll be going home at

night sitting down in the intellectual

armchair reading six easy words for

socialism

who've just been talking in three years

early going smashing windows and

posting fireworks through doors etc etc

so who's the kid in the kid and the self

the rest of the world criticizes us

because we're prepared today more than

just talk about taking on the fascists

we've actually been involved in

physically preventing the fascists

from holding meetings from holding

rallies for example the most recent

activity that arthur was involved in was

in conjunction with

the other anti-fascists we mobilized 200

people

in december to stop the bnp scottish

rally

which was attended by john tindall john

peacock

and several other dignitaries in the bnp

as a result of that

there was boneheads physically

confronted in the streets

uh was were sent packing there was

casuals chased up

the the city center and the bnp

leadership were held up in the gallery

bar

in argyll street for for for hours for

several wheels they were holed up in the

gallery bar

as a result the police had to evacuate

them along tunnels

under the under the the pub and enter

the train station

and delay rats alongside

the reason why i've actually come on

this program is that one of two people

may

have suggested to me that i can be more

identifiable

by youngsters as opposed to a university

intellectual telling them about the

bad things about fascism they are using

a

working class or you know white youth as

foot soldiers

and uh unfortunately a lot of the youth

can't see

that they're being used they've been

abused i would say they've been deceived

by the government

and uh being ignored by the government

in the sense that uh

the guys that have already turned around

and said they've got no housing

facilities they've got no benefit

they've got no jobs

they may have a youth training which i'd

suggest is a euphemism for making tea

and stacking shelves

and then and then this is put towards

them that the cause of all these

problems is the immigrants is the blacks

when it's far from it

so it isn't a racist problem with

dealing with i think it's an economic

problem

it seems there is a shift to the right

and it seems like uh

all the political parties have gone that

way

leaving a void which needs to be filled

on the left

now if you've got to ask yourself the

question is that going to be filled by a

an another left party or a further to

the left of what we've got a present

moment

or is it going to be filled by a

right-wing party something like the uh

the fascists

who are going to be there and saying

well we can lift you out of this problem

we can lift you out of this crisis

scotland is the area of highest

recruitment for the bnp

they aim to exploit the history of

sectarianism between catholic

republicans

and protestant loyalists we can start by

looking at glasgow rangers battle him

the billy boys

football fans think the song is about

william of orange but in fact it is

dedicated to billy fullerton

a black shirt commander who founded the

gang the billy boys

in 1926 they were hired to smash the

general strike

for which they received certificates of

merit from the secretary of state

fascism has been described as a razor in

the hands of the class enemy

and in glasgow in the 1920s it was

literally true

stanley lives are more fashionable these

days

fascism has a hole in glasgow now among

a section of glasgow youth

the glasgow rangers football club is a

focus for that organising

and it is quite clear that within ibrox

now there is a there is a cadder

of fascist organizers

who are using rangers loyalist

history as a touchstone and

young rainbow this is where

the the northern national last newspaper

appeared in constituency through

the ocean that's generally held by the

rest of the left that the bnp are just a

racist

party the bnp used racism racism

isn't a principle for the bnp it's just

a tactic that they throw out and use

where applicable in clydesdale there

isn't much say in

any ethnic minorities there's very very

few asians

very very few blacks very few chinese

people

right there's no there's no definite

targets however what there is

is a large loyalist population

what they intend to achieve is to build

on the bigotry

that's already there loyalism is a

parochial version of fascism anyway

it's based on the idea that there's a

protestant ascendancy

the catholics are second-class citizens

you know it's a transferal

of ulster to scotland right and the bnp

they don't want a race war right what

they want is a sectarian war

in scotland because the race war race

war politics they know

as well as we do that race war politics

won't work up here they have to use

another tactic

right and the tactic is sectarianism and

whipping up the orangemen

whipping up the loyalists and building

on what's there

in other words what the intent today is

try and broaden the horizons

of of the localized version of fascism

and turn

in a into the british national party's

version of fascism

for the peace conspiracy of the

loyalists to the jewish conspiracy

of the bnp the young loyalist

rangers fans who are impressed by the

loyalist paramilitaries

right can then be equally impressed with

the bnp

given the the links that are being

developed the duality and membership and

stuff like that

right and they can clearly stand as the

spokespersons of

the uvf in scotland right there's no

accident of the scottish pnp banner at

the national rally

was alongside the ycv uvf banner the ycv

being the youth wing

of the uvf

i was a member in scotland for 15 years

a substitute master in an arms lodge

the state of glasgow from me i remember

the orange order

i became involved in loyalists politics

selling also defence association

magazines things like that

i was involved in a flip band as well

went to belfast every year

and through being involved in that

uh aspect uh

i was like it was like being a

anti-catholic and aira

you know but i came up against that

problem when i received

literature from like the the uda

which was like magazine called the south

african patriot which

was a racist south african magazine keep

swimming pools white and things like

that which i was quite

disturbed about because although i

regarded myself as being

a loyalist i wasn't interested in the

racial

politics of aspects national front etc

so i was quite i was unhappy about that

and

i complained about it they stopped but

just before they stalked i actually

received literature from the federation

of conservative students

which was a magazine called the unionist

which was uh

things like bring back the be special

support the contras and nicaragua uh

supporting anita on the sort of

right-wing groups around the world

i wasn't interested in the conservative

party

having just became unemployed and

everything else then i hated the tories

as much as everybody else

during the activities of the middleton

anti-fascists the extreme right has not

been able to operate in manchester for a

decade

they've been forced to confine their

activities to surrounding towns like

rochdale

alpha has followed them by lifting white

estates

we seek to cut off their supply of

recruited source by showing that though

many of their supporters are poor

themselves

they are the enemies of the poor it was

when the stages had actually started to

go up and

one of the um candidates for the bnp was

standing for election

we live in a council area now and a new

family had moved in a white family

and it was a young girl i think of

14. she used to go around to the asian

homes at night and

throw bricks through the bedroom windows

there was a

group of young people who lived nearby

who were openly racist

now that um come nightfall that they'd

come round and

smash in windows throw things through

the letterbox

when we'd go out there there'd be verbal

abuse

so we decided to call in the police

now they they they said they couldn't do

anything

i don't agree with violence but if

there's no other way then

you need to

for many people the consequences are far

more serious

in newham and east london borah a black

family remembered another victim

beaten to death a couple of months ago

in an unprovoked attack

even police figures show that in this

part of east london

racist attacks have risen by 99 over the

last year

[Music]

while we know the far right does not

carry out all the attacks they benefit

from racial hatred

as it is their function to divide the

working class against itself

here in birmingzi on the back of their

success in opposing the anti-racist

march you saw earlier

they have established a successful paper

sale

[Music]

so on this occasion we took their pitch

as part of our attempt to remedy the

situation

our policy is to physically deny them

the potential to grow

[Music]

while we realize they are still

relatively small here

in many countries they are not if we

can't stop them now

when they're small then in all

probability we're not going to stop them

right

[Applause]

foot soldiers of fascists have always

been

working class at times of economic chaos

strife trouble the fascists rear the

ugly heads

pretending to be the new radical

opposition

when in fact they are the mercenaries of

the rich

hired by the rich to maintain their

social order

if only we as a class could realize that

it's pointless fighting

between black and white protestant

catholic

jew arab not our interests

lie in standing together it's no good

fighting

for the crumbs that fall off the rich

man's table

the smaller the crumb the more violent

the fight

it's no good tobin's hypny looking down

on tubman's

in germany in 1932 one year before

hitler came to power

he received only 20 of the vote in 1992

in france

le pen's national front received just

over 14 percent of the vote

remember fascism doesn't start with

concentration camps

that's where it ends

so

oh

[Music]

[Applause]

is

[Applause]

[Music]

[Applause]

you