On 28 August the English Defence League plans to hold a massive demonstration in Bradford.
Locals aren't too happy and this week the Bradford Telegraph & Argus has launched a petition to persuade the home secretary to ban it. It says the EDL march would, "damage community relations and threaten the prosperity and harmony of the city". Local councillors agree.
The anti-fascist campaigners at Hope Not Hate have launched a campaign to stop the march in parallel. They have also released a video showing the violent tendencies and racist leanings of most of its supporters.
Needless to say, I'm not a fan. But on principle, and despite the immense respect I have for Hope Not Hate, I oppose banning the EDL demonstration. To explain why, let me take you back a few years.
In 1995, following protests by a large group of Sikhs in Birmingham, the controversial play Behzti was shut down. The protestors weren't directly culpable – they had a right to protest after all – for that act of censorship; it was the police that informed Birmingham Rep that they could no longer guarantee the safety of their staff. A lot of pressure from local councillors was also alleged. Five years later, when the author of that play tried to put on her next production, the police initially demanded £10,000 a day to protect the theatre – without a single threat being issued. Eventually they were negotiated down to nothing and the excellent production went ahead.
In recent years the police have repeatedly unlawfully stopped protests or brutally intimidated environmentalists.
The problem isn't just the police, it's our political culture. The Conservatives and New Labour have never been particularly enamoured of protecting civil liberties (though the influence of the Lib Dems on the coalition may change this) and have fallen over themselves in the past to give the police carte blanche. The media has the same hypocritical attitude: the rightwing press will rail against protests or complain about the cost of policing on certain occasions, but take up the cause of free speech and the right to insult people at other times.
We need cast-iron laws to protect these pillars of democracy: the right to demonstrate and protest without being shut down without very good cause; and an obligation on the police to provide support or protection regardless of the cost – as is the case in the United States.
The Telegraph & Argus's case against the English Defence League isn't watertight at all. Perhaps it will raise some tensions. But that isn't reason enough to restrict the right to demonstrate. It's incumbent on those local communities to talk to each other and not let the EDL divide them. Banning protests simply gives local councillors an excuse not to have to do the community engagement they'd have to otherwise.
Last, there's little doubt that the EDL are populated by thugs, with members threatening and intimidating people in Luton. And so we need more light shone on the organisation to expose its activities, rather than driving it underground. In this instance, protecting our right to demonstrate is far more important than vague worries that "community relations" will be damaged. Because when that right is curtailed, it is almost always hurts the most marginalised in society.
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