Far Right extremists flee anti-mosque rally in Germany

Militant anti-fascists rout the far-right in Cologne, Germany

A weekend gathering in Cologne of far-right European extremists ended in farce when the main rally was cancelled as the organisers fled for their own safety

Pro-Cologne, a group counting some of Europe's most prominent hardliners in its ranks, had intended to campaign against the construction of Germany's largest mosque, due to be completed in 2010 in the Ehrenfeld district of the city. The building has attracted controversy because of its size, aiming to cater for up to 4,000 worshippers under a dome 37m (121ft) high and two 55m minarets - although they are shorter than the twin 157m spires of the cathedral that dominates the skyline of Cologne.

Politicians invited to the protest included Filip Dewinter, head of the Belgian Vlaams Belang (Flemish Interest) party, Andreas Mölzer, an MEP from the Austrian Freedom Party, and Mario Borghezio, an MEP in the Italian Northern League. Two members of the British National Party were also in town, including Richard Barnbrook, its sole member of the London Assembly.

A press conference to launch the pan-European movement against “Islamification” descended into chaos when its secret location - on board a Rhine river cruiser - was leaked. Left-wing activists arrived en masse to disrupt the event and were so successful that only two Pro-Cologners made it on board before the captain cast off in panic and headed for open water

A Pro-Cologne spokesman said: “Stones, bricks and paintbombs were thrown and the panoramic windows of the Moby Dick were shattered.”

The group had then planned to tour the site of the mosque but this was stopped by the police on the ground that a busload of right-wing extremists cruising through a predominantly Muslim area might not be conducive to law and order.

So the only chance that Pro-Cologne had to make an impact was at its main rally on Saturday afternoon in the Heumarkt square. The organisers hoped for about 1,500 people. They had not reckoned on 40,000 screaming anti-fascists trying to break into the square to remonstrate with them.

With leading delegates stuck at the airport and the Heumarkt besieged, the rally was called off after only 45 minutes. The organisers began dismantling their microphones and stage, hoping that the security cordon would hold as police battled against the more violent protesters who were throwing paintbombs and snatching batons.

Although some of them were spirited away, many were penned in for several hours, unable even to get a beer as the bar owners in the square refused to serve them. Finally the BNP representatives got out, scuttling out the back of some of the buildings lining the Heumarkt, their attempts to present a united European front against Islamification in tatters.

“This was a victory for the democratic forces in this city,” Fritz Schramma, the Christian Democrat mayor, said. The city has a 120,000-strong Muslim community, part of the three million Muslims who make up about 4per cent of the German population.

Times Online

Drugs smear case shows weakness of UK laws

The Muslim News has criticised the weakness of recently passed British laws on religious incitement following the failure to prosecute the BNP over a leaflet which blames Muslims for the heroin trade.

“It just shows that incitement to religious hatred legislation is inadequate and the BNP members use the loophole to target Muslims.” said The Muslim News Editor, Ahmed J Versi.

“If the leaflets were targeted at other ethnic communities like the Jews and Black people then the perpetrators would have been charged for incitement. Muslims, in contrast, are free for all,” Versi said. “Such incitement language results in attacks against Muslims and mosques as the leaflets blame all Muslims for drug peddling.”

His criticism comes as Muslim police officers were demanding an explanation as to why the police had not provided adequate advice to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) which led to no action being taken over a leaflet, which was distributed by the BNP members since June to hundreds of addresses in parts of Lancashire, Cumbria and Yorkshire. It smears Muslims as being “almost exclusively responsible” for the heroin trade 95% of which it says comes from the Afghanistan and Pakistan region. It also suggested “naming and shaming” Muslims to tackle the problem. The National Association of Muslim Police (NAMP) said the CPS had effectively allowed the people in question to continue distributing the material.

In a statement to The Muslim News, Deputy Chief Constable for Lancashire Constabulary Mike Cunningham said: “Whilst we understand that this advice is based on established case law, we roundly condemn the contents of these leaflets and those distributing them” Cunningham said it was “inflammatory in nature” and that the police were “obviously concerned that their distribution in Lancashire could damage community cohesion.”

The Muslim News

BNP looks for cracks in the Potteries

Part of the BNP rabble listening to Nick Griffin talking crap

The British National Party has been rallying support in Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire

The far-right party has been emboldened by its recent successes in local elections - it has nine councillors in Stoke. But it has also been angered by the death of local BNP activist Keith Brown, who was killed by his Asian neighbour.

On Saturday the party handed out leaflets and held a rally to voice its belief that society ignores or plays down violence against whites by non-whites. Mr Brown's killer, Habib Khan, was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to eight years - but the party believes that had their roles been reversed, Mr Brown would now be serving life for murder.

The rally was on an industrial estate in the Fenton area, in a car park off a busy main road. About 300 people attended, at most - mainly tattooed males with shaved heads, but also young couples - some with babies - young women and a few quiet-looking pensioners. There were flag wavers, banner holders and placard carriers. Passing drivers were encouraged to honk their horns, and quite a few obliged.

From a "Truth Truck", speakers including BNP leader Nick Griffin addressed the crowd. Speaking over loud applause, Mr Griffin said they day's activities "tell the establishment in Stoke-on-Trent, and across the length and breadth of the country, that they can no longer brush the attacks on British people under the carpet, because the BNP will be there, not to cause trouble, but to cause a fuss".

Stoke-on-Trent is to hold a referendum in October to decide whether or not to retain its elected mayor. If it votes to keep it, then the BNP clearly fancies its chances.

"We have very, very good councillors and I have no doubt that we're the front runners for the elected mayor position, which is why Labour is trying to get rid of it," said Mr Griffin, speaking away from the rally in the Meir area.

He puts his party's rise in popularity in the city partly down to the "lazy and corrupt" Labour administration. But what does the wider community think?

Clearly, Stoke-on-Trent is a place ill at ease with itself. Ravaged by a huge drop in the core industries of mining, pottery and engineering, its proud heritage and identity, which made the Potteries a name familiar across the world for its skill in ceramics, is under threat. Many of its citizens appear worried about making a living and angry at the state of the city in which they live. Unemployment, cuts in health services and substandard housing are just some of the complaints on the street.

Meir resident Alan Hough, 62, angrily asks why the police cars parked nearby, clearly keeping an eye on the BNP leader, "aren't out catching criminals". Mr Hough says he has voted for Labour all his life, but says he will vote for the BNP in future.

"My father will be turning in his grave, he fought the fascists for six years," he says. "But Labour aren't doing their job, and that's why people are voting for the BNP, they're desperate. There's no alternative, people won't vote Tory and they're fed up with Labour."

But Labour MP for Stoke-on-Trent South, Rob Flello, says the claim that Labour has done nothing "flies in the face of reality".

"BNP politics are about setting communities against each other," he said. "We're trying to build communities, and strengthen them. We're trying to attract people to the city and bring jobs here. Having a BNP presence makes it seem as if it's a place torn by conflict, with community against community, and that's simply not the case."

There are no non-white people to be seen in Meir, so a taxi ride over to the Shelton area is necessary to find an Asian point of view. Standing outside the local mosque is Abu Kinza, 30. He thinks there are deep divisions within the city's communities, which are partly down to education.

"Stoke-on-Trent's nature is not as aware as other cities," he said. "Asians and whites don't mix. There is lots of racism and the Asian community does suffer. The BNP has support in this city because of a decline in Christian values. That makes people more materialistic and selfish and they don't care about their community. Also, people here aren't educated. Ask them if they've read a book in the last year, the last five years. A lot of them haven't. People from outside of the city say it's one of the worst areas to live in, that it's backwards and that the BNP are strong here. Its presence damages the city's reputation."

Elsewhere in the city a peace vigil was held in opposition to the BNP. It was organised by the group United Against Fascism, with speakers and a march. National campaigner Donna Guthrie said: "It went brilliantly, and hopefully will show the unity the people of Stoke-on-Trent have with each other, which goes against the grain of what the BNP wants to do."

BBC

Landlady bars BNP meeting

A pub advertised on a BNP website as a meeting place for individuals attending a party rally today says it has not given the group permission to use its premises.

The BNP posted instructions on its website for people who wanted to attend the rally, but who were not attached to any formal group or branch, to meet at the Station Arms pub in Meir. But pub managers say they knew nothing about it.

Licensee Patricia Towey and her husband Anthony said they had been to see the organisers of the BNP rally after learning that their pub was due to be used as a meeting place for activists.

Mr Towey said: "We have told them we are shutting the pub because we don't want them here. If they had informed us, we might have been able to come to some kind of arrangement."

The Sentinel

Not waving, just drowning...

This article was submitted by one of our readers, Iliacus. We welcome any contributions from our supporters (as long as those contributions conform to the law and are in reasonably good taste). Please send your articles to us via email.

September's flood (well, stream...well, brook) of by-elections moves on apace, with three contests on the 11th, and no fewer than five on the 18th.

The BNP's performance on the 11th can be summed up very easily. There was no performance. Like Solidarity at an Industrial Tribunal. Like Dickie Barnbrook at a London Brains Trust. Like Nick Griffin at a charitable function. They didn't show up! And so the voters of Harrogate, Guildford and Guisborough (North Yorkshire) were able to elect their representatives (two Lib Dems, one Conservative) without the distraction of the BNP sideshow. (Interestingly the Harrogate ward had suffered a BNP candidate in the recent past; more evidence of the "churn" which is so damaging to the party.)

On the 18th there were five contests: Leeds, two in Suffolk (one County Council, one District Council, in the same area), a seat in Pembrokeshire, and the Glasgow City Council ward vacated by the SNP victor in the recent Glasgow East parliamentary by-election.

The good people of Pembrokeshire and Suffolk were left alone by the BNP (interesting that their recruitment "success" at the Pembrokeshire Show, much trumpeted on the website, didn't result in their being able to field a candidate). Mr Darby's Quiet Revolution sleeps on...

The Leeds by-election was intriguing, being a ward held by the Greens with a substantial majority. They held the seat, but with a hugely reduced majority as the Lib Dems surged through to second place. The BNP finished fourth with 12.7% of the vote, just ahead of the Conservatives and with the Alliance 4 Green Socialism behind them. From our perspective a worrying result. For the BNP to take over 12% in a seat with a wide choice of alternatives, and at least two parties mounting energetic campaigns, indicates a troubling level of electoral support.

But Glasgow was, frankly, an absolute disaster for the BNP. In an alternative vote election (the sort-of PR system used in Scottish local government by-elections) they polled just 73 votes, one behind the "Solidarity - Tommy Sheridan" candidate. It amounted to 1.4% of the vote! I somehow doubt that their Glasgow campaign will get much prominence on the BNP website!

Finally, I need to mention a Town Council by-election in Evesham, which was "graced" by a BNP candidate, because this one might be featured by their website, and claimed as further evidence of the Quiet Revolution.

The BNP came third, and took 18.6% of the vote. So far, so bad. BUT, before we despair (and they rejoice, and anticipate multiple MEPs), consider the following:

1. There were only three candidates (so, to put it another way, they came last);
2. It was a Town Council by-election (i.e. an urban parish council), and neither the Lib Dems nor Labour bothered to contest the vacancy;
3. The turnout was a miserable 11% (which reflects the significance of the event), so the proportion of the electorate who felt sufficiently motivated to go out and vote BNP was...er...2.04%. Which is about the proportion who declare for the BNP in opinion polls, and certainly won't achieve electoral success, even in a European Election party list system.

Next Thursday (25th) sees eight by-elections, with the BNP fielding just one candidate - in a Hampstead ward of the London Borough of Camden where there is every indication that they will again fare dismally.

Across September in total there will have been 18 by-elections - the BNP will have contested just five. Mr Darby? Are you waving...or just drowning?

Race hate case pair appeal

Two men who fled to the United States after being found guilty of publishing race-hate articles on the Internet have launched appeals against their convictions.

Simon Sheppard, of Brook Street in Selby, and Stephen Whittle skipped bail and headed across the Atlantic in July after a jury at Leeds Crown Court convicted them of a series of race-related offences. The pair claimed political asylum, and have been held in a California prison for two months while US officials set a date for their immigration hearing.

Leeds Crown Court has since received papers from the pair's legal teams, applying for leave to appeal against their convictions.

Barrister Adrian Davies, who represented Sheppard during the trial, said the case would probably be heard at London's Court of Appeal if the pair are allowed to challenge the jury's verdicts.

Sheppard, 51, and Whittle, 42, were given bail by a judge on July 11, despite the jury having already returned guilty verdicts on some of the charges. They were due to return to court three days later while jurors deliberated over further charges, but failed to show up. It's believed the pair travelled from the UK to Ireland by ferry before taking a direct flight to Los Angeles. The pair claimed political asylum and were detained at Los Angeles Airport by the US Immigration Naturalisation Service.

Their case has been followed by extremist websites, and supporters have begun sending donations.

Sheppard was found guilty of 11 counts of publishing racially inflammatory written material. He's due to return to Leeds Crown Court on December 8. Whittle, of Avenham Lane in Preston, was convicted of five counts of publishing racially inflammatory written material.

Selby Times

Christians have moral duty to oppose BNP

The Bishop of Stafford has called on people of good will to stand up and speak out against the British National Party.

Speaking ahead of a national BNP rally being held in Stoke-on-Trent [today], the Rt Revd Gordon Mursell said: "The BNP are dangerous because they try to make us believe that all our problems are caused by foreigners. This is nonsense. The Potteries today face many challenges - we need more investment, better housing, and better public transport for a start. But these challenges have nothing to do with foreigners. They are caused by a lack of vision among our politicians who seem unable to work together for the good of the city and the region.

“The reason the BNP are dangerous is because they claim to be able to improve public services when their real agenda is to repatriate immigrants and encourage locals and incomers to hate one another. Christians in particular have a moral duty to oppose the BNP because the Bible explicitly commands us to love the stranger and reverence the alien. We need more outsiders, not less: more skilled workers, more nurses, more office cleaners, and above all more people who bring energy and vision and a willingness to work hard.

“Stoke City Football Club didn't get into the Premier League by hating foreigners. And if we want our city to be where it should be - in the premier league of British cities - we need to welcome everyone of goodwill and work together for the common good. The BNP are bad news."

The Bishop of Stafford has arranged for a church in the centre of Stoke to be open on Saturday morning for a prayer vigil for peace and reconciliation. Saint Mark’s Church in Broad Street, Shelton, Stoke on Trent, ST1 3BQ, will be open from 8.30am to 11.15am for a silent prayer vigil with short times of led prayers at 9.00, 10.00, and 11.00am.

At other times people will be able to pray at various prayer stations, focussing on different aspects of peace in the city of Stoke and world.

Diocese of Lichfield

How exciting. Somebody else joins the BNP.

In a coup to rival the last disastrous publicity coup it announced only to have it backfire on the party immediately to laughs all round, the BNP has announced the support of 'one of Britain’s top fashion models' as a supporter.

Yes, Essex girl Lauren McAvoy has publicly declared her support for the racist BNP - so hopefully she has suddenly reached the end of her short career.

Naturally the BNP is making much of this, claiming that Ms McAvoy has 'graced the cover of numerous magazines', though I defy anyone to name five, not including the Company magazine spread which was part of her prize for winning Britain’s Next Top Model in 2007.

We wondered why anyone with a promising career in front of them would want to associate themselves with the BNP, but then we spotted that her favourite activities included pole-dancing, leading us to wonder if she was talent-spotted by those well-known pole-dance aficionados Mark Collett and Dave Hannam - though it should be said that at 21, she's a fair bit too old for them.

Another favourite activity is, apparently, water sports. I assume she's referring to swimming, though with the likes of perverts such as Martin Reynolds about, who the hell knows?

Strangely, despite a diploma in civil engineering, McAvoy still appears to be up to the usual educational standards that we expect from the BNP. Her more or less moribund MySpace page breathlessly announces that she is 'excited about having a chinease with her wonderful girlies tonite'. One could make a nasty crack about the similarities between her and that other 'celebrity' BNP member Simone Clarke (now doomed to sit on the exec of the failed Solidarity union alongside the dreary Patrick Harrington) but had better not.

Actually, mention of Clarke reminds me that we'd better warn McAvoy about the ever more bizarre Dickie Barnbrook. Still desperate to do away with the continuing label of gay porn film director and star, he appears to be unable to resist sending women pictures of his todger, as Annika Tavilampi found out. At the time that Barnbrook was trying to bed Ms Tavilampi, he was supposedly engaged to Clarke and still married to his wife, a Metropolitan Police officer. Tavilampi described Barnbrook as a 'sleazebag' after he proposed to her at more or less the same time as he proposed to the BNP's dancing queen. He seems to fit right in with all the other sleazebags in the party as far as we can see.

Simone Clarke was at the height of her career when she joined the BNP. Ten minutes later, her career was dead and buried. We shall follow Ms McAvoy's career with considerable interest to see whether it goes the same way at the same speed.

BNP member may be struck off teaching register

Solidarity's Adam Walker: expecting detention from the General Teaching Council

A teacher and prominent British National party member could be struck from the teaching register after he was accused of posting racist comments to a website from his school laptop.

Adam Walker, who taught at Houghton Kepier sports college, a foundation school in Houghton-le-Spring, Tyne and Wear, has stood as a candidate for the BNP in local elections and is president of the party's closely affiliated trade union Solidarity. He is accused of expressing views "suggestive of racial and religious intolerance" in an online forum.

Walker resigned from his post at the school after the disciplinary action was taken. The allegations date back to spring 2007.

The comments he is accused of making have not been made public but will be closely scrutinised in the General Teaching Council hearing later this year.

Walker is currently attempting to have the GTC chairwoman, Judy Moorhouse, removed from the disciplinary hearing panel, claiming she is biased against him. He told the Times Educational Supplement that the case was being "driven by political spite", adding: "No other teacher at the school has had their internet use monitored in the way mine was. My real crime is political dissidence."

Christina McAnea, of Unison, said: "Schools should be centres of learning and tolerance, not breeding grounds for the poisonous views of the BNP."

Walker worked as a supply teacher at Teesdale school in Barnard Castle, County Durham, last year. He stood as a BNP candidate for Tudhoe in the Durham county council elections in May.

Guardian

Antisemitism and Islamophobia rising across Europe, survey finds

Antisemitism and Islamophobia are on the rise across Europe, according to a survey of global opinion released yesterday.

In contrast to the US and Britain where unfavourable opinion of Jews has been stable and low for several years at between 7 and 9%, the Pew Survey of Global Attitudes found that hostile attitudes to Jews were rising all across continental Europe from Russia and Poland in the east to Spain and France in the west. The survey found that suspicion of Muslims in Europe was considerably higher than hostility to Jews, but that the increase in antisemitism had taken place much more rapidly.

"Great Britain stands out as the only European country included in the survey where there has not been a substantial increase in antisemitic attitudes," the survey found.

Antisemitism has more than doubled in Spain over the past three years, with a rise from 21% to 46%, the survey of almost 25,000 people across 24 countries found, while more than one in three Poles and Russians also had unfavourable opinions of Jews. In the same period antisemitism in Germany and France also rose - from 21% to 25% in Germany and from 12% to 20% in France among those saying they had unfavourable opinions of Jews.

"Opinions of Muslims in almost all of these countries was were more negative than are views of Jews," analysts said. While Americans and Britons displayed the lowest levels of antisemitism, one in four in both countries were hostile to Muslims.

Such Islamophobia was lower than in the rest of Europe. More than half of Spaniards and half of Germans said that they did not like Muslims and the figures for Poland and France were 46% and 38% for those holding unfavourable opinions of Muslims.

People who were antisemitic were likely also to be Islamophobes. Prejudice was marked among older generations and appeared to be class based. People over 50 and of low education were more likely to be prejudiced.

Guardian

Right-wing activists cash in on the KOSB

Border army veterans will be shocked this week to learn that copies of a CD featuring the regimental pipes and drums of the King's Own Scottish Borderers are being sold to raise money for the right-wing British National Party.

An investigation by The Southern discovered the CD – entitled The Bluebells of Scotland – for sale on the website of the BNP's merchandising arm, called Excalibur, which sells items to raise funds for the party. As well as CDs, Excalibur sells a large catalogue of white supremacist literature, as well as everything from Union Jack bedspreads and Enoch Powell T-shirts to the replica Victoria Crosses that recently caused so much furore.

Regarding the CDs, the Excalibur website boasts: "In keeping with our purpose of encouraging and promoting British culture, Excalibur is today proud to announce the launch of a new range of music CDs. They have all been specially chosen to reflect the richness of European British culture." And it also goes on to state: "Excalibur is the merchandising arm of the British National Party. Our aim is to promote the survival of the British people by providing educational material and culturally-valuable items which will reinforce our claim to freedom and independence on our island."

The pipes and drums of the KOSB – now merged into the Royal Scots Borderers battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland – are also referred to by Excalibur as the 'Scottish Borders Military Band'.

Brigadier Allan Alstead, a former commanding officer of the KOSB and a regimental trustee, was disturbed to hear of the link with the BNP. He told TheSouthern: "I have a copy of The Bluebells of Scotland which I have had for many years and which I like very much, but how copies got into the hands of Excalibur I have no idea. Personally I would not wish to see the record being sold to aid the BNP. Certainly we would never regimentally ever sell records or anything else for that matter in aid of any political party. All money we generate is for charitable purposes and used to provide help for those in need.

Southern Reporter

Anti-racist peace vigil as BNP meet

Campaigners are urging people to attend an anti-racism vigil on Saturday. The Unite Against Fascism and Love Music Hate Racism protest event will involve speeches from trade union leaders and campaigners.

The organisers are hoping to attract support from hundreds of people. The event, which will coincide with a BNP rally, is also being supported by local organisations like North Staffordshire Campaign Against Racism and Fascism and Staffs University Students Union. The protest, titled a Peace and Unity Vigil, will be held at the North Staffordshire African Caribbean Association car park, in Cannon Street, Hanley, at 10am.

Weyman Bennett, joint secretary of Unite Against Fascism said: "We believe it is the intention of the BNP to whip up tension in the city long after Nick Griffin has retreated. We believe it is a mistake the BNP have been allowed access to Stoke-on-Trent this coming Saturday particularly with regard to leafleting on the streets. Our event will be a peaceful demonstration."

Later on Saturday, an anti-racism music festival called Jam It, will be held in Hanley Central Forest Park from 12pm to 7pm. Music acts SWAY, Skinnyman, Ghetto, and Jammer will all perform. Live graffiti demonstrations, inflatable laser quest and bouncy castles will also be laid on to entertain the crowds at the celebration event.

But the protest in the morning is specifically aimed at combating the BNP event which is being held somewhere in the city centre at the same time.

The locations and details of this BNP event will not be made public until Saturday morning. BNP councillor Michael Coleman said: "The plans are guarded because a lot of anti-BNP activities go on and we could be targeted. We want our rally to be a positive activity and so we are using all the right precautions so that rent a mobs from outside the city do not attack us. We have some people travelling in from outside the city and we do not want them to be faced with something violent. We have planned for about 500 people and if we had 1,500 we would not be able to cope with that. If there is any form of confrontation we will walk away. This will be a peaceful protest – that is how democracy works."

The BNP rally has been organised the wake of a highly contentious court decision. Habib Khan of Normacot, was jailed for eight years last month for the manslaughter of BNP activist Keith Brown.

A police spokesman confirmed officers are in talks with the BNP about their rally. He said: "We have met with members of the BNP on three occasions to discuss their planned campaign for September 20. "During these meetings we have discussed their legal obligations and will continue to meet with them in the approach to the day."

The Sentinel