Occupy Bristol claims second camp was trashed by right-wing activists

A second Occupation camp in Bristol has been scrapped after two days because of an attack by a far right group, campaigners have claimed.

Eight tents were set up out outside the KPMG building near the Temple Meads roundabout on Thursday, as an offshoot of the main Occupy Bristol camp at College Green. But Occupy Bristol supporters have claimed on their website that website members of the English Defence League "trashed" the site on Saturday night.

The allegation came the day after Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg condemned the camp outside the Liberal Democrat run Bristol City Council building.

Mr Clegg, visiting Yate on Friday, said many people understood the frustration and anger over irresponsible bankers that led to the demonstrations in Bristol and elsewhere. But he said: "You don't make that point best by building a permanent encampment on College Green. It doesn't help the cause."

According to the Occupy Bristol website, protestors at the KPMG site were "threatened" on Saturday night. In a blog entry an anonymous member of the second camp said the attack happened at 7pm when they were "threatened to have my face bit off, by a male whom I presume was a member of Bristol's EDL firm."

The writer said a middle-aged woman handed over a note that read "people of Bristol eviction notice get off our green".

"It was obvious from early on who they were so I attempted to engage with them," the camp member said. "Nevertheless, I was told they have launched a campaign against Occupy Bristol. This wasn't news to me as it's been acknowledged by us for several weeks. Several Occupations around the country have had repeated problems with EDL members. However, ironically the harder the EDL try to defeat the Occupy movement, the stronger we grow in numbers, power and support."

Police in London arrested a large number of EDL supporters earlier this month because of fears they were going to attack the Occupy camp outside St Paul's Cathedral.

The blogger said Occupy Bristol did not have enough people to defend the second camp as well as the main camp on College Green so it has been temporarily disbanded. Luther Blissett, from the camp, told the Post yesterday the attack on the KPMG camp had not been reported to the police. He said he believed there had been three attackers, although he had not been at the site.

The College Green camp of about 60 tents is the biggest Occupy site outside London. The public open space belongs to Bristol Cathedral but is managed by the city council. Cathedral and council leaders have asked them to leave peacefully but the campaigners, who say they are protesting about the unfairness of modern society, intend to stay. They decided to set up a camp near KPMG because it was "a great strategic location" close to financial services companies including Royal Bank of Scotland/NatWest, HSBC, KPMG, Deloitte, Bank of Ireland, Osborne Clarke, Canada Life and QBE.

The Evening Post attempted to contact the EDL to respond to the allegations but was unable to last night. On its website though, a number of posts have been made claiming the group has "no interest" in Occupy protesters across the country.

A statement posted last week said: "Exactly what they're upset about, what they expect to achieve, and how they actually want things to be done differently, we're not quite sure. Whatever you may happen to think of the Occupy movement, it seems that their protest has been blown out of proportion."

Yate People

EDL Thugs Infiltrate Demo

Thursday saw a small but lively anti-war demo outside Bristol’s Arnolfini, the venue for the second of the “leadership debates” between Brown, Cameron and Clegg. It made enough of an impact to get onto the BBC News, and the protest forced the police to cordon off the building and the surrounding streets. Mounted police and police in riot gear were present, while (in a rather absurd touch) a boat manned by officers with sub-machine guns patrolled the harbour.

The real downside to this demo was that a group of around ten EDL thugs were able to mingle with the crowd, threatening and abusing demonstrators and openly attempting to start a fight. They were escorted by police officers, who made no attempt to arrest any of them, but eventually walked them to a bar right in the middle of the demo, from which position they were able to continue shouting obscenities and provocations at the protesters with impunity. They stayed until they finished their drinks and were ready to leave. Police officers were seen laughing and joking with them throughout these events.

Later there was some trouble, with the police reporting six arrests – though who was arrested and why isn’t clear as I write this. I suspect the people arrested may have been members of the anarchist group that tried to follow the EDL as they moved off. Maybe it was actually the EDL who were busted, but somehow I doubt it.

The police not only failed to enforce the law in a situation where the EDL were acting in an openly provocative, threatening and abusive manner – they actually seemed to be happy for the EDL to act as a catalyst in turning a peaceful demonstration into a violent one. I’ve been an activist for 30 years, and don’t have any illusions about the role of the cops, but even I was shocked by what I saw. I believe that the collusion of the police has implications for how we deal with the EDL threat. That threat is small at present in Bristol, but it’s essential that all Left and labour movement events are carefully stewarded from now on. Click here for mugshots of some of the EDL knuckle-draggers.

Bristol Red

Racism forces Somalis off estate

A dozen Somali families are being moved out of a troubled estate in Bristol because of racist attacks.

The city council said a handful of residents on the Hillfields estate, in the east of the city, have caused abuse, violence and harassment. Incidents have included scarves being pulled off and verbal abuse.

The council added that anti-racism groups were working in the area and it was hoped the perpetrators would be brought to justice.

Nura Aabe, from the Bristol Somali Women's Group, said: "We feel very lonely and isolated and the fact that you have to stay inside to be safe. It's really difficult because at the end of the day you suffer alone and nobody else knows what you go through on a daily basis."

The authorities say the causes of the hatred are complex, but that housing is seen as one divisive issue.

Alan Jones, from the Hillfields Area Housing Committee, said: "The parents are saying, 'oh look, they're getting all the houses'. The children are hearing this and they're reacting on what their parents are saying within the home. If we got rid of the housing problem, that would go a long way."

BBC