This Saturday Glasgow once again showed that we won’t tolerate fascists and the far-right on our streets. Around One in the afternoon the BNP, or what remains of them left in Glasgow after an embarrassing split, tried to set up a stall on Buchanan Street. About 50 people gathered around chanting slogans and trying to prevent the BNP from having their stall. Soon their table had been smashed in and their leaflets torn up. The police arrived and took them away in the back of a police van, but the point should be made that it was a hastily put together, but organised presence that got the BNP off the streets, not relying on the police.
Later in the day the Scottish Defence League, who must be getting a bit tired after being routed in both Edinburgh and Glasgow, turned up (a whole 15 of them) at the Cenotaph in George Square. Advance intelligence meant that a group of counter-demonstrators had already assembled and a group of young people prevented the SDL from getting near the monument before being moved away by a few police. More people assembled quickly until there was around 100 anti-fascists including a big number of young people. We kept a presence there until the SDL were removed by the police and the police themselves dispersed, preventing the SDL from any kind of demonstration: there was no chanting, flags, or song from their side only a few sullen face. What was noticeable was the very heavy police presence: over fifty of Strathclyde’s finest turned at a almost a moment’s notice, and their should be no doubt that if their hadn’t been a big presence opposing the SDL until they were forced away that they would have been allowed some kind of a demonstration.
The SDL were once again kicked off the streets of Glasgow, even though we had half an hour’s warning to mobilise. Let’s hope that this is finally the last we’ll see of them.
