EDL march, Antifascists stage a counterdemo

Reports takenfrom IMC-UK here: http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2010/03/447013.html?c=on#c244098

Pics of EDL march: http://london.indymedia.org/other_medias/4413
Pics of Anti-EDL protest: http://london.indymedia.org/other_medias/4426

Videos: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DgWulNmew0 and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6VWZcTirAk

Report 2pm: EDL going nowhere, march held at bay by anti fascists. Various antifascists have been holding the EDL march at bay for an hr now. They have blocked the route of the EDL march which was due to start at 1pm and despite the polices best efforts of harrasment, intimidation and numerous arrests the line is holding strong. Further more smaller Antifascist groups are roaming free of the kettle picking off EDL in the back streets. No Pasaran!

Report 3.45pm: Two sides are seperated outside parliment. No chance of getting to each other best to work outside the kettle.

Report 5.00pm: Not so much held at bay. It wasn't so much the Anti-Fascists at the police who were holding them at bay.

By 2:30 the police had pushed ALL of the counter demo into the park or onto the pavement, then kettled them and parked vans infront of them. EDL then allowed to march through, jeering and swearing, whilst people chanted "who's streets, our streets" from the pavement.

EDL ran over to wave at some builders working on Wesminster abbey, then started pissing all over the abbey hoardings. Police then kettled them, as they chanted "I'm English till I die" (do they become French upon death???)

All around a bit of a farce from both sides. Battle of cable street this was not.

Fair few Anarchos milling around. Focus was all on anti-EDL as opposed to a clearer "fuck sharia, fuck the racists" as perhaps should have been the case.

Report 5.30pm: Saw loads of anti-fash getting nicked. Aboout a dozen put on a TFL bus. I think for blocking the road and not moving. The cops cleared the road and then the EDL march came through. Seemed to be about 100 of them. When they arrived at the designated protest place, about a dozen of them peed against the wall in a line! I can't wait to see the pics of that. There were tons of press around.

Report 7.45pm: There were about equal 200 each Anti-Fascists and EDL, and though we arrived late - after the police kettle had formed - what seems to have happened is that the UAF tried to block the path of the EDL march at least an hour before it actually arrived, giving the police plenty of time to kettle and arrest Anti-Fascists. A bunch of weather-beaten older EDL hooligans / spotters stood around smirking as the cops kettled and nicked Anti-Fascists, and then mobiled through to start the EDL march once the cops had got most of the opposition out of the way. Keeping the Anti-Fascists loose and mobile and then throwing up a blockade at the exact moment the EDL actually arrived would have been much better.

The EDL marched "successfully" from Tate Britain to Parliament Square, grunting all the way, but it was obvious they definitely weren't welcome. I heard some pretty disgusting racial abuse from one EDL supporter, there was 1 black and 2 Asian guys on their demo (1 Asian flying a Rangers flag!) - as opposed to the probably 30% of the Anti-Fascists who were black or Asian. The idiot waving the Hammer and Sickle flag gets the Dork-of-Week award for confirming the EDL supporters' self-righteousness / world-view. EDL leader and BNP activist Chris Renton stood out like a sore thumb -