'United We Stand'Unite Against Fascism Wales Newsletter Winter 2013

email: secretary@uafwales.com web: uaf.org.uk tel: 07704 356894

supported by:

Islamic Societyfor Wales

day of action against racism has been called for across Europeto coincide with the marking of UN Day Against Racial

Discrimination in 2014, with eyes on the European elections inMay.

Already in most European countries parties of the right, centre andeven the traditional left are allowing the terrain of these elections tobe dominated by racism, xenophobia, anti-Semitism and thescapegoatingofminorities—Muslims, immigrants,Roma,BlackandAsian communities.

Across Europe the fascist and populist racist right are on the rise.From the violent Golden Dawn in Greece, the anti-Roma Jobbik inHungary, the Islamophobic Freedom Party of Geert Wilders in the

Netherlands to the Front National in France, these forces areencouraging hatred, fear and prejudice in a frightening wave acrossthe continent.

In Britain the far right is hoping for gains in the Euro elections. TheBritish National Party (BNP) is seeking the re-election of Nick Griffinin the North West and Andrew Brons is seeking re-election inYorkshire and the Humber. The Tories and UKIP look set to try tooutdo each other in their calls for draconian 'anti-immigration'policies, whilst promoting a Little Englander anti-foreign, anti-Europe mentality.

The 'go home' vans sent out by the Home Office over the summer

Stand upto racism

and fascism

March 22nd, CardiffMarch 22nd, Cardiff

No to scapegoating of immigrants No to Islamophobia Yes to diversityA

Holocaust MemorialDay: Never Again page 2

➢➢➢page 4➢➢➢UKIP & Tories: The

Race to the Gutter

continued fromfront page

2 unite against fascism wales

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was a safe disClifft [aka Chrihe put on Youcharged with inThe Abercynowere in no waycome back”.

n Holocaust Memorial Day we rememberemillion victims of Nazism with the words ‘‘N

Again’’. It’s now 69 years since the liberation oconcentration in 1945; survivors are dying of osoon there will be no one left to give direct tes

That’s what makes it so crucial for us to rememHolocaust today, which is why I went on an edvisit last November to Auschwitz concentrationcamp, organised by Unite Against Fascism (U

Auschwitz 1 was originally constructed in 1940camp for Polish political prisoners. But the firs‘experimental’ gas chamber and crematoria wup and the extermination of prisoners began aWalking through that gas chamber, to then semountains of shoes and human hair housed inmuseum brings home the reality of the Nazis’killing like nothing else can.

It was only after the Wannsee Conference, inwhere it was resolved to implement the ‘Finalthat Auschwitz Birkenau death camp was estawas primarily here that 1.1 million people werein Auschwitz – 90 percent of them Jews, but aNazis’ victims were also 150,000 Poles, 23,0015,000 Soviet prisoners of war and tens of thopeople from other nationalities and groups thadeemed to be ‘‘asocial’’, such as LGBT peopleWe also we visited the Krakow Ghetto, where

are a sign of things to come.Hostility is alreadybeing stirredupagainst Bulgarian and Romanianmigrant workers who will be ableto work here from January. Suchcampaigns whip up racism ingeneral, and induce a blamegame for falling living standardsand squeezed incomes, andencourages discrimination,institutional racism, abuse andviolence against visibleminorities.

This all encourages currents likethe English Defence Leaguewhich turn their Islamophobicprejudices into real attempts toterrorise the Muslim population—attacking Mosques, assaultingveiled women, insulting religioussensibilities with vile slogans andthrowing pigs' heads, as well asorganising intimidating marchesinto Muslim communities.

Following the rising violence ofGolden Dawn and the murder ofanti-fascist rapper Pavlos Fyssas(also know as Killah P), the Greekanti-fascist and anti-racistmovement hasproposed that nextyear's UN Day Against RacialDiscrimination on March 21/22should be the focus for actionsagainst racism and fascismacross Europe.

Unite Against FascismWales hastherefore initiated a call for ademonstration to Stand Up ToRacism in Cardiff on Saturday22nd. March. We endorse thisproposal and call on all those ofgood will to join us in a riposte tothe rise of racism, to show thatmigrants are welcome anddemonstrate our confidence in afuture free of scapegoating andhatred.

Supported by: Wales TUC -Muslim Council of Wales - UnisonBlack Members Group Cymru –Islamic Society of Wales

Wales regions of:UNITE, UCATT, GMB, CWU,PCS, UNISON, UCU, USDAW,NASUWT, NUT, NAHT, BFAUW

Signed in personal capacity by Saulat Abassi,Bridgend – Peter Adamson Abertillery – Cllr AliAhmed Bute Town, Cardiff –: Cllr Mazoor AhmedAdamsdown, Cardiff - Mubarak Ali Chair IslamicSociety of Wales – Pippa Bartolotti Leader GreenParty Wales - Charlotte Briton, National ChairPlaid Cymru – Jayne Bryant Labour MEPcandidate – Ramon Corria Secretary CardiffTrades Council – Cllr Siobhan Corria LlandaffNorth, Cardiff – Tony Crawford Merthyr – CllrDavid Daniels Llantarnam Torfaen - Phil DeaconNUT Rep Lliswerry High School Newport – JillEvans MEP – Rebecca Evans A.M.– Cllr PeterFoley Morfa, Bridgend – Vaughan Gething A.M. –Cllr Iona Gordon Riverside, Cardiff – Julian GossLiaison Officer UAF Wales – Alice GreenleesUnison steward City & County of Swansea – JaniceGregory A.M. – Peter Hain M.P. – Neil HarrisonBranch Chair Amgueddfe & Wales PCS ExecMonitor – Kris Hedges Chair Unison WJEC branch– Jane Henderson, Senior Lecturer CardiffUniversity – Christopher Howard –NationalAssociation of Head Teachers Wales – AledMorgan Hughes Plaid Cymru Youth PresidentAberystwyth Uni - Cllr Anthony Hunt CabinetMember Torfaen CC – Jeffrey Hurford SecretaryUAF Wales – Huw Irranca-Davies MP – Carol AnnIvory Cardiff South - Cerith Rhys Jones PressDirector Plaid Cymru Youth – Gareth JonesUNITE RCO – Glyn Jones Unison RegionalOrganiser, Chair Swansea UAF– Saleem KidwaiSecretary Muslim Council of Wales - Rt. Hon ElfynLlwyd MP Plaid Cymru Parliamentary Leader – CllrCecilia Love Riverside, Cardiff – Cllr GrettaMarshall Cardiff Splott – Cllr Sarah MerryCathays, Cardiff -– Cllr Michael MichaelTrowbridge & St.Melons, Cardiff – Ivan MoncktonUNITE NEC – Julie Morgan A.M - Paul MurphyM.P. - – Andrew O’Leary Sec Unison Health, PortTalbot –- Marianne Owens PCS, NEC – - GlennPage Plaid Cymru Youth Director of Policy andCampaigns – Cllr Rhiannon Passmore CabinetMember Caerphilly CC – Mike Payne GMBRegional Political Officer Wales & South West - RexPhillips NASUWT Wales Organiser – Huw PudnerNeath – Jenny Rathbone A.M.- Christine ReesLabour MEP candidate – Les Rees UNITE SecSwansea Services – Andy Richards RegionalSecretary Unite Wales - - Belinda RobertsonRegional Equalities Officer Unite Wales – ChrisRuane M.P. - Matthew Shephard SwanseaCouncil Unison - Maggie Simpson Vice Chair UAFWales – Amarjite Singh Secretary CWU South-east Wales Amal branch– Cllr Ed StubbsSplott,Cardiff – Ritchie Taylor – UNITE, Bridgend -- Ian Thomas Senior Steward, Unison Cardiff &Vale Health – ‘Pasty’ Turner Sec. SIMA – UnisonCardiff & Vale Health branch - Derek VaughanMEP – Sanjiv Vedi Chair Show Racism the RedCard Wales– - Cllr Darren Williams RiversideCardiff & acting PCS Wales Secretary – LeaneWood A.M. Leader Plaid Cymru - AndrewWoodman Unison Regional Officer

Auschwitz

Phillips on the 'White Pride' nazidemonstration in Swansea

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unite against fascism wales 3

of the earth sent to prisonF’s failed 'White Pride' demo in Swansea in March last year there was supposed to be aod & Honour gig for them. In fact this took place in Abercynon which we suppose they feltstance away. At the gig a NF supporter who had travelled over from the Midlands, Darrenstopher Philips], put on KKK robes and ‘hung’ a life-sized golliwog which was videod anduTube where West Midlands police spotted it. Philips was arrested by anti-terrorism police,nciting racial hatred, and in January jailed for 12 months.n venue is owned by the Valley Commandos Motorcycle Club. A spokesman said theyy racist and were shocked by the event. “They would be run out of town if they tried to

ed the 6Neverof Auschwitzold age andstimony.

mber theducationaln and deathUAF).

0 as a workstwas soon seta year later.ee then theindustrial

1942,Solution’ablished. Ite murderedamongst the00 Roma,ousands ofat the Nazise.the town’s

Jewish population was forced to move when the Nazis’occupied Poland – fenced in by a wall in the shape ofJewish grave stones. The fact that buildings in the ghettohad anti-semitic graffiti scrawled on them was a starkreminder that fascism remains with us and in Poland isindeed on the rise. The alarming thing today is thatsegregation walls are once again being erected. In myhometown Košice, in Slovakia, a wall’s been erectedaround a Roma housing estate, whilst inside there is near100% unemployment, as institutional racism locks manyout of employment, and the water is cut off causingepidemics such as cholera.

In many European states, fascist organisations arerapidly growing in strength and number: in France, thefascist Front National won 18% of the votes in thepresidential election, while in Greece Golden Dawn mobsare actively murdering immigrants. If the threat of fascismappears remote in Britain, it is only because of therigorous opposition of UAF in the last 10 years – all thesocial conditions conducive to the rise of fascism remain.

We cannot afford to be complacent – the fascists mightbe down, but not out, as their attempted mobilisationsafter the Woolwich murder show. What’s more, we areseeing the growth of UKIP and a rising tide of racism, aspoliticians from the main parties and the right- wing pressscapegoat migrant workers for low pay, unemploymentand bad housing.

So what does it mean to remember the Holocaust? In the1930s, the anti-fascists did not know what the Nazis werecapable of doing should they come to power. But todaywe do: it begins with segregation walls going up aroundRoma housing estates in eastern Europe and thescapegoating of Bulgarian and Romanian migrantworkers, and ends in the concentration camps and thegas chambers of Auschwitz Birkenau and Treblinka with6 million dead.

Bratislava without Nazis, a new antifascist organisation inSlovakia, recently produced a poster with the line ‘‘Toremember, means to fight ... against fascism’’ – so whenwe say ‘‘Never Again’’ it’s not just an act of passiveremembrance. It means continuing the fight againstfascist organisation, such as the National Front (NF) inSouth Wales, and combating the growing tide of racismbeing pumped out by UKIP and the right-wing press. Inthe coming months, it means building the March 22nddemonstration in Cardiff ahead of the European electionsin May, which are set to be a carnival of reaction as allmajor parties compete on who can be toughest onimmigrants.

That way we will remember the Holocaust, by makingsure it is never allowed to happen again.

Tomáš Tengely-Evans

z: Never Forget. Never Again.

One of the imageson one of Phillips'social-media sites

Honorary President: Peter Hain M.PChair: Ali Ahmed Vice-Chair: Maggie Simpson

Treasurer: Amarjite Singh Secretary: Jeffrey Hurford Liaison: Julian Goss

‘The threat from the BNP and fascist groups in Wales is real and immediate.They bring division to our communitiesand all thinking, compassionate people should oppose them. Now is the time to mobilise on an all-Wales basis, tomeet the threat from these racist, fascist thugs as it arises.’ Peter Hain MP

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UAF Wales annual membership fees are: Individuals: £5 and £2 for concessions Organisations: Local £20, Walesunfunded £40, Wales funded £100 Return to: UAF Wales, 271 Cowbridge Road East, Cardiff CF51JB

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eresaMayhas said that theCoalition’sImmigrationBill “aims tocreatea really

hostile environment for illegalmigrants”. Inpractice its harsh measures will create ahostile environment for ALL migrants –and that is surely the Coalition's intention.

The main provisions of the Bill are asfollows:

It takes away the right of appeal againstHome Office decision on immigrationstatus until after a migrant has beendeported.This is intended todrastically cutthe current 40% success rate for appeals.

It turns landlords into border guards byfining them £3000 if they let their propertyto an 'illegal' immigrant. In practicedetermining someones immigration status

is complex, it is not just a matter of havinga British Passport. To avoid troublelandlords are likely to turn away anyonewho looks or sounds foreign. There will nodoubt be a pool of unscrupulous landlordswho will let – at a price.

Havinghelped create themyth ofNHSandBenefit tourism, the Government Billpresents a fake solution.

Currently those eligible for free NHStreatment are those of us defined as‘ordinary residents’. That is we are settledand live here lawfully. This is to change tothose who have ‘indefinite leave toremain’ [ILR]. This is a very different statuswhich can only be achieved by those whohave lived here lawfully for ten years.Those without ILR status can now be

charged.There is a fear that seemingly smallchanges in status can then be used inother areas to take away migrants rights.

This Bill is unlikely to have much affect onoverall immigration figures but it will helpfoster an increasingly hysterical and racistattitude tomigrants. It is part of the ‘race tothe bottom’ as parties seek to competewith UKIP and 'Nasty Nigel’s' right-wingpopulism.

By the time this is published it is likely thatthe Bill will have been passed by theCommons. It is supported by Tories andLibDems – Labour aims to amend some ofthe harshest sections such as thosedeferring appeals but has so far abstainedon the Bill itself.

Pandering to Nasty Nigel

http://standuptoukip.org

UKIP leader Nigel Farage in less happy times after crashing his plane

T

Jeff Hurford