We Are Bristol Break Their Word

bristol | protests | opinion/analysis Friday July 13, 2012 13:54 by Red or Black

We are Bristol, one of the main group organising against the EDL march finally broke their promise and have arranged a demo and march with the police. I say We Are Bristol but this is a generalisation, many groups and individuals who have been working hard within the group hadargued to not deal with the police. On two separate occasions resolutions were passed saying We Are Bristol would not talk to the police about their plans or face being ejected from the group. In the last two hours it seems individuals using the We Are Bristol name have broken this promise.These people are therefore now no longer a part of this group and do not speak for its constituant parts.

This decision was not agreed to at the last meeting, the individuals who have chosen to do this have caused confusion by changing thier meet up point and arranged for the police to be present so everyone attending the demo can be easily contained.

Those of us working within We Are Bristol knew it was a metter of time before some individuals sold us out, we were warned again and again against working with a UAF front group but we chose to put our differences aside so we could build a large counter-mobilisation.

In one swoop these individuals have made sure the numbers available to prevent the EDL from marching will be much lower putting peoples safety at risk.

I feel ashamed that I was willing to put any level of trust in these people and defend them from those who dismissed them. I still do believe that mass coalitions are the best way to keep the right wing off the streets.

Reminds me of a chant the Militant bloc sang at a May Day march in London a couple of years ago: "The Left, The Right, You're all a pile of shite."

See You On The Streets - No Pasaran!