Sikhs Against the EDL: “We must unite to show these racists they will not win”

The ‘Sikhs Against the EDL’ will be joining a counter demonstration in conjunction with Cambridge Unite Against Fascism (CUAF) against the 'static protest' being held by the English Defence League (EDL) in Cambridge on Saturday 23rd February. Initially the EDL intended to hold a march, but now have announced to hold only a static protest.

This will be the second time in two years that the EDL are turning up in Cambridge. The last time was in July 2011 when they attempted to march to protest against a mosque. The EDL were able to muster only 200 people and were greeted by nearly 2,000 anti-racists from a coalition of organisations including Cambridge UAF, Kick Racism Out of Football and Cambridge Fans United.

Since then activists from UAF groups and other anti-racist groups, across Britain, have pushed back the fascist and anti-Muslim EDL and their racist supporters. They suffered humiliating defeats in Norwich and Waltham Forest last October and November and they also cancelled a planned march in Slough because they said they expected “massive local opposition”.

Meanwhile EDL leader Tommy Robinson (also known as Stephen Lennon and Paul Harris) has been sentenced to ten months in prison for entering the US illegally and his deputy, Kevin Carroll, was arrested last month on suspicion of race hate crime.

The ‘Sikhs Against the EDL’ group was formed two and half years ago in response to the EDL’s attempt to breed anti Muslim sentiment within the Sikh community. A Sikh flag was used during the EDL marches and Sikh insignia and emblems in their vile anti-Muslim propaganda. The EDL did initially attract a few Sikh youth supporters, however most of those Sikh youth have since left the EDL. This is largely due to the campaign led by the Sikhs Against the EDL and also after the EDL decided to make an alliance with the British Freedom Party (BFP), a breakaway group from the BNP but with equally openly fascist policies.

Balwinder Singh Rana, spokesperson for Sikhs Against the EDL, said, “We must keep up the pressure and we must keep showing solidarity with all anti-racists and our Muslim brothers and sisters. The EDL may have been wounded but they have not yet been defeated.”

He further added:

In the current economic climate with mass unemployment and austerity the racists will always try to blame the minorities for all the problems. And when they go looking for scapegoats we are an easily identifiable target. They will also try to divide our communities to turn us against each other. But now is the time for all minorities and white anti-racists to unite together and show to these racists that they will not win.”