Unite Against Fascism Fascists Arrested On Way To EDL Rally

Five Britons were among 34 people arrested by Dutch police as they headed to confront far-right activists showing their support for controversial politician Geert Wilders.

The "anti-fascist" group was intercepted en route to take on around 50 supporters from the English Defence League who had gathered at a train station near Sloterdijk, northwest of Amsterdam, for their legal action.

Police said they also stopped and diverted a metro train carrying dozens of "football hooligans" bound for the isolated area in order to "prevent a confrontation".

A website for Ajax Amsterdam supporters had urged fans to confront the EDL "because we don't tolerate racism and fascism in our city".

Wilders - who did not support plans for the demonstration - is being prosecuted in the Netherlands for inciting hatred and discrimination against Muslims.

His pledge to "stop the Islamisation" of the country during a campaign could see him fined £7,600 or jailed for up to a year.

The EDL were given permission to hold the action in the isolated area near Sloterdijk rather than Amsterdam's centre, where it would have been harder to manage.

Officers were later tipped off about plans among English and Dutch football hooligans to use the event for "hard confrontation".

The five Britons arrested were among 18 people picked up for failing to carry proper identification. They were fined £60 and freed, police spokesman Rob van der Veen said.

A further 14 were held for "public violence" and remain in custody to "appear in court soon", he added.

Sky News reporter Enda Brady, who was at the scene, said the EDL minibus was stoned, but no one was hurt.

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European far-right parties want referendum on Turkey in EU

VIENNA
Europe's far-right parties want an EU-wide referendum on Turkey's plans to join the current 27-nation bloc, the leader of Austria's populist Freedom Party, Heinz-Christian Strache, said Saturday.

Strache, who had invited right-wing parties from Belgium, Denmark, Italy, Slovakia and Sweden to a two-day meeting in the Austrian capital, told a news conference that the parties believed Turkey had no place in Europe and ordinary citizens should be given a say in the matter.

Europe would be "straying down the completely wrong path" if it were to admit "non-European countries" into the European Union, the far-right party leader said.

"That would be the end of the European Union. It would be the beginning of a Euro-Asian-African Union, which goes completely against the project of peace in Europe and must therefore not be allowed," Strache said.

Under the EU's Lisbon Treaty, which came into effect in December 2009, a Europe-wide referendum can be held if a million people in a "substantial number of member countries" call for one.

But it is not clearly defined what a "substantial number" would be, Strache pointed out.

Attending the two-day meeting were Fiorello Provera from Italy's Northern League, Morten Messerschmidt from the Danish People's Party, Bruno Valkeniers, head of Belgium's Flemish nationalist Vlaams Belang party as well as its founder Filip Dewinter, August Lang of the Slovak National Party, and Kent Ekeroth of the Sweden Democrats.

Other far-right parties, such as France's National Front, the Dutch FVV party of Geert Wilders, Hungary's Jobbik, Bulgaria's Ataca and Greece's LAOS did not attend.

The aim of the meeting was to develop new contacts, said Andreas Moelzer of Austria's Freedom Party or FPOe.

In municipal elections in Vienna on October 10, the FPOe saw its support nearly double to 27 percent fromm 15 percent.

Copyright © 2010 AFP

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Al-Qaeda magazine suggests crashing trucks into crowds

Al-Qaeda urged Muslims in western countries to weld deadly steel blades to SUV vehicles and then plough into civilian crowds, in the second edition of the group's online English-language magazine.

"Inspire", a 74-page propaganda organ published by the Yemen-based wing of the Islamist group, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), aims to recruit young westerners to the jihadi cause and to inspire random attacks.

In an article titled "The Ultimate Mowing Machine", illustrated with a picture of an imposing civilian Ford four-by-four truck, the group suggests arming the vehicle as a spiked battering ram and targeting crowded areas.

It urges attacks in "Israel, the US, Britain, Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Denmark, Holland and other countries where the government and public sentiment is in support of the occupation of Palestine.

"If you have access to firearms, carry them with you so that you may use them to finish off your work if your vehicle gets grounded during the attack," the article continued, warning that militants must be prepared to die.

"After such an attack we believe it would be difficult to get away safely. Hence, it should be considered a martyrdom operation," it said.

Other articles include an interview with Abu Sufyan al-Azdi, a Saudi AQAP leader who was formerly imprisoned for six years at the US detention centre in Guantanamo, and messages from the radical US imam Anwar al-Awlaqi.

Dated autumn 1431/2010 in the Muslim and Julian calendars respectively, the second issue of "Inspire" showa that Al-Qaeda's Yemen branch increasingly presents a serious threat to western targets.

Awlaqi in particular is bent on radicalising fellow English-speaking US and western citizens, and is accused of helping a Nigerian student plan the failed Christmas Day 2009 "underpants bombing" of a trans-Atlantic flight.

Awlaqi has publically urged US Muslims to follow the example of Major Nidal Hassan, a US army psychiatrist accused of fatally gunning down 13 colleagues during a rampage at Fort Hood, Texas, in November last year.

YOU CAN DOWNLOAD A COPY OF THE MAGAZINE BY CLICKING HERE or HERE
UPDATE: Looks like somebody doesnt want this publication getting out, the first link has been removed, not by myself, but by some other power. The second link is working at the moment. Should you find none of the links work then leave a commant and I will reupload it.

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Violence flares at Unite Against Fascism protest in Leicester

A number of police and members of the public have been injured as protesters from Unite Against Fascism (UAF) and a rival organisation gathered in Leicester.

The English Defence League held a static demonstration and Unite Against Fascism (UAF) staged a counter-protest in the Humberstone Gate East area of the city.

At least 1,400 officers were drafted in from 12 other forces to deal with the demonstrations, the city's largest policing operation in 25 years.

UAF supporters arrived from across the country in coaches throughout the morning.
Before the protests started, police said one person was arrested for drugs offences and another three people were also arrested.

Earlier this week, Theresa May, the Home Secretary, authorised a blanket ban on marches in Leicester, but the groups were still permitted to hold static demonstrations in Humberstone Gate East in the city from 2pm to 3.30pm.

The area was shut down by police today, with rival groups placed either side of metal barriers.

Much of the city centre appeared quiet and some shops were boarded up near to the protest site.

Police were using Section 14 of the Public Order Act which meant officers could take action against anyone who protests outside that place and time.

They were also using stop and search powers, and were supported by the dog unit, mounted unit and East Midlands Air Support Unit.

At one point a policeman was put into a buggy-style ambulance on a stretcher.

Some EDL protesters were also treated by police medics, it is unclear what their injuries were.

But what did the residents think?

Mark James, 40, a property developer, was watching the EDL demonstration. Being black, he said, gave him his own perspective on the event.

"The EDL invited me in to hear what they had to say and I was ready to go in, but the police said I couldn't, it was too dangerous, it could provoke trouble.

"You hear and see terrible things about Islamic extremism, so you can see why people would not want that.

"And the neighbourhood I live in here in Leicester is mostly Muslim and every community has its own racism - you don't always here about that."

Also watching was Cindy McCammon, 19, a student from Burton-on-Trent. Her friends had come "to see what was happening" but she said she had some respect for the EDL.

"You have to stand up for what you believe in," she said. "They have a point but they go about it the wrong way.

"If I see someone walking down the street with a St George's Flag on their shoulders, I feel proud.

"We shouldn't be afraid to stand up to things which are wrong, even if they are done by people from an ethnic group."

It is thought the violence was started when a group of UAF activists who had infiltrated the EDL protest broke away from the group and confronted a group of local Asian and black youths in the Highfields area of the city. But the violence was brought under control by police who dispersed the group.

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