TEN THOUSAND people turned out for January's demonstration against the Asylum Bill. organised by London NUS. According to Kevin Blowe, London NUS demonstration they ever organised.
Events were soured, however, when SWP stewards seized control of the front of the demonstration for the Anti-Nazi League (ANL), hustling aside the anner of the AntiRacist Alliance (ARA). In fact, the intention of the organisers was that black and refugee groups should lead the march. Logically, black supporters both organisations sh been among these.
These conflicts reflect deep divisions which go back to the original ANL in the late 1970s The launching of the ANL in 1977 was a good initiative, given the rise of the Nationa. Front at that time; in local elections the NF received 100,000 votes in London.
The fascists were a real An and the election of the and the election of the Thatcher government pushed the fascists aside for a whole period. Thatcher captured the racist vote.
But the ANL tactic always contained within it the danger that the struggle against racism would be reduced to fighting cause the biggest threat to black in Britain was. and remains, state racism.
After 1979, the ANL wound up. But black communities re mained besieged by new racist immigration laws, deportations as well as violent racist attacks.
Since 1979 it has generally been difficult to mobilise big demonstrations against this all-pervasive and systematic Of course, mobilising against the fascists aided the process of fighting racist attacks, which as Thamesmead has shown are often linked with fascist activity. But the idea of building an alliance against racism in ail its forms, the idea that lies behind the ARA, is correct.
The huge 25 January demontration against the Front Naportance of linking the fight against state racism with the fight against the fascists. Thousands of North African immikrants were mobilised on the march because it included demands against the immigration policies of the Mitterrand gov. ernment, as well as the right to vote for immigrant workers.
Given the decision of the British National Party to stand candidates in the general election, there is a natural focus for antifascist activity at this time. But by its nature the ANL cannot be on its own the kind of anti-racist alliance that is needed.
There may well Loto be problems of scist democracy in the ARA, although it is still far too early to Bal draw final conclusions from this. But the ANL is hardly a model of democ racy either.
One lamentable feature of the SWP's strong-arm tactics on the Asylum Bill march was its arrogant and authoritarian attitude to black groups supporting the ARA Self-organisation of the black community in the fight against racism has to central in any successful struggle.
Without seif-organisation there can be no viable self-defence of the communities against racist attacks. Without self-organisation, the huge potential power of the black community as an influential factor in political struggle will be wasted.
Any political actions which attempt to exclude or marginalise self-organised black groups are utterly destructive to the construction of a broad alliance against racism.
Now there are four national organisations engaged in the anti-racist fight - ARA, ANL, and thesmaller Anti-Fascist Action and the Campaign Against Racism and Fascism. Organisational rivalry between the former two is quickly becoming a no-holds barred fight for dominance This is entirely unnecessary and self-defeating. At the very least they should form an umbrella coordination be This is certainiy a time to resume the fight against the fascists, but it is not the due to forget fundamentals, yet again, and collapse anti-racism into the anti-fascist fight.
Despite the increase in their are sail a marginal factor in British poliabove all state racism, remains the biggest the communities, and a critical source of division within the working No. 16 Feb. 15, 1992 Page 3
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