Riots on the streets! The labour movement must help us

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At the time of the July 1981 riots, the press said that rioting was just a trend and each riot after Toxteth was a copycat riot.

The truth is that Brixton and Toxteth gave young people the confidence to do what they had wanted to do for ages, get back at the police for the years of harassment. The Tories organise these uniformed thugs to harass youth because they see them as a danger. There's no trade union leaders that could instruct us to stop and 'see sense' The riots were a protest forward. A very large section of youth were radicalised in a short period.

All the labour movement leaders expressed their horror at the riots. Some of them blamed unemployment. None of them blamed themselves for allowing unemployment to rocket unopposed and for failing to involve youth.

Just saying that youth should turn to the labour movement is not enough. Youth have come onto the streets to say what we think. But the labour movement goes on the same. People like Michael Foot, trade unions leaders, and

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rive the fascists back to the gutters where The ma were brc a shorta: They we conditio even Tony Benn, didn't support the youth. The labour movement needs to listen to youth and involve them. They should turn to the youth.

During the riots we demanded removal of the police from the riot areas. They were not 'protecting' the communities. The courts dealt out very heavy fines and prison sentences for all the youth arrested - egardless of the evidence. Class Fighter iped organise defence campaigns and worked with the Bradford 12 Committee which was successful. Their case proved that self-defence by the black community is no offence.

The 'sus' law that allowed police to convict on 'suspicion' (used to harass young blacks) has been scrapped but police harassment of youth still goes on the same. And new Tory legislation in the Police Bill will give the cops more draconian powers to use against youth.

We have no illusions that the police can help the black community. Many of the police are racists themselves. They refuse to say that racists are responsible for racist murders (the most serious one being the Deptford fire massacre) but they are very keen to arrest anti-racist activists.

We call for genuinely independent labour movement inquiries so that these murdering thugs are exposed and are dealt with accordingly. Stoke Newington Dss of black and Asian workers rught into this country because of ge of labour in a period of boom. ere promised good jobs and good us, they got the opposite. when the British bosses don't di any enore, they hound the Police Station has most recently become the centre of a campaign, after Colin Roach was found dead there. Class Fighter works for an independent labour movement and black organisations inquiry and the removal of the racist police at this station.

The police, acting for the ruling class, have employed increasingly brutal tactics in suppressing the working class in this country.

We call for the disbanding of the Special Patrol Group (murderers of antiracist Blair Peach), and groups like the Tactical Aid Group. We demand an end to the Prevention of Terrorism Act, which allows the police to keep supporters of the Republicans and anyone else they choose in custody for long periods.

We think that local communities could police themselves. Bodies consisting of tenants, trade unionists, and Labour Party members should be formed to keep order. The police are part of the capitalist state designed to keep the working class and youth down.

*Stop police harassment *Disband the SPG and forces.

*Build community and ment defence squads.

*The labour movement youth. lack and Asian community, bringing in laws against them such as the racist Nationality Act and particularly attacking the youth.

The Tories allow and in a subtle way encourage racism and 'comedians' on TV get away with the most foul racism while left wing programmes are censored. Also

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gays and lesbians there are many racist bands who provoke the community and who are, together with their followers, protected by the police.They got what they deserved at Southall, and the police again showed whose side they are on.

'Oi' music has encouraged racism among youth. We must find a way to relate to the followers of this cult and make them see that racism and fascism offer nothing to youth but defeat.

The bosses need to split up workers and racism helps them to do it. The argument that blacks are to blame for unemployment gets a hearing when the system is in crisis. That's why the National Front and the British Movement are growing. It is essential that they are stopped. We must be at the forefront of that fight.

We have made some gains in fighting fascists and defending the Asian community against attack. In Coventry it was an LPYS branch supporting the National Left Wing Youth Movement that organised a meeting of 300 local youth to plan the defence of the community in the midst of fascist attacks and murders.

We need to organise groups capable of confronting the fascists and demoralising them by showing our strength. We must also fight to mobilise as much as possible for anti-fascist demonstrations.

We support the call for the rebuilding of a national anti-racist and anti-fascist movement based on labour movement and black organisations. Within this we would fight for a policy of workers' defence squads. We must fight for:

*No platform for fascists - drive the fascists off the streets.

*Build labour movement support for black self-defence. For workers' defence against racist and police attacks.

*No racists to hold labour movement positions. Purge fascists from the labour movement.

*No immigration controis.

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