- Anti-Fascist Action
Anti-Fascist Action (AFA) was a militant anti-fascist organisation founded by
Red Action and other left-wing groups in theUnited Kingdom in 1985. [ [http://libcom.org/history/1985-2001-anti-fascist-action-afa 1985-2001: Anti-Fascist Action (AFA) | libcom.org ] ]It was active in fighting organisations it claimed were fascist or racist, such as the National Front and
British National Party . AFA had what they called a "twin-track" strategy: physical confrontation of fascists on the streets and ideological struggle against fascism inworking class communities. Fact|date=January 2008 While mainstream liberal anti-racist groups often focus their attention onblack people and other racial minorities as the victims of discrimination, AFA focused its efforts on the white working class, which it saw as the fascist movement's main recruiting ground. AFA's physical confrontation approach was more visible than their ideological work, and their tactics were criticised for theirsquadism and use of violence.Ireland 's Anti-Fascist Action appears to be modelled on the British group, but its website implies that it has a greater emphasis onIrish Republicanism . [ [http://www.geocities.com/irishafa/ Anti-Fascist Action, Ireland ] ]History
AFA was launched in
London in 1985 by members ofRed Action and theDirect Action Movement . It was partly a reaction to the perceived inadequacies of the originalAnti-Nazi League (ANL), which at the time had wound up its operations. AFA members accused ANL of failing to directly confront fascists, of allying with moderates who were complicit in racism, and of being a vanguardist front for the Socialist Workers Party (SWP). Although many Trotskyist groups, independent socialists, anarchists and members of the Labour Party were active in AFA in the 1980s, the main members were always fromRed Action , a group founded by disillusioned miltant anti-fascist SWP members who had criticised perceived populist orpopular front politics of the ANL. Affiliated organisations in the early history of AFA included Newham Monitoring Project and "Searchlight" magazine.Thousands of people took part in AFA mobilisations such as the
Remembrance Day demonstrations in 1986 and 1987, and a mobilisation againstBlood and Honour in May 1987. In 1988, AFA formed a musical arm, Cable Street Beat, on similar principles to the Anti-Nazi League’sRock Against Racism . In 1989, there was a split in AFA between militant anti-fascists and members whose views were closer toliberal anti-fascism . The militant groups relaunched AFA that year, with the affiliates Direct Action Movement and Workers' Power, as well as severaltrade union s.1990s
In 1990, three AFA members were jailed for attacking a fascist. In 1991, AFA held a Unity Carnival in East London, with 10,000 participants, and a demonstration in
Bethnal Green , with 4,000 participants (under the slogan “Beating the Fascists: An old East End tradition”). A long street battle between AFA and Blood and Honour supporters in October 1992 was dubbed the "Battle of Waterloo" because it was centred aroundWaterloo Station . [ [http://www.redaction.org/anti-fascism/it_woz_afa.html It Woz AFA Wot Done It! ] ] [ [http://www.skrewdriver.net/diamond.html Diamond in the Dust - The Ian Stuart Biography ] ] In 1993,Derek Beackon , a candidate from the British National Party (BNP), won a council seat on theIsle of Dogs in Tower Hamlets, East London; under the slogan of "Rights for Whites." This signalled a turn in the BNP's policy from confrontation on the streets to a bid for electoral respectability. AFA responded with its "Filling the Vacuum" strategy, which involved offering a positive political alternative in these communities instead of concentrating on challenging the fascist presence on the streets.After 1995, some anti-fascist mobilisations still occurred, such as ones against the National Front in
Dover in 1997 and 1998. A new AFA National Coordinating Committee was set up, and in 1997, an official AFA statement forbid members from associating with Searchlight. In 1998 the committee expelledLeeds andHuddersfield AFA for ignoring this policy. There were some local relaunches of AFA groups, such as inLiverpool in 2000. By 2001, AFA barely existed as a national organisation. Most AFA and Red Action activists have consequently devoted their energies to theIndependent Working Class Association . [ [http://libcom.org/history/1985-2001-anti-fascist-action-afa 1985-2001: Anti-Fascist Action (AFA) | libcom.org ] ] [ [http://www.stagebottles.de/blaggers.html Stage Bottles ] ]See also
*
Antifa
*Anti-fascism
*Antifascistisk Aktion
*Anti-racism
*Anti-Racist Action
*Direct Action Movement
*Independent Working Class Association
*Militant anti-fascism
*Neo-Fascism
*Neo-Nazism
*Red Action
*Redskin (subculture)
*Skinheads Against Racial Prejudice
*Squadism
*United Front Notes
Further reading
*
*"Anti-Fascist Action – an Anarchist perspective" by an ex-Liverpool AFA member, 2007, Kate Sharpley Library, ISBN 9781873605493
*"No Retreat" by Dave Hann and Steve Tilzey, 2003, Milo Books, ISBN 1903854229 ( [http://www.spikemagazine.com/1104noretreat.php Author interview in SpikeMagazine] )External links
* [http://libcom.org/history/1985-2001-anti-fascist-action-afa Article about AFA]
* [http://www.geocities.com/irishafa/ AFA Ireland]
* [http://www.antifa.se/ Swedish AFA]
* [http://www.afanederland.antifa.net/ Dutch AFA]
* [http://www.antifa.de/ AFA Germany - Antifaschistische Aktion]
* [http://www.afans.org/ AFA Novi Sad]
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