Statement on Recent Far-Right Riots and Antifascist Organising in Our City
9 August 2024
We are all aware of the scenes of far-right brutality over the past week, stoked by fascist rhetoric from our governing classes and seeking to terrorise the migrants and people of colour who form an integral part of our communities. We are inspired by the strength shown by antiracists and antifascists up and down the country last night, including in Oxford. We are proud to have stood shoulder to shoulder with hundreds from across the city to reclaim our streets, and we hope to contribute to an ongoing courageous grassroots response to fascism in our communities.
As an anti-colonial coalition committed to the liberation of Palestine, we are compelled to confront Britain's longstanding support for white supremacist violence in all its forms - past and present, at home and abroad.
Global imperial violence and local fascist rioting cannot be treated as separate. British fascists committing Islamophobic hate crimes have been emboldened by months of state and media rhetoric telling them that Palestinian lives are disposable, that Muslims protesting israel's violence pose a threat to Jewish communities, and that the murder of over 186,000 Palestinians is not a genocide at all, but simply collateral damage of israel's 'self-defence'.
British fascists attacking Black people with impunity are emboldened by Britain's perpetuation of anti-Black racism across the globe, most recently reflected in our state's enabling of the ongoing mass killings and forced displacement of millions in Sudan and Congo.
British fascists attempting to burn and break into hotels housing asylum seekers are not only emboldened, but actively encouraged by the rhetoric of all major UK political parties parroting racist talking points about the 'dangers' of migrant communities and the alleged 'need' for stronger borders.
The violence of our politicians, police, and military is the very same violence enacted by fascists on our streets. We cannot fight one without fighting the other.
When politicians declare that these riots do not reflect "British values", they dismiss the reality that white supremacist ideologies have always formed the core of the British, state apparatus. Long before israel's inception, the same British white supremacy which legitimised the violent colonisation of Africa also underlay its colonisation of Palestine. That colonisation is the foundation upon which the British government continues to supply funds, arms, and moral backing for israel's genocide today. We therefore cannot fight for alefree Palestine without organising against owhite supremacist violence wherever it rears its ugly head.
This week's alarming violence also mirrors the violence our Black, Arab, Muslim, and Asian siblings have faced in this country for generations. As we work together to resist these fascists, we draw courage from the movements which came before us, founded by diasporic communities across, Britain who organised to protect one another against precisely these same threats.
OA4P is committed to the fight against fascism and white supremacy, and we look forward to working with and learning sfrom longstanding local organisations as we continué to show up for our city. To use an oft-repeated activist credo, we recognise that we keep us safe: our communities, not state forces, have long formed the first line of defence against racist violence in this country. We salute those who demonstrated against fascists on Monday and Wednesday - and to those who are able, we hope to see you on the streelts when the far-right next come knocking at our door.