Republican News · Thursday 18 January 2001

[An Phoblacht]

BNP picket for Adair

BY FERN LANE

British fascists staged a demonstration in support of jailed loyalist Johnny Adair outside Downing Street on Sunday 14 January. The protest was organised by the neo-nazi British National Party which, together with Combat 18, maintains close links with various loyalist groups in the Six Counties. The 15 or so demonstrators - who were far outnumbered by police - seemed oblivious to the fact that their support for Adair is in itself confirmation of how dangerous and unsavoury a character he is.

Members of the demonstration handed out leaflets to passers-by which complained that ``British patriot'' Adair has been ``interned'' on ``purely political grounds'' by a ``traitorous `British' government because his pro-British beliefs are a threat to their plans to sell out the loyal people of British Ulster to a foreign power, namely the Irish Republic, a nation that has effectively been at war against British Ulster since its independence in 1921''.

The leaflet goes on, in rather confused language, to ask the ``British people to stand by Johnny Adair and demand a judicial review of his case which is based on biased media reports and the biased opinions of a political opponent, Mr Peter Mandelson ... Mr Adair is a political prisoner of a criminal government and deserves your support.''

At this point the, relatively, constrained language of the leaflet clearly becomes too much for its author and it descends into more familiar loyalist/fascist rhetoric. It makes libelous comments about the Birmingham Six and Guildford Four and concludes vigorously: ``But as far as queer-boy communist Mandelson and scumbag Blair are concerned, Johnny Adair is as much of a criminal as they are even though they cannot prove anything against him.''

The leaflet, purporting to be produced by a group calling itself Loyalist Volunteers Prisoners Welfare, concludes by demanding ``Human rights for British patriots. Stop the persecution of Johnny Adair.''


Combat 18 has again threatened to attempt to disrupt the annual London Bloody Sunday commemoration, to be held on 20 January. The march was attacked last year by fascists and in December two prominent members of the notorious football hooligan gang the Chelsea Headhunters, associated with C18, Jason Marriner and Andrew Frain, were jailed for their part in the assault.


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