On Saturday 17 October, the Birmingham branch of the Revolutionary Communist Group organised an open planning meeting to expand the Stop Operation Fearless campaign in Handsworth Park. Local residents and political groups came along, including Young Struggle, Food Not Cops and Queers for Palestine. Some in attendance were part of historic anti-racist struggles in Handsworth, such as members of the Birmingham Black Sisters.
We came together to voice out opposition to Operation Fearless, a West Midlands Police initiative that has increased police presence, stop and search, and immigration enforcement raids in Handsworth. Since its introduction in May, the RCG has held protests against the Operation, a public meeting and a workshop on previous police operations in Handsworth, a film showing of ‘Handsworth Songs (1986)’, and have confronted local Green and Labour councillors over their role in the Operation, as well as intervened at residents meetings run by Soho BID, a primary backer of the Operation.
Comrades of the Birmingham RCG branch opened the meeting by explaining the mechanisms of Operation Fearless, illustrating why a fight against police brutality and immigration raids necessitates confronting the racist British state. A vibrant discussion followed where attendees decided on the best steps to combat Operation Fearless together. Plans have been made for upcoming meetings and protests.
It is clear that Operation Fearless is not here to keep Handsworth residents safe. It is a typical example of hotspot policing, designed to manage the unrest that develops in historically deprived areas like Handsworth, where living conditions and wages are deliberately kept low in order to preserve the pool of cheap labour that capitalism needs to survive. For migrant workers, the Operation offers only detention and deportation, driven by the needs of capital.
It is therefore crucial that we keep up the pressure against Operation Fearless in Handsworth and draw the links to the racism of the British state, which has coordinated endless attacks against the working class. 80,000 people have been deported under the current Labour government. The working class has seen constant cuts to services, the cost of living is ever increasing, and yet the state has plenty of money to spend on police initiatives like Operation Fearless, which criminalises the poverty resulting from a capitalist system sustained by inequality. Operation Fearless leaves Handsworth in February, but we must ensure that we keep up this fight against the racist and imperialist British state!
If you’d like to join the Stop Operation Fearless campaign, then follow us on our instagram to stay up to date on our upcoming meetings and demos!
@rcgfrfi
@birminghamrcg
