Fight Racism! Fight Imperialism! No. 1, November/December 1979
Throughout this country the Black community has been subjected to horrific and violent racist attacks and provocation. The death of one Brother Gurdip Chagger in June 1976 in Southall was one of such countless incidents.
The death of Gurdip Chagger sparked off a new leaf in our struggles for equality and justice. The youth of Southall demonstrated that they had had enough, leading to the formation of the Southall Youth Movement and similar groups in other parts of the country.
The events in Southall on 23 April 1979 are much more sinister and have grave repercussions for our community in this country. The decision by the Tory Council to allow the racist National Front permission to hold a meeting and spread their filth in the heart of the coloured community was part of a deliberate strategy of provocation. The police accompanied by their notorious SPG deliberately came into Southall to smash the community — old and young, men women and children.
A police state was in operation in Southall. Over 800 people were arrested and 342 of our brothers and sisters charged for daring to defend our community against racist provocation. Many were seriously injured — Blair Peach was killed.
The purpose of the manoeuvre to move all the Southall defendants’ cases to Barnet Magistrate Court, some 20 miles away, is to demoralise the community and smash any resistance. Heavy sentences and fines are being imposed on our brothers and sisters appearing at Barnet, where the contradictory police evidence has become its hallmark.
We are all on trial at Barnet. Defeat for Southall is a defeat for us all.
APPEAL
Southall Defence Fund Appeal
The Southall Youth Movement has made the ultimate sacrifice of all in the defence of Southall and our right to exist. More than half of all arrested on 23 April were our members. Two of our members, Birk and Rai, have already been sent to prison. The severity of the imposed sentences is such that it is estimated some 70-80 more defendants will be sentenced to imprisonment.
What took place in Southall does not just affect Southall, it affects the whole of the Asian Community in this country.
We need your help to save our brothers and sisters who have made the sacrifices.
We hope that you will express your solidarity by donating generously to the Southall Youth Movement Southall Defence Fund.
All donations for the Southall Defence Fund to be sent to: SYM 12 Featherstone Rd Southall, Middlesex.
All cheques payable to SYM or Southall Defence Fund.
