Cover image: Stand up to Racism Wales protest, Cardiff 2022, by Tom Davies
Anti-racists plan to hold a counter protest in Cardiff today against far right and fascist groups who are planning to demonstrate against ‘15 Minute Cities.’
The group Stand up to Racism says that neo-Nazi individuals and groups are looking to “push their poisonous propaganda in the city” later today.
A similar event in Swansea was held two weeks ago, and was chaired by James Harvey of the grouplet Students Against Tyranny, who is on video denying that 6 million Jews died in the Holocaust.
He has also made regular racist, homophobic and anti Trans comments.
The group called ‘Voice of Wales’ were also in attendance at the Swansea event. After the BBC reported that the group had broadcast repeated anti-Semitic and anti Asian comments, they were banned from YouTube.
Voice of Wales – which was previously called ‘Leavers of Swansea’ – have also promoted US Nazi group the Proud Boys and abused Swansea footballers taking the knee during the Black Lives Matter protests.
Both Students Against Tyranny and Voice of Wales are now promoting the event in Cardiff. Many of the key ideologues against 15 Minute Cities hold anti-Semitic views and promote extreme conspiracy theories.
The idea behind 15 Minute cities is that no one should be no more than quarter of an hour – either by walking or cycling – from basic services and amenities. The idea comes on the back of other initiatives to reduce traffic or lower emissions, particularly Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs).
Opposition to such schemes is not solely the preserve of the far right, but the issues of 15 minute cities has become a new target for fascist groups seeking to portray them as a form of ‘climate lockdown,’ where people are confined to small areas.
Stand up to Racism say that when a protest against 15 minute cities was held in Oxford, it quickly descended into racism.
The far right in Britain is seeking to build against the backdrop of a Tory government in Westminster, and Conservative Party leadership in Wales, who are enacting vicious laws against asylum seekers and whipping up racial hatred of refugees.
Only recently, the fascist group ‘Patriotic Alternative’ tried to hold a demonstration in Llantwit Major against the housing of asylum seekers in the town.
In the end, hundreds of locals and anti-racists massively outnumbered Patriotic Alternative, and chants of ‘Refugees Are Welcome here’ drowned them out, forcing the fascist group to pack up.
The far right were also met with opposition in Swansea two weeks ago.
The protest will take place today, Saturday 20 May, at 12 noon May outside Cardiff City Hall.
