BUCKETFULS of rubbish have been talked about the riots by the and Tory politicians. The biggest lie of all is that the were caused by 'outside agitators'.
Brixton was an uprising by whole black and white against the theicholice;
sick treated like garbage by the cops, the bosses and their government.
The Tories have cut back social services and slashed government grants to places like Brixton, and unemployment.
Government ministers only express their concern at the fate of unemploved youth when they are faced Will fights back.
There are six crucial lies which the Tories and the media have used to defend the police Lie 1 It was caused by Everyone in knows this is rubbish. trouble started last Friday after the police had hundreds of officers in the area.
During preceding the explosion, the a shas be cop ig search' operation in BrixLOI Over a thousand people called stopped than 100 arrested during this period.
It amounted to an atwhole community, d
Brixton
media events happened in community a community of being hiked up community which Brixton The already the week 'stop flict 'Swamp 81' and intimidate is just part and parcel of their policy of heavy po'troublesome' -O1 The uprising sparked off when a youth who had been stabbed was interrogated by the police instead of being taken to hospital that's black youth rescued him and took him to hospital themselves, thus causing a fight with the cops.
More than 95 per cent of those charged during the weekend have addresses in the Brixton-Lambeth area obviously agitators' Lie 2, 'It was a racial conflict Everyone was on the streets of Brix ton knows that no hostility was displayed to whites on the streets - just to the police. Many young whites fought alongside youth.
i was lease the cock Was youth, because they are on the bottom of the pile, the ones who are particularly harassed by the cops. They are the victims of racist attacks, and find it hardest to get a job Lie 3 "The police aren't to keep law Nonsense. racist through.
was these laws.
Back outside Sunday 19 April, 3pm Abeng Centre, Gresham Rd, Brixton 'injury' who WILl arrested black Wing them. black buildings racist, they are only trying and order. ine ponce are through They make regular use ot the Sus laws to arrest blacks who dare to be on the streets of Brixton rew whites are arrested under people regularly subject to racist abuse from the people Lie 4 'The police were the victims of violence, doing a difficult job. Every officer scratch was counted as an while many young people went home bleeding heads without daring to go to a hospital for fear of being Roving groups of cops in patrol vans constantly harassed the youth on the streets, goading and abusLie 5 "The attacks on hooliganism. The biggest were two racist pubs, one of which refuse to serve blacks.
The shops which were attacked were mainly the big department stores, not the small local shops. justified.' So says and Secretary Whitelaw, in Northern are fight their out of Brixton.
The for create homeless, Lord duce the WCIC ment them in the courts.
Lie 6 'Violence is never William who's quite happy to see his cops use violence, and to use troops Ireland to keep law and order'.
say violence justified when it's used by the poor and oppressed to oppressors. If Whitelaw doesn't want his cops to be the victims of it, then he should get them Tories and the they run leave them no option but to use repression to keep the lic on places like Brixton. the youth of the youth area - their policies only more unemployment, make more people close down more social services, there will be more Brixtons, and more police repression.
Justice Scarman's tribunal will pronothing but more lies. The only way to pre vent riots is to offer youth a future - jobs, housing, services, not the misery of the dole queue.
And that can only be done by getting ric Tories the black and white - are right to rebel against it.
The whole labour move should defend against the repression which they will now doubtless face
police in surrounding streets.
Transport and de dca Was cu circled with a cordon of At the tion police were parked were held at the ready.
Railton Road, as the Front Line, like the aftermath bombing raid, with burntout cars littered among the gutted buildings. darkness descended most of the street lights turned out, as hundreds of police waited in the side streets.
The police the resulls weekend's conflict. nappelled ana. way All day Friday tensior By John East and Hilary Tarr BY late afternoon on Sunday, under para-military occupation. Hundreds of lined Brixton Road, through the area, while thousands more were Convoys of police vehicles roamed the area, periodically stopping to charge groups had stoppolice stavehicles hundred known . lookea of Were The surveyed of the Brixton was the main road built up in Brixton because of a heavy police presence At 6.30pm a black youth stabbed in a Bleeding profusely he was taken to a police but instead of driving him to hospital the police interogated him in the van.
Van Incensed, black youth attacked the police van, rescued him and drove the injured youth to hospital.
explosion that heavy police presence had threatened to provoke had beeun On Saturday the police decided to show that 'We control the streets'. Heavy policing was the order ol drafted al Cas At driver in stopped;
for fight.
Vall the day, as hundreds were oine Brixton Rd was thick with cops.
4pm mini-cab 'Railton Rd was the police sisted on searching his cab drugs. reacted violently, provokFora long tine ed by a whole day's harassment by the cops.
The battle was concentrated on the Front Line, Railton Road, heart of the black community. By Spm riot shields were out and by 6.30pm the first petrol bombs were thrown.
Youth began building barricades along Railton cars alight.
bombardment.
inyear ago.
tle were on fire While the on Railton Rd Brixton time ever free out of Brixton tions Council VOLES LU withdrawwouldn't, continued. Rd and Mayall Rd, setting Although under heavy the police were determined not to b area as they had been in Bristol a • Soon the George pub and the Windsor Casbattle rage Dialk all' white youths began attacking shops in the centre of the big shops were attacked, but not the small local shops. A youth running of wiin a stered said to us: "This is the first got anything During the height of the fighting, people from the local Community Relagot black agree that they would take down the bar ricades if the police would but the cops the fighting attitude police was typified by an incident which took place outside Brixton library. A police van screeched to a halt by a group of black
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Brixton Defence Committee MASS RALLY
of youths standing on street corners. A police helicopter circled overhead.