"Sometimes it’s the National Front [NF] or Combat 18 who come into town from other areas," said Ashraf Mir, who was with his brother Razmiah, both aged 17. "At other times, local youth get psyched up by the NF. They attack property and hurl abuse at local people. When we respond, the cops come in riot gear assaulting the Asian youth."

"The police want to teach us a lesson. They never even bothered to arrest me, they just beat me up," said bus driver Wassim Saddiq as he displayed his wounds. Saddiq explained that he was standing outside his house at the time, just watching what was going on. Through his beating at the hands of the cops he suffered broken teeth, a black eye, and police dogs were allowed to maul his arms.

These events took place during nighttime hours of May 26 when 500 Asian youth took to the streets in defense of their communities. Big-business newspapers and TV around the world reported that the Asian youth had rioted, hurling petrol bombs in their wake.

"My father saw it on CNN in Bangladesh," said Shahedal Alam, 22, of the Oldham Bangladeshi Youth Association, "and called me to find out if I was OK. I regret the violence but the police must take responsibility for what happened."

In fact, it was a physical assault by rightist thugs on the home of the Azam family in Glodwick that resulted in the self-defense mobilization by local residents. The racists threw a brick through the window of the house, narrowly missing Jamshad Azam and her pregnant daughter, Fareeda. The gang then burst into the house. Both women were taken to the hospital.

"The police were supposed to come to arrest the white youth but they didn’t get here until half an hour after they were called. When they arrived they came after us," added Jay Ali. "The police used tear gas and beat us. This is our area. We’re not looking for trouble but we’re going to protect it. Why do the police keep coming? To provoke us."

"The police are racist," said Shahjalal Uddin, 15. "They shouted, ‘get the black bastards.’ My friend got head-butted and another friend got beaten in a police cell after being arrested."

For some months there has been a campaign, led by the Oldham police and dramatically reported by the media, alleging a rise in so-called racist assaults by Asians against whites. Claims have been made that Asian youth are trying to establish "no-go" areas barring whites. The target of this campaign is militant youth of Asian descent who are standing up to attacks."We are not prepared to put up with the racism faced by our parents and grandparents when they came to Britain in search of work," explained Shahedal Alam. "We’re not afraid to tackle the discrimination, poverty, and unemployment we face. Most young Asians were born and brought up in this country and consider themselves British-Asians."

Alam described the blatant job discrimination on a construction site for a new community cultural center near the Youth Association. "There are 25 workers on the site. All are white in an area that is 95 percent Asian," he said.

The state is also attempting to recoup ground lost when the MacPherson report, which investigated the killing of Black student Stephen Lawrence, concluded that the Metropolitan Police was "institutionally racist." Shahedal Alam commented that many British-Asian youth joke that local police chief superintendent Eric Hewitt should be chief superintendent of the National Front.

Local residents said allegations of "Asian racism" and violence are being made to justify saturation and brutal "zero tolerance" policing. Every night over the last few days, dozens of cops in riot gear have been routinely deployed in Oldham. On occasions as many as 500 cops were on the streets in this town of 220,000 to enforce a government ban of all protest marches in the town.

No Asian is too young to face cop harassment, residents say. Kaer Usman, 13, a student at Breeze Hill School, was one of four Asian youths arrested after they stood up to abuse from a racist gang that had entered the school from outside. None of the racists were picked up.

The Oldham events have become part of the debate in the upcoming general election. Home Secretary Jack Straw, of the Labour Party, went on television to praise the actions of the Greater Manchester police. He joined Tory leader William Hague in criticizing Simon Hughes, Liberal-Democrat member of Parliament for North Southwark and Bermondsey, who said that recent comments by Conservative Party leaders have emboldened racist elements. Norman Tebbit, a right-wing Tory and former member of Margaret Thatcher’s government, said the Oldham events showed that a multicultural society doesn’t work.

Paul Davies is the Communist League Parliamentary candidate for North Southwark and Bermondsey. Paul Galloway contributed to this article.  
 
 
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