Russia supports right-wing extremists to destabilise the West
Rise of the Islamist far right is a new danger to democracy & human rights
You are invited
The State we are in: The worst threat from the Extreme Right since 1945
15 June 2016 at NUT Headquarters, Hamilton House, Mabledon Place, London WC1H 9BD – 9.30am to 5.30pm.
See full programme and registration details below:
Speakers include the co-Director of Searchlight, Dr Gerry Gable, human rights campaigner and Director of the Peter Tatchell Foundation, Peter Tatchell, Founder of Faith Matters and Tell Mama, Fiyaz Mughal OBE, Chair of the Campaign Against Antisemitism, Gideon Falter and more.
They will be discussing the rising threat posed by fascist, neo-Nazi, xenophobic and anti-immigrant movements in Britain and Europe, including the role played by Putin’s Russia in aiding and funding the ultra right.
The conference organisers Searchlight have led research on the far right since 1964.
They warn that the threat from right-wing extremism is taking new, more sophisticated and insidious forms:
“What concerns Searchlight most of all is the re-birth of National Socialist ideas and organisations via international bodies such as Generation Identity, which recruits from the middle and the upper classes. They are training thousands of young, well educated extremists, who can fight physically and intellectually. Every month, they gather secretly behind closed doors, and often in remote regions, to hone their paramilitary skills and political techniques to infiltrate trade unions, anti-war groups and anti-austerity movements,” said Dr Gerry Gable, the main conference coordinator.
“Searchlight, now in its 53rd year of existence, has in the past successfully infiltrated and helped stop the advance of the Extreme Right, including the National Front, BNP and EDL. In this tradition, we are now working to expose who funds and controls these new far right enemies of democracy and human rights.
“There is been mounting evidence since 2002 of right-wing extremist organisations in the West being funded or guided by key Russian propagandists or people in their employ, in an apparent bid to destabilise the West – and that this is linked to Russian military strategy. This emerging link between Russia and the far right is a disturbing, worrying development.
“The threat from the Extreme Right in Europe today is the most dangerous since 1945.”
Peter Tatchell, human rights campaigner and conference speaker, added:
“The far right has never, since 1945, been this strong in Europe. Some of its ideas are infecting even mainstream parties, which are increasingly pandering to its anti-immigrant and anti-refugee agenda. In parliaments all across Europe, neo-fascist, xenophobic and ultra-nationalist parties are making big gains. We have witnessed increasing demonisation, scapegoating and, in some countries, physical violence against minorities, including Jews, Muslims, refugees, LGBTs and Roma people. This has ugly echoes of the 1930s, which most people thought could never happen again in Europe.
“In addition to the traditional white supremacist far right, Europe now faces the challenge of far right Islamist extremism. These groups mirror the authoritarian goals of orthodox fascism; rejecting democracy and human rights in favour of a religious-inspired clerical dictatorship. They share the anti-Semitic, misogynistic and homophobic agenda – and often the terror tactics – of neo-Nazi organisations. Alarmingly, instead of campaigning against the Islamist far right, sections of the left ignore or collude with it.”
Conference programme
Registration opens at 9.30am with the conference beginning at 10am.
Morning session
Dr Gerry Gable DUniv (The University of Northampton), MA (Crim), Co-Director Searchlight Research Associates “Searchlight Research Associates: updating the fightback against violence and subversion”
Dr Paul Jackson, University of Northampton Department of Social Sciences “The reshaping of National Socialism”
Targets of The Far Right
Fiyaz Mughal OBE Founder of Faith Matters and Tell Mama “The Muslim Community under attack”
Peter Tatchell, The Peter Tatchell Foundation “The threat to LGBT Communities”
Gideon Falter, Chair The Campaign Against Antisemitism “The ongoing rise of antisemitism in the UK”
Lunch
Time to visit stalls and meet speakers, other participants and Daniel Jones, archivist of the Searchlight collection at the University of Northampton
Afternoon session
Michael Whine MBE of Community Security Trust and UK Member, European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) “Using a legal framework to combat hate crime in Europe”
Anton Shekhovtsov, Co-Director Searchlight Research Associates “The Unmasking of Vladimir Putin’s subversion of the Right and the Left”
Jacob Fleming, Searchlight’s Correspondent in Poland, video interview “The violent role of the NOP in Britain and Poland”
Registration & payment details
Registration fee (including lunch and coffee/tea) is £30 or £10 for unwaged/students. For group rates please email Gerry Gable: [email protected]
Payment by cheque (payable to Searchlight Research Associates) or by bank transfer to: Searchlight Research Associates: sort code 40-09-07, account number 71652842
To register please complete the form below and send it to Searchlight Research Associates, PO Box 1576, Ilford, IG5 0NG
Or (if paying by bank transfer) email [email protected].
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Further information
Please email Gerry Gable at [email protected]