‘White Pride’ demonstration set to take place in Edinburgh this weekend

The National Front have organised a protest to celebrate white pride on the same day as Sikh festival

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On March 25th, a religious Sikh procession called Nagar Kirtan is set to take place. This procession is a celebration of the Sikh community in Edinburgh, marking the 40th anniversary of the opening of the city’s first Gurdwara, the place of Sikh worship.

However, on the same day, the National Front intend to hold a demonstration in show of ‘White Pride’. Having organised through social media, the group hope to gather at the Market Street entrance to Waverley that afternoon.

The demonstration is said to be a static one, which would require permission from the authorities, however this has not been granted nor asked for.

The National Front’s influence has waned considerably since the 7os when it was the fourth largest party in the country. That being said, the party, which is often branded as a collection of bigoted neo-Nazis, has continued to operate away from the lime light.

Alongside a mass of derogatory and outright offensive propaganda, the party is responsible for demonstrations and protests, as we are unfortunately set to witness this weekend.

Anti-Facist protesters fought back against the White Pride demonstration in Swansea
Photo by Sam Hardy Photography

Edinburgh’s won’t be the first White Pride demonstration organised by the National Front. Last year, a similar event was held in Swansea. Although the demonstrators were heavily outnumbered by Swansea Unite protesters, the presence of such an intimidating and persecutory group of people has a lingering effect.

A festival to celebrate the multiculturalism of Swansea’s community was created as a reminder to the people, and an insult to the NF supporters. Liverpool and Manchester were also subjected to similar marches, labelled ‘White Man March’ and ‘White Pride March’ respectively. Again, these were both met with larger anti-protests, causing the marches to be cut short.

Credit for above picture to UAF Scotland

As they’ve done before, Unite Against Fascism and similarly minded groups have spread the word and organised a counter-demonstration if needed. As we all have the right to freedom of speech, we also have the right to be offended.