Dump Trump Protest at Portsmouth GuildHall Square - 5th June 2019.

The Together against trump event in Portsmouth on D-Day.

The circumstances and the reasons for our event have been explained here.

 I have also posted a video of the event which can be viewed on this post, which has most of the speeches.

There was a small amount of disruption at the event from a group of Fascists, Tommy Robinson supporters and Trumpophiles, not as some sections of the press reported from supporters of the Veterans.

Respecting the meaning of D-Day . How Portsmouth campaigned against Trump's D-Day invite from the government.

 By Simon Magorian

The central objective of the campaign was to get the invitation to Trump rescinded. As part of that, we formulated a statement for people to endorse and launched a petition towards that end. 
the petition that was languishing for a long time suddenly took off about 2 weeks before his visit and got an impressive 85,000 signatures: far more than we were anticipating.

I think it's worth briefly looking at how we campaigned and what we did and didn't do in terms of the campaign.

At no point were we ever critical of the event itself it was the inappropriateness of Trump being there that was central to our campaign.

As soon as Trump was invited it changed the nature of the event from being an open event to being a rather exclusive event for Statesmen and women, Veterans and invited dignitaries.
Nobody was consulted by the government when they wrested control over all aspects of the event and fundamentally changed its direction.

From the outset, we adopted the slogan "Love Americans! Hate Trump!" to make it clear that our issue was with Trump and we were not engaging in any mean-spirited Anti-Americanism.

We also made it clear we would most likely be doing something around Guildhall Square and nowhere near the official event.

We never called for either a picket or a boycott of the event.

We never at any time approached any of the invited guests, be they Veterans, Councillors, or MPs to ask them to boycott the event.  We understood why it was important for them to attend the event. Our objective was for the event to proceed without Trump, we fully supported the event itself.

We made it clear to the media that we thought it inappropriate to attempt to drag the Veterans into the argument since they had no say in the matter. clearly, they wanted to attend their special day to give respect to their fallen comrades, and if any of them did feel uncomfortable about Trump's presence we imagine they wanted to keep their own counsel.

It became obvious that there were clearly some who were putting a great deal of effort into promoting the idea on social media that we were planning to do something barbarous immediately outside the event.

We feel it was primarily these rather alarmist posts that were distressing people more than anything we had planned.

We were made aware pretty early on that the objective in the Trump camp was to dismiss the protests in London as merely the liberal elite on the march and that Portsmouth represented much more "his people", patriotic, right-wing, traditional blue collar etc. There were various pronouncements from Nigel Farage and his ilk about how outrageous it would be for any protests to take place.

There was also the argument that due to the official event being about our battle for freedom out of respect any form of protest would be improper. Many felt that this was taking cognitive dissonance to a new level.

The nature of our event was to maintain our respect for the veterans and the fallen, but also it was about the meaning of D-Day. the fight for freedom and against fascism. 

We made it clear in two statements that our objection was primarily about his cosy relationship with alt-right and white nationalist groups which we made clear here.

Also, it was about his frankly appalling attitude to his own military which we articulated in this post.


We felt that it was important to have some sort of event even if it was tiny, and amounted to a couple of dozen. In fact, well over 300 attended. When factors in the staff from the University and the Council staff and others probably around 500 participated in the event.

There will be a full report elsewhere on this blog.

We had an event that attempted to marry disparate strands and I think we succeeded pretty well.

We had a wreath laying and some speeches at the War Memorial, to respect those who had sacrificed their lives in the struggle against fascism.
Also in the Square, we had more traditional reactions to Trump, with speeches on the threat he poses to our environment and to our way of life.

From the comments I have had from people I get the impression that people found the event a moving and impressive occasion.

It became clear that the event in portsmouth was going to be the most difficult of all the protests that took place and I would like to take this opportunity to thank everybody who contributed to it.  

Outrage at Police over-reach at issue of letters demanding people inform on their workmates who are going to legal and peaceful anti-Trump demo.

Press Release for Together Against Trump.

Simon Magorian.

I have removed the name and phone number of the police officer from the text of the letter for obvious reasons.

I also have not been able to consult with the Unison rep or members of council staff who have been unwittingly dragged into this so I have not included their names out of courtesy.

Letters have been sent by the police demanding staff provide details of people who might be going to a lawful peaceful protest.


The text of the letter sent to council staff by the Director for children families and education, on behalf of the police, reference:
 "OP VISCOUNT D-DAY Intelligence requirement":

"•      On Wednesday the 5^th of June 2019 a number of international heads of states, royal family and other VIP`s will attend the 75th-anniversary celebrations of D-DAY in Southsea.

•      We ask that if you have any information relating to individuals you suspect may be seeking to disrupt this event (this includes concerns around terrorist activity, crime, disorder, and protests) you report this to the police intelligence team by means of using a CPI forms (community partnership information forms). The form and the guidance in how to complete these forms can be found at ; www.safe4me.co.uk.

•      We specifically request any information relating to the descriptions, associations, intent and capability, social media profiles, telephone numbers and vehicles linked to these individuals. When completing the CPI form please try and answer the following 6 questions to give us as much detail as possible: What; When; Where; Who; Why; and How"

There are several problems with the letter.

Firstly the utter impertinence of suggesting that staff wouldn't report terrorist concerns to the police over an event (or any event) such as this.

I can't imagine a member of staff sucking their teeth and saying

"that Nigel from accounts, he goes off to Al Qaeda training events in Bexhill on Sea all the time, do you think I should phone the police?"

If you have any genuine concerns over terrorism don't fill in a form try dialling 999.

 Secondly muddling up terrorism with peaceful protests. 

Protests which have been carefully coordinated with the police and with the consultation of council leaders from the outset. 
Also, Together Against Trump Portsmouth have some popular support, the group's online petition has garnered over
80,000  signatures against Trump's presence.

Demanding that people act as informants and provide information on their workmates is enough to make your flesh creep. This is the kind of thing the Stasi did.

The community Information forms require information on names, addresses, mobile nos, car plates etc.

Portsmouth Unison City Branch has made a formal complaint about this.

Extract below:

"UNISON wishes to lodge a formal complaint regarding the email below that has been circulated by Portsmouth City council management. 

UNISON members may wish to protest lawfully next week against the visit by Donald Trump, and UNISON finds it unacceptable that colleagues are asked to report other colleagues working for the council to the police who may wish to participate in a lawful protest. There is a protest planned and the organisers have already discussed and spoken to the Police and the leader of the council about this.

UNISON requests that this email is immediately withdrawn and that staff are not asked to report on other staff as there is a right to lawful protest and this may be misinterpreted by some staff. 

If our staff are aware of any criminal or terrorist activity, do you not think they would report that without needing prompting?"

From what we can gather the Deputy Leader of the Council has been contacted and is requesting having this letter withdrawn.

The whole situation is both ludicrous and outrageous.


 There is a considerable amount of ill will building as to the ludicrous behaviour of the security teams, including demanding that people living in properties on the seafront supply names of everyone who has lived in their properties for the last two years.
People have also been told that not only do they have to move their cars out of the area, but that failure to provide details of their vehicles will result in them being impounded.

People are getting extremely angry at how Trump's presence on the 5th is allowing the security services to run riot.

On D-Day, we are supposed to be saluting our veterans for defending our liberties, but now some locals are now referring to the current situation with overzealous security staff and massive steel fences as "The Occupation."

We are being treated by the security forces as if we are a subject people.

This will not stand.

Trump is not a fit person to be at D-Day events.

Press Release.

By Simon Magorian.

The objection to Trump appearing at our D-Day event is not just over his habit of flirting with Fascist and white supremacist politics which has been stated by us here.

There is also the problem of Trump's relationship with the Vet community and also his habit of using the military as theatrical props.

He has a habit of not being very duty orientated when it comes to representing the nation at military cemeteries.

There was his failure to attend a service at a WW1 cemetery last year.

"President Donald Trump was scheduled to take a 30-minute helicopter ride from Paris to the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery and Memorial in Belleau, France. But a rainy forecast for the city made it too risky for him to safely fly there, the White House said a couple hours before he was to arrive at the cemetery.

"The President and First Lady’s trip to Aisne-Marne American Cemetery and Memorial has been cancelled due to scheduling and logistical difficulties caused by the weather,” the White House announced."

NBC News.

This was roundly condemned by many.

Nicholas Soames grandson of Winston Churchill was unequivocal.

I think most people were shocked at the sheer feebleness of his non-attendance due to weather. Even the most ardent Royal-hater would concede that the Queen would never back out of an engagement like that due to poor weather. Whatever criticisms are levelled against the Monarchy you have to accept she is a trouper.

He received widespread criticism for this from the Vets community and beyond.

The posts below are typical of the response to trump's disrespectful behaviour.

He also failed to attend a service at Arlington Cemetery for Veterans Day and when he was challenged said he was too busy making phone calls.

His attacks on John McCain.

His attack on John McCain was particularly unpleasant.

“He’s not a war hero,” said Trump. “He was a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren’t captured.”

McCain spent five and a half years as a POW in the notorious prison known as the "Hanoi Hilton" during this period he was repeatedly tortured and spent two years in solitary confinement.

These comments sparked outrage, not just for the unpleasantness of the attack but because it revealed that Trump had a terrible attitude towards POWs.

Charity Money.

There was also a controversy over monies collected by the Trump Foundation for military charities during the election campaign, and the matter has not been resolved to the satisfaction of many Veteran organisations.
After a much-publicised announcement, he had raised(a widely disputed) $6million he seemed very slow in parting with it.

From  MSNBC in 2016.

Using the Military as Theatrical Props.

Before the midterm elections, Trump attempted to fire up his base with fear-mongering about a group of refugees travelling on foot who were still thousands of miles from the U.S.-Mexico border.

Trump tried to convince people that women and children seeking asylum were a national security risk and he deployed thousands of U.S. troops to the southwest border to anticipate their arrival.

However, after the midterms, Trump was silent about the supposed threat.

In the event, many of the troops ended up being employed in menial tasks like shovelling horse manure.

"This guy just cannot stop disrespecting troops and military families," Will Fischer, director of government relations for VoteVets, said in a statement. "From smearing POWs, to campaigning to push veteran vendors off 5th Avenue, from lying about donations to veterans’ charities until he was caught, to sleazeball attacks on Gold Star families, to skipping ceremonies to honor fallen heroes of World War I, to sending troops off to take part in a campaign stunt, this guy simply does not respect the military or those who served. Period."

 Not the leader of the Free World.

Many like to argue that as "Leader of the Free World", he should be present.
The problem is that the one person who does not accept him having this moniker is Trump himself.

His whole schtick has been around the slogan America First, he has made it quite clear he has no interest in global leadership.
When Populist Nationalists like Orban of Hungary and Bolsonaro of Brazil have visited the White House he has revelled in being a role model for nationalist insularity.

He didn't win the popular vote in the Presidential election, Hillary Clinton won millions more votes than him. He won office due to the Electoral College system.

He may be the legal President but he does not have a popular mandate. He has not only not tried to unite the country under his Presidency he has actively promoted division. He is only interested in how his base feels.

If you have no desire to unite your own people you can hardly aspire to be a world leader.

 

WW2 was about collegiate leadership which united western democracies and the Soviet Union in a battle against Fascism, he is incapable of contemplating such a thing. It was the kind of alliance which is against everything he stands for.

It will be a signal achievement if he manages to get through the week without saying something barbarous.

He is quite simply unlike any other American President and should never have been invited.

The Nature of our D-Day event has changed.

It is now to be invitation only, the Vets and the dignitaries have been invited. Unlike the event in Normandy where apparently the Vets are to be excluded.

From the outset, we have made it clear that we did not wish to drag the Vets into this row. After all, they were not consulted about the invitation. I imagine they are as divided about Trump as the rest of us. I make no claim to speak on their behalf. I do not.

The Vets have been put in an invidious position. They will have been awaiting this event with mixed feelings: a sense of pride and loss and being tribunes for the fallen. There to stand as witnesses to memory for when we defeated Nazism in a struggle for national and moral survival.

They will not make a fuss, whatever their feelings and get on with it.

I get the impression from people I have spoken to there is the general feeling amongst the attendees to honour the event in spite of Trump's presence.

However, since the only thing being offered to many is to watch from outside the exclusion zone on giant screens on Southsea Common, I think the tens of thousands that were previously expected will likely stay away.

People won't be boycotting it, you can't boycott something you're being excluded from.

I don't feel inclined to go down to stare wistfully at a ten-foot high steel fence.

It seems that Donald Trump has got his wall, after all.

And the British, the British, will be paying for it.

The security arrangements for the narcissist in chief will cost central government a cool £18million for his visit.

There seemed to be a little bit of mischief-making from certain quarters about us picketing or being disruptive towards the official event. We have never been planning a tactic of that sort and all our public pronouncements have made it clear we have been planning to do something around Guildhall Square from the outset.

For Trump enthusiasts(there are some) who are waxing lyrical about his visit to Britain: If you are capable of ignoring Trump's flirting with Fascism, racism and antisemitism and his appalling comments about assaulting women, I'm sure people will have no difficulty in ignoring our protest, if you so wish.

Our online petition against his invitation has garnered over 
74,000 +signatures.

We will be holding our alternative event In Portsmouth Guildhall Square on the 5th of June between 11 and 2.

The far right has had mixed results in the Euro elections,but the beast of fascism is still alive and we must be vigilant in opposing it now.  

We will be putting flowers on the War Memorial, observing a silence, we will have some antifascist speeches and some poetry and songs. We will be remembering those who died fighting fascism .

We will be respecting our veterans.

We will not be respecting Mr Trump.

Statement on Trump's invitation to D-Day.

Press Release 2nd May 2019.

Simon Magorian on behalf of TAT.
The commemoration of D-Day is an important event for the remembrance of those who gave their lives in the struggle against fascism. It is also an important day to give respect to those vets in our community who are thankfully still with us and to show our gratitude for the freedoms we enjoy today.

It is therefore signally inappropriate to have a figure like Donald Trump invited to such an event when one considers his track record on racism and fascism.

He was condemned by the Anti-defamation League during his election campaign for using anti-semitic tropes, and during the same campaign became (as far as I know) the only Presidential candidate to be formally endorsed by the KuKluxKlan.

When Nazis marched through Charlottesville chanting "Jews will not replace us", Trump thought it appropriate to say that there were "very fine people" on both sides. He evidently sees there is moral equivalence between fascists and antifascists.
It is worth remembering that Heather Heyer an antifascist was mowed down in a car and killed by a Nazi during that troubled weekend.

 Leading figures of the Alt-right like Steve Bannon and Richard Spencer have been influential figures. Trump also has more than a passing familiarity with antisemitism.

There were signs of antisemitism from Trump during the election campaign. There was the constant use of dog whistle antisemitism and sometimes it became really pretty crude.

Donald Trump tweeting a picture of Hillary Clinton surrounded by dollar bills and alongside a Star of David was a new low but worse was to come.
His final video advert titled Donald Trump's Argument for America warned about the Washington establishment's ties with "special global interests."

The problem was all the bogey figures were Jewish and from the financial sector.

As Haaretz reported:

There is a legitimate suspicion that trump's motives are less about showing respect for the enormous sacrifice of American servicemen(over 400,000 lost their lives in the conflict), but more about self-aggrandisement.

Trump has had a habit of using the military as theatrical props and as photo opportunities.

President Trump has a difficult relationship with his own military back home. He famously declined to visit Arlington military Cemetery on Veterans Day because he was "too busy".

His disparaging comments about War hero John McCain are well known. 

“He’s not a war hero. He’s not a war hero because he was captured. I don’t like people who were captured.”

He has retweeted far-right "Britain First" posts, something that Theresa May condemned him for.
It's worth remembering that Paul Golding head of Britain First is most famous for turning up at the cenotaph on Remembrance Sunday with women's underwear on his head for a publicity stunt with a load of his mates from the National Front.

D-Day is a commemoration of the heroic fight against Fascism and Trump has no place in it.

I think the Vets had been put in an invidious position. I think many would feel they had not been consulted but clearly would feel obliged to support the official event and keep their own counsel and make the best of it. I also do not want to drag them into the argument.

There would be no protests, were it not President Trump being invited by Theresa May.

An additional problem is that the security demands put in place by Trump's team are going to change the event beyond all recognition.

The event is going to take place behind 10-foot steel walls.

We do not think Trump is an appropriate person to be at this event.
 

He's no President Eisenhower.

We will be protesting his visit.

We are also pointedly aware that without the sacrifice of the Americans, Russians, British, Canadian, Commonwealth and so many other troops we would not be able to enjoy our rights to protest. 

We will also be remembering those who gave their lives in the fight against fascism and honouring those who are gladly still with us who fought for freedom.
Simon Magorian. SUTR.