Neo-Nazis, activists clash in Calgary
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Posted by by Pablo Fernandez on 10:10:08 2008/03/22
Neo-Nazis, activists clash in Calgary
By PABLO FERNANDEZ, SUN MEDIA
Tensions boiled to a fevered pitch when white supremacists and anti-racist demonstrators clashed in the city's downtown core yesterday.
A group of neo-Nazis calling themselves the Aryan Guard staged a march from Mewata Armouries down 8 Ave. to city hall, prompting anti-racism activists to stage their own demonstration.
Activists, union leaders, anarchists, minority groups and passers-by held their own rally as a counter-demonstration to the white supremacist rally, said Anti-Racist Action Calgary's Jason Devine.
"Our message is that there's strength in numbers ... that the community is united, that racism will not be tolerated, that it shouldn't be tolerated and that we shouldn't just turn from it," he said.
Roughly 25 Aryan Guard members amassed at the Franklin LRT station, rode the C-Train downtown and made their way down to Mewata Armouries, when they were blocked by counter-demonstrators along 7 Ave., in front of the Kerby Centre.
The animosity between the two groups reached an instant peak, prompting police to set up a human barrier between the two groups.
An activist who asked to be identified only as Mike said he was saddened by the fact the last time his group stood up against the Aryan Guard, the neo-Nazis had a fraction of the numbers they bolstered yesterday.
"Calgary's the only city where they can go out in public, show their faces and hand out leaflets," he said.
"They're cancerous and we have to fight them every time they show up in our community."
Many of the anti-racist protesters covered their faces with bandanas, explaining they need to protect their identities since at least two fire-bombings in the city this year have been tied to possible neo-Nazi activity, said Devine.
"If you're denouncing a group that likes to pose with guns and talks about how much they love Adolf Hitler, I think it would be a little foolish not to have a little bit of ... caution," said Devine.
From the Kerby Centre and under police escort, Aryan Guard members made their way down 7 Ave. taunted by anti-racism demonstrators, which by this time had swollen to more than 200.
The two groups faced off again on the steps of city hall, with police between the two.
After almost two hours, police brought in a school bus and escorted the neo-Nazis -- one of whom launched at a female demonstrator but was pulled back by officers -- onto the bus, which drove away with flags and Nazi salutes flying out the windows.
The rally was particularly close to the heart of Bonnie Collins, the victim of one of the city's Molotov attacks.
"Canada and Calgary were not built on hate or violence ... but on equality and for humanity," she said.
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