30.04.2003

Respectable twin of ANL

Around the web: Searchlight

The liberal anti-fascist magazine Searchlight has come to be regarded as a resource for intelligence on far-right activities across Britain and Europe. Quite understandably there is a degree of overlap between it and the Anti-Nazi League (see Weekly Worker April 24), advocating the same kind of cross-class mobilisations against the fascists.

The Searchlight home page is pretty minimalist, managing to carry a fair amount of material without looking cluttered, achieved by interspersing the links with graphics. The navigation box in the top left corner is the best way around the site. For comrades unfamiliar with the magazine, the 'What is Searchlight?' link should be the first port of call. Here we are treated to a short potted account of its 41-year history, and a description of its areas of work - all of which are consistent with its aim of "achieving the broadest possible unity in the fight against racism, neo-nazism, fascism, and prejudice".

These activities include publications, research, campaigning, advice and attempts to influence government policy (citing specific instances when it has done so). Next in the navigation box is an archive of selected material from Searchlight, running back to September 1981. Generally this material is both more readable and useful than the ANL's (mis)education pack.

For example, a number of articles are quick to point out the role anti-asylum-seeker hysteria has played in creating favourable conditions for fascists to operate, whereas the ANL prefers to pretend that the British National Party is almost solely responsible.

The page also has a bar reserved for special features, organising certain articles under specific themes. These provide analyses of contemporary far-right movements, political and cultural histories, women and fascism, and a number of others. All are well written and avoid the ANL's usual patronising tone. The following feature in the box is 'Publications', which I guess is the nearest Searchlight gets to branded merchandise. The left of the screen is given over to a number of books and pamphlets dealing with subjects as diverse as the fascist music scene, fascism and the labour movement, and the US militia movement. Searchlight postcards are advertised too, picturing the BNP's fuhrer, Nick Griffin, amongst others.

A number of Searchlight-sponsored tabloids and leaflets from the 2002 local elections can be downloaded in pdf. Text versions and newer editions from this year's campaign are yet to be uploaded. The 'trade union' link takes us to the Trade union friends of Searchlight newsletter, which serves TU branches affiliated to the magazine. This page appeals for volunteers for an advisory group and asks activists to write for the bulletin and get anti-fascist motions through union branches. Only seven issues have been published so far (the newsletter appears to come out annually) and of these the last four can be viewed in text. Finally 'USA' links to themed articles on the murky world of the American far right.

The next prominent item is a graphic of Nick Griffin from his 2001 election night performance. This leads to stopthebnp.com, a pretty sparse site with little information that is not already carried on the Searchlight site proper. This is certainly in need of a good deal of work if it is going to be an effective anti-fascist resource. The current issue is prominently displayed, but unfortunately only four selected portions of it are online. What is available seems to be entirely random; it would at least be reasonable to expect the cover story to be among those ready to read.

The bottom of the page is given over to four links - to features that can be accessed via the archives, and to Searchlight's educational trust and information services. Unfortunately the former is undergoing a complete reconstruction, but the latter is an interesting resource on fascism generally and the BNP in particular (only an article in its own right would do it any justice). Generally there is little to quibble about the website in and of itself. It is both compact and comprehensive, and let down only by stopthebnp.com. However, like the ANL it is the politics of Searchlight that must be challenged. For example, all the domestic links to other organisations refer to 'respectable' liberal bodies such as the Commission for Racial Equality and the Runnymede Trust.

Even worse is a prominently featured article that approvingly looks at the Council of Europe's move to criminalise online "hatespeech". With the emphasis on enlisting the state in the fight against fascism, anti-fascists should look at the Searchlight website with an extremely critical eye.

Phil Hamilton