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Potok Says Griffin May be Arrested
British Government May Seize All BNP Assets
9/4/01 3:51:43 PM
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HateWatch.org
Montgomery, Alabama -- [Sorry for the flood of releases on this issue, but it
is breaking quickly.]
A HateWatch Interview with Mark Potok of SPLC
A HateWatch.org Interview with Mark Potok
of the Southern Poverty Law Center
On August 29, 2001, after a year long investigation, the Southern Poverty Law
Center (SPLC) requested that the US Attorney Generals Office begin an
investigation into the allegedly illegal fundraising activities of The American
Friends of the British National Party (AFBNP). According to a SPLC press
release, "[f]or two years, Mark Cotterill, a key official of the British
National Party (BNP), orchestrated a major fundraising effort in the United
States for The British National Party, a far-right party that has been blamed
by British authorities for instigating race riots in several English towns this
summer." In England, British Members of Parliament Martin Salter and Tom
Watson
have triggered an investigation of the BNP by the Electoral Commission with
letters calling for a full inquiry into these allegations. This growing scandal
could not only mean the end of AFBNP and the BNP but could spell prison
time
for both Mark Cotterill and BNP leader, Nick Griffin. HateWatch.org talks with
SPLC's Mark Potok, an expert on hate groups and an editor for
SPLC's "Intelligence Report" on the potential fall out from this investigation.
HateWatch (HW): The Southern Poverty Law Center recently requested that
the US
Attorney General's office launch an investigation into the fund raising
activities of the American Friends of the British National Party (AFBNP). Who
are the AFBNP and why the call for an investigation?
Mark Potok (MP): The AFBNP was set up in the Washington, D.C., area in
December
1999 in a bid to raise much-need money for the neofascist British National
Party (BNP), which has been accused by British authorities of instigating
race
riots in northern England this summer. Since 1999, the organization has
raised
a minimum of $85,000, the sum that the Southern Poverty Law Center
(SPLC) was
able to document in its recently completed investigation and has boasted of how
that money was used by the BNP in its various electoral campaigns. The money is
important, both because money is very tough to raise in Britain and, in
particular, because the British electoral system requires hefty "deposits" from
minor parties wishing to fund candidates. If the party fails to garner 5% of
the vote, it loses its deposit. The AFBNP was specifically modeled after
Noraid, the group that allegedly raised millions from Irish-Americans to
support Sinn Fein and the IRA.
The SPLC's general counsel, J. Richard Cohen, requested on Aug. 29 that U.S.
Attorney General John Ashcroft investigate the AFBNP and its former chairman
because they both have apparently violated the Foreign Agents Registration Act,
which requires that entities or individuals that raise money for foreign
political parties register with the Department of Justice. Failure to do so is
a Class E federal felony, punishable by five years in prison, up to a $10,000
fine and deportation. As of Sept. 1, SPLC had received no reply from Ashcroft
or the Department of Justice.
HW: How was the fundraising done by the AFBNP? How was the money raised in the
United States funneled to the BNP leadership in England?
MP:The AFBNP raised money in a series of 20 meetings, 12 of them large, public
gatherings and the rest held in smaller venues, typically Mark Cotterill's
apartment in Falls Church, Va. Each public meeting charged attendees $10 at the
gate, and after a series of speeches (typically by American luminaries such as
[ex-Klansman and] neo-Nazi David Duke and 'Net hatemeister Don Black [owner of
Stormfront the first hate web site], along with BNP officials and other foreign
extremists) Cotterill would additionally hold what he called "Dutch auctions."
Extremist literature was also sold at a profit at each one of these events. In
addition, there were a number of large donations given, typically in more
private venues. Some of these were mentioned in AFBNP or BNP publications; in
other instances, we actually saw checks, in particular one $10,000 check, which
presumably came from far-right American financiers who prefer to stay out of
the limelight.
We do not know, nor did we try to find out, precisely how the money traveled
from the United States to Britain. That's because both BNP leader Nick Griffin
and AFBNP boss Mark Cotterill openly and foolishly admitted what they were
doing in print. And this has occurred even after British election law was
changed in January 2001 to very strictly limit foreign donations to domestic
political parties (including possible criminal sanctions for non-compliance).
Although these kinds of statements were plentiful, perhaps the most remarkable
comes from the BNP, printed in the pages of the June 2001 issue of "Identity:
Magazine of the British National Party", which is a special report on the then-
just-completed British general election. Under the headline, "Chairman Nick
Griffin Completes Successful American Tour!" (in May, just before the general
election), the magazine provided a virtual confession in its lead
paragraph: "Once again, the American Friends of the British National Party made
a significant financial contribution to the BNP's General Election campaign.
Several thousand dollars worth of donations helped to upgrade a number of BNP
local campaigns, principally as a result of a six day speaking tour in the USA
by party chairman Nick Griffin." This contrasts rather remarkably with the BNP
press release, dated Sept. 1, which claims that AFBNP was folded up not because
of the SPLC report or any improprieties, but because it had failed so miserably
to raise funds."
HW: What can you tell us about Mark Cotterill the head of the AFBNP?
MP: Until he resigned in the wake of CNN's coverage of our report, Mark
Cotterill was a key official of the BNP, serving on the party's national
advisory council and acting as a key aide to BNP leader Nick Griffin. Earlier,
using the alias Mark Cerr, Cotterill served as the Washington area leader of
the white supremacist Council of Conservative Citizens (CCC) until his
activities were exposed in another SPLC report detailing the racism of the CCC.
As the chairman of AFBNP, Cotterill has done something few Americans have been
able to draw together a great many disparate elements of the radical right,
serving as a bridge between groups as hard-line as the neo-Nazi National
Alliance and as allegedly "mainstream" as the racist League of the South,
a "pro-South" group.
Although Cotterill has roots in the bitter sectarian struggle in Northern
Ireland with links to the terrorist Ulster Defense Association, he is not what
many people might expect. Rather than appearing to be a hardened militant,
Cotterill looks for all the world like some kind of Washington yuppie, favoring
polo shirts, chinos and deck shoes. It may be his low-key, colorless character
that in fact was his best asset, a quality that allowed him to avoid making
enemies on the usually contentious radical right.
HW: The AFBNP has ties with the right wing British National Party. (BNP) Can
you tell us a bit about the BNP and their history?
MP: Founded in 1982 with John Tyndall (who has been photographed several times
wearing a faux Nazi uniform and is a personal friend of U.S. Neo-Nazi William
Pierce) at its head, the BNP has a long history of far-right activities. The
party admits only whites as members, and pursues a radical anti-immigrant
agenda. In 1999, the leadership passed to Nick Griffin, the current leader, who
has been convicted in Britain of inciting racial hatred but who brought with
him a slick, telegenic style. A number of British politicians and police
officials have accused BNP activists of instigating some of the race riots that
afflicted northern England this summer.
HW: The BNP has been accused of being a neo-Nazi group. Are they really an
extremist organization or just very conservative politically?
MP: Any party that as a matter of policy excludes non-whites is, in our
estimation, an extremist party. Many BNP members have also been implicated in
racial violence over the years. The party also calls for "voluntary"
resettlement of non-white immigrants outside of England.
HW: Because of the fundraising controversy, It has been reported that Nick
Griffin, leader of the BNP, may be under investigation in England. What are the
possible ramifications for Mr. Griffin and BNP?
MP:The most important possible ramification is that the British National Party
could be destroyed. Already, Labor members of Parliament have called for the
Electoral Commission to open an investigation which, under British law, means
that a probe must be opened. Conceivably, Nick Griffin could face up to one and
a half years in prison if he is found to have illegally raised funds overseas.
In addition, there could be sanctions of 5,000 British pounds for every single
illegal donation -- an outcome that could result in the seizure of all of the
BNP's assets and effective destruction of the party. At the moment, it seems
quite likely that there will be a major investigation of BNP and that there
will be some serious consequences.
HW: Both the BNP and AFBNP have web sites the promote their organizations. Was
there any evidence of these groups using their websites to raise money? How
successful would you say their use of the Internet has been for organizing and
recruiting?
MP:All of Cotterill's fundraising appears to have taken place in person, in
large meetings in Virginia and elsewhere, in smaller meetings at Cotterill's
apartment, and, perhaps, in private one-on-one meetings. In general, we have
not seen much successful fundraising via the Net. Incidentally, shortly after
he learned of the contents of the SPLC report, Cotterill pulled down his AFBNP
Web page.
HW: Are we going to see more US based organizations raising money for
extremists groups that reside abroad?
MP: I don't think we're going to see that any time soon. Already, there seems
to be something of a panic on the American radical right as activists worry
over the implications of a possible Justice Department probe. A prominent
National Alliance member summed up the situation from her point of view rather
succinctly the other day: "Re: SPLC Article on Cotterill Fundraising, Hands
Across the Water: The shit has hit the fan...." [Lastly] I'd like to point out
that contrary to some of the press, I was not the author of this report. The
research was mainly the work of an Intelligence Report staffer, Heidi Beirich;
the final writing was by John Tye, another Intelligence Report staffer; and I
edited it. In addition, researchers and others on the SPLC staff, including
SPLC General Counsel Richard Cohen, contributed greatly.
Libertarian Socialist News
Post Office Box 12244
Silver Spring, MD 20908
http://www.overthrow.com
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