There is no sign of Easter peace in Sweden: Burning police cars, injured civilians and officials – riots and riots broke out in several cities in the Scandinavian country on Sunday for the third day in a row. A total of 44 suspects have been arrested so far.
In the city of Norrköpping in the south of the country, the police said they fired warning shots in self-defense. Three demonstrators were injured. There were therefore 14 other injured civilians. According to the police, a total of 26 officers were injured and 20 service vehicles were damaged or destroyed.
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The protests were triggered by meetings of the ultra-right party Stram Kurs (Strammer Kurs). Their party leader, the lawyer Rasmus Paludan, is currently touring through various Swedish cities and holding meetings where a Koran is to be burned at each one. This also happened at police-approved performances in Jonköping and the capital Stockholm, which triggered violent protests. Some other planned Koran burnings ultimately did not take place or were postponed.
40-year-old Paludan has Danish and Swedish citizenship and plans to run with a Swedish branch of his party in the general elections on September 11th. In Denmark, Stram Kurs calls for a ban on Islam and the expulsion of people who are not ethnic Danes.
At a press conference on Monday morning in Stockholm, the security authorities shared their assessment of the situation. Reich police chief Anders Thornberg condemned the riots and said: “We suspect that those involved have connections to criminal networks,” quoted the Swedish broadcaster SVT.
Police suspect criminal gangs to be free riders
There are strong suspicions that criminal gangs, also linked to serious gun violence, are behind this weekend’s riots and violence against police. “This is not about people demonstrating because they want their opinions to be heard,” he said.
“This has nothing to do with protests, but is an untenable attack on our rule of law and our democracy.” The police have been saying for a long time that the crime situation in the country is extremely serious. “What we have seen in the past few days are serious symptoms of a larger problem in Sweden.”
Jonas Hysing, police commander, said: “There is a great deal to suggest that the police were the target”. quoted in the newspaper “Dagens Nyheter”. This is a new phenomenon. He continued: “We know that there is information about incitement to violence against the police on social media that is being staged abroad.”
“The evidence is good, including through the body cameras”
According to Thornberg, these are very serious crime cases. Among other things, violent riots, sabotage, arson and attempted murder directed against police officers would be investigated. Up to 200 people are said to have been involved in the simultaneous attacks on the police. “The evidence is good, including from the officers’ body cameras,” Hysing said.
There were also riots in Linköping, where there were more than 25 arrests. There, too, the police said they had been attacked themselves. Ten people were hospitalized with minor injuries, the TT news agency reported, citing health authorities.
In Malmö, a bus caught fire on Easter Sunday night after strangers threw a burning object at the vehicle. The passengers were able to exit the bus in time. Other vehicles and several garbage cans also burned in the southern Swedish city.
The protests in Malmo emerged after the event originally planned in the city of Landskrona was moved to Malmo due to riots. According to the police, around 100 mostly young people threw stones and set fire to cars, garbage cans and tires in Landskrona.
Malaysia protests Koran burnings
After the transfer to Malmö, the protests escalated there as well. Party leader Paludan was pelted with a stone and hit, it said. Malmo Police Chief Petra Stenkula said it was sad that freedom of expression had become a “passport” for such riots. Luckily there were only a few minor injuries during the night. A 16-year-old was arrested.
Several police cars were set on fire in the city of Örebro on Good Friday. About a dozen police officers were injured. There were also riots with stone throwing in the capital Stockholm.
Paludan’s Koran burning also provoked an official reaction from Malaysia. The foreign minister of the Muslim-majority island nation said the action went “beyond the moral boundaries and norms of the right to freedom of expression.” It fuels hatred “which must be rejected by everyone who seeks peace and promotes peaceful coexistence,” it said. Iraq’s Foreign Ministry warned: “This matter has serious implications for relations between Sweden and Muslims.” This applies equally to Arab states and European countries with Muslim societies. Iraq urged the government in Stockholm to refrain from actions that could divide society or hurt religious feelings. (with dpa, AFP)
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