Unrest sparked by far-right demos continues in Sweden

Unrest has broken out in southern Sweden regardless of police moving a rally by an anti-Islam far-right group, which was preparing to burn a Quran among other things, to a brand-new place as a preventive measureByThe Associated PressApril 16, 2022, 8:32 PM – 2 minutes readShare to FacebookShare to TwitterEmail this articleHELSINKI– Unrest broke out in southern Sweden late Saturday despite authorities moving a rally by an anti-Islam reactionary group, which was preparing to burn a Quran among other things, to a new location as a preventive measure.Scuffles and unrest were reported in the southern town of Landskrona after a demonstration arranged there by the Danish right-wing celebration Stram Kurs celebration was relocated to the neighboring city of Malmo, some 45 kilometers (27 miles) south.Up to 100 mainly youths threw stones, set cars, tires and dustbins on fire, and set up a barrier fence that blocked traffic, Swedish police said. The circumstance had actually soothed down in Landskrona by late Saturday however stays tense, cops stated, including no injuries were reported in the action.On Friday evening, violent clashes in between counter-protesters and demonstrators emerged in the main city of Orebro ahead Stram Kurs strategy to burn a Quran there, leaving 12 authorities officers hurt and 4 squad cars set on fire.Video video and images from disorderly scenes in Orebro revealed burning police vehicles and protesters tossing stones and other objects at law enforcement officer in riot gear.Kim Hild, spokeswoman for authorities in southern Sweden, stated earlier Saturday that police would not withdraw authorization for the Landskrona presentation since the threshold for doing that is extremely high in Sweden, which values free speech.The right of the protesters “to demonstrate and speak out weighs tremendously, greatly and it takes an amazing quantity for this to be disregarded,” Hild informed Swedish news company TT.The presentation happened Saturday evening in a main park in Malmo where Stram Kurs leader Rasmus Paludan attended to a few lots people. A little number of counter-protesters threw stones at authorities and demonstrators was required to utilize pepper spray to disperse them.Paludan himself was reported to have actually been hit by a stone on his leg, Swedish media said. No serious injuries were reported, according to police.Since Thursday, clashes have actually been reported likewise in Stockholm and in the cities of Linkoping and Norrkoping– all locations where Stram Kurs either prepared or had demonstrations.Paludan, a Danish lawyer who also holds Swedish citizenship, established Stram Kurs, or “Hard Line” in 2017. The website of the party, which works on an anti-immigration and anti-Islam agenda says “Stram Kurs is the most patriotic political celebration in Denmark.”