The
rally was organized by Line 17, a neighborhood self-organization
against racism and other socio-economic problems, in Kärrtorp in the
south of capital with numbers swelled by last week's violence after a
similar rally in the same place was marred by violence and attacks
instigated by neo-Nazis. Representative of Line 17 group said at a
brief press conference at noon that today's manifestation was more
than just a protest against neo-Nazis but an overall rejection of
racism as well as security problems. DJ pair Bianca and Tiffany Kronlöv in a short speech earlier in
the day say
"It
is too easy to say 'F you all Nazis,' we must together look at
ourselves and understand the power we have in this matter every day."
Members of the Left party made
speeches and solidarity messages from Sweden as well as all over the
world were read at the manifestation. The
neo-Nazi group were vandalizing the area with Nazi symbols and racist
graffiti recently and that why residents of Stockholm took to the street
to express that such practices are not welcome on their streets and
neighborhoods. Regardless of the cold weather, the
atmosphere was jovial and
an estimated 16-20 thousand people of all groups (men, women, children,
young and old with different religious and ethnic backgrounds) were
enthusiastically showing their condemnation against racism and fascism.
The highlight of today's protest was that racism and Nazism are not
acceptable in any forms and shape. The protesters said loud and clear
"No racists on our Streets". Local artists staged performances while
representatives of the left party and self-organized youth groups of different areas of Stockholm made speeches. A FaceBook group
dedicated to this cause fetched nearly 20 thousands supporters from all over
the world and #Kärrtorp is the highest trending hashtag here in Sweden since last week's protest. The
protest against Nazism and racism was held under heavy police
presence numbering over 100 officers.
Similar
protest marches were held elsewhere in Sweden on Sunday including
Borås, Luleå, Malmö and Motala.
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