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How the "riots" in Stockholm started

by A swedish kind of death Fri May 31st, 2013 at 05:42:51 AM EST

Prompted by an exchange with DoDo in the 28 May 2013 thread, I will collect some bits about how the so called riots in Stockholm got started.

front-paged by afew


So day by day.

The shooting
On the night between the 13th and the 14th a 69 year old man was shot to death by the police in his apartment.

The lie
For some reason the police published a story that turned out to be false. The really local press got hold of witness statements contradicting the story from the police.

Polisen gick ut med fel uppgifter om skjutningen i Husby - Nyheter - Norra Sidan Police went out with the wrong information about the shooting in Husby - News - North Side
1. Mannen dog inne i lägenheten och inte i sjukhus.
2. Mannen fördes inte ut från lägenheten vid 21.-tiden utan först strax efter 02:00.
3. Mannen fördes i en likbil och inte ambulans.
1. The man died inside the apartment and not in the hospital.
2. The man was not carried out of the apartment around 21 o'clock, but only just after 2:00.
3. The man was transported in a hearse and not an ambulance.

The story was published on the 14th and the police version was perceived as a naked lie.

The demonstration
On the 15th the organisation Megafonen - The Megaphone - organised a demonstration in Husby demanding an inquiry. It was widely covered by media.

The "riot"
Then on the 19th something happened. I am not exactly sure what, but here are two eyewitness accounts.

Upplopp och bränder i Husby | Inrikes | SvD Riots and fires in Husby | Domestic | SvD
Daniel Ghirmai är medborgarvärd i Husby, anställd av kommunen. Han var med under oroligheterna i helgen, iförd en jacka som identifierade hans funktion, och deltog i presskonferensen som ögonvittne.Daniel Ghirmai is citizenhost in Husby, employed by the municipality. He was involved in the troubles of the weekend, wearing a jacket that identified his function, and participated in the press conference as an eye witness.
- När vi kom hit så var det en bil som brann. Då fick vi gå undan. Sedan, när vi hade gått fram och skickat hem ett 30-tal ungdomar, så tyckte polisen att vi hade gjort ett dåligt jobb. Två av mina kollegor fick ta emot batongsmällar, säger Ghirmai.- When we came here a car was on fire. Then we had to step away. Later, when we have approached and sent home some 30 young people, the Police thought that we had made a poor job. Two of my colleagues received baton hits, says Ghirmai.
Han säger att han själv fick höra flera glåpord från poliserna.He says that he himself heard several slurs from the policemen.
- Vi fick höra allt: luffare, pajas, apor, negrer. Och de frågade om vi inte hade hundar i vårt hemland, för vissa av kollegorna blev rädda för deras enorma hundar, säger han.- We got to hear everything: tramps, clowns, monkeys, negroes. And they asked if we had dogs in our homeland, because some of my colleagues were afraid of their huge dogs, he says.

Citizenhosts are a project in three suburbs in Stockholm with low social standing and many immigrants. The hosts are employed by the municipality to help out in the public space in the communities were they live. Sort of professional good citizens. They cooperate with social workers, the police, nightwalkers etc.

Husby belägrat av poliser. Gå hem? Det här ÄR vårt hem. | Megafonen Husby under siege by policemen. Go home? This IS our home. | Megaphone
En unken lukt av giftig rök spred sig genom bostadsområdet och ledde till att många av oss tog oss ut till Husbys gator av nyfikenhet, där vi möttes av maskerade poliser i hjälm med hundar och dragna batonger. Polisen gick till attack mot de boende som hade samlats på torget. Försvarslösa människor blev slagna med batong och bortjagade från sitt egna område. Vi hade helt enkelt inte längre rätt att vistas där vi ville, utanför våra egna hem.  Vi hade inte heller rätt att ifrågasätta polisens metoder då deras respons blev att springa efter oss igen från flera olika håll med sina hundar och batonger. Urskiljningslöst slog polisen mot ungdomar, föräldrar som samlats och stadsdelens egna fältassistenter. Folk som valt att debattera, argumentera och demonstrera emot polisvåldet fick nu batonger slängda mot sig. Då blev det tydligt att polisens våld riktades mot alla i Husby.A musty smell of toxic smoke spread through the residential area and led to many of us, took us out to Husby streets of curiosity, where we were met by masked police in helmets with dogs and batons drawn. The police went on the attack against the residents who had gathered in the square. Defenseless people were beaten with batons and chased away from their own territory. We were simply no longer entitled to stay where we wanted, outside our own homes. We had no right to question police methods when their response was to run after us again from several different directions with their dogs and batons. The police beat without discernment the young people, parents gathered and the district's own field assistants. People who chose to debate, argue and demonstrate against police violence was now batons throws at him. Then it became clear that the police violence directed against all in Husby.

This is the organisation that arranged the demonstraiton on the 15th. They are now arranging a collection to cover the deductible for burnt cars.

So exactly what went down here is unclear, some kind of gathering there was (The Local says it was a demonstration), at least one car was burning (but I don't know where in relation to the gathering), the police used violence.

Then what?
From what I have gathered, then it rolled on. The roles were established, burning cars vs police violence. But it is a depressing play, and I have seen it before, so act one is all I could muster for now. Meanwhile act three where blame is assigned is rolling on in the media.

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If 'the riot' were in fact a police riot it would only be following true to form.

"It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."
by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Wed May 29th, 2013 at 09:19:03 PM EST
thanks for this

keep to the Fen Causeway
by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Thu May 30th, 2013 at 03:46:26 PM EST
Here is a tangentially related news on the subject of how unreliable police accounts can be when it comes to police violence.

In the German city of Dresden, in past years neo-Nazis exploited the anniversary of the 1945 RAF fire-bombing of the city for marches, which were ultimately contained by massive counter-protests and blockades from 2010. However, especially in 2011, police and the interior ministry of Saxony's conservative state government saw its priority in going after the counter-protesters, also resulting in violent confrontations. (See Commemoration of neo-Nazi victims with hypocrites.) Although the mass evaluation of cell phone data resulted in a suitably large scandal for things to improve from 2012, courts in Saxony are still dealing with the partly ludicrous charges brought against the counter-protesters.

One of the lawsuits is against left-wing pastor Lothar König, who works with youths and was one of the organisers and drove a minibus with a loudspeaker. And the charges against him are falling apart day by day:

  • A police witness claimed that König let someone use his loudspeaker to issue a call for stone-throwing against the cops. The videos made by his own unit showed that throughout that time, König's loudspeaker played an Italian anti-fascist partisan song.
  • The above witness was also confused about whether König had a loudspeaker or a megaphone, contradicting his own testimony from two years ago. He then admitted that policemen sat down to ensure that their testimonies agree. Another police witness lied that he drafted his testimony himself, but was shown to have plagiarised a colleague's.
  • Another police witness claimed that König wanted to ram a police car with his minibus. The police videos showed that he was actually avoiding a pedestrian and even braked in the process.
  • Police witnesses claimed that König led a large mass of violent masked people. The police videos show no such masses, and only sporadic throwing at the police – when König wasn't around any more.
  • Yet another police witness, a unit leader, claimed that König tried to help a stone-thrower escape arrest by letting him climb on his minibus. The defence showed a video made from the top of the minibus (below), showing that the car drove slower than the policemen ran, and the "arrest" was an immediate attack with batons, without a preceding spoken order (the unit leader first claimed he "perceived" no batons and heard the spoken order).



*Lunatic*, n.
One whose delusions are out of fashion.
by DoDo on Fri May 31st, 2013 at 06:03:01 AM EST
The YouTube video below includes more cuts from the police videos:
  • The violence when König wasn't around was actually before his arrival, and when he arrives, he is actually trying to cool people down and get them to join legal protests (2:10-2:30).
  • Later the crowd isn't just non-violent and non-masked and not uniformly clad in black, but it is shown suddenly being attacked by police unprovoked (3:00-3:40, with the attack from 3:25).



*Lunatic*, n.
One whose delusions are out of fashion.
by DoDo on Fri May 31st, 2013 at 06:21:20 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Cops conferring after the fact to coordinate their lies?  I'm shocked!
by rifek on Sat Jun 1st, 2013 at 06:40:23 PM EST
[ Parent ]
And what's up in Switzerland?
by das monde on Fri May 31st, 2013 at 07:23:55 AM EST
At first glance, it looks like the Black Bollocks crashed a perfectly good street-party/protest. A few dozen dickheads not only spoiled the party for ten thousand others, but also destroyed the political effectiveness of the action.

But I'm open to other interpretations, if more information is available.

It is rightly acknowledged that people of faith have no monopoly of virtue - Queen Elizabeth II

by eurogreen on Fri May 31st, 2013 at 08:38:13 AM EST
[ Parent ]
by das monde on Fri May 31st, 2013 at 04:16:47 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Yes...we should prepare for this to happen more often and closer to home.People ( especially young ) are helpless and angry , they can not channel this anger trough political process (practically no use of voting any more)so what is needed is just a small spark to start fire...
We read but it seems far away from our daily life, that some ( many people now) even in western world can't afford food, medicine, accommodation...so anger is building...They say that people should work and support themselves but Salvation Army here in Australia ( where things are not YET that bad) said that more and more working people can't afford food...
Not happy times in front all of us...

Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind...Albert Einstein
by vbo on Fri May 31st, 2013 at 08:13:12 PM EST
[ Parent ]
As I said before nothing seems to be what we are presented by media.
And who knows what exactly the truth is and what exactly is happening behind the scene.
But to at least have a slightly realistic view of what is happening around the globe - its fool time job to search internet and try to find facts.
People do not have time (or will) and more and more people are simply sick of everything so they decide they will not even follow news...For ordinary people (not yet directly hurting) next step is apathy. For those who are already hurting (especially young people) it will be battlefield on the streets of our cities. One way or another. Some will demonstrate , some will be involved in crime of all sorts...No wonder when we are seeing naked force of those in power...trying to shove it through people's troughs this incredible robbery of not just money but everything we used to stand for as a society  and present  it as normal and legal and humane...  


Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind...Albert Einstein
by vbo on Fri May 31st, 2013 at 08:00:45 AM EST
its fool time job to search internet and try to find facts

Surely you meant full time job? Because another bad step is to assume that it is impossible and/or pointless to search for the truth (but then to go ahead and nevertheless assume what the truth is, in paranoid fashion).

*Lunatic*, n.
One whose delusions are out of fashion.

by DoDo on Fri May 31st, 2013 at 08:25:53 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Of course , of course full time...silly me and bloody spelling check...


Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind...Albert Einstein
by vbo on Fri May 31st, 2013 at 10:03:42 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Spellcheck is the spawn of Satin.

Now where are we going and what's with the handbasket?
by budr on Sat Jun 1st, 2013 at 09:03:05 AM EST
[ Parent ]


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