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SYRIA

Paris summons Syrian ambassador

The French foreign ministry on Sunday summoned Syria's ambassador to France over damage done to the French embassy and a consulate in Syria.

Syrian demonstrators caused the damage Saturday after France’s ambassador to Syria visited the northern village of Hama, a stronghold of the anti-regime uprising.

Foreign Minister Alain Juppe’s cabinet chief called the Syrian ambassador Lamia Shakkour to the foreign ministry to receive a “vigorous protest”, ministry spokesman Bernard Valero said in a statement.

Demonstrators gathered at the French embassy in Damascus and the consulate in Aleppo had burned French flags, the statement said.

They had thrown projectiles into the compounds, destroyed vehicles and caused “considerable damage”, it added.

Syrian security services and police had done nothing to intervene “to prevent these unspeakable acts”, Valero said.

The acts were a clear breach of Syria’s obligations under the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations” the statement added.

“We hold the Syrian authorities responsible for the security of our staff and our diplomatic missions,” Valero added.

The demonstrations took place after a visit Thursday by French ambassador Eric Chevallier to Hama, besieged by Syrian forces cracking down on anti-government demonstrations.

The US ambassador Robert Ford also went this weekend to Hama to voice support for the local population on behalf of the United States.

Both diplomats were summoned by the Syrian foreign ministry, which called the visits a “blatant interference in Syrian internal affairs”.

Valero objected to this incident too, which he said was undue interference in the work of the ambassador.

International agreement clearly gave diplomats freedom of movement in the country to which they were assigned, he said.

Paris had also taken the opportunity to remind the Syria ambassador of its ongoing crackdown on pro-democracy activists in Syria, Valero added.

“It is not acceptable that a government unleashes weapons against its population,” he said.

Nor was it acceptable that the international community failed to respond do what it could to protect civilians “in the name of peace and security in the region,” he added.

China and Russia have blocked a UN Security Council resolution on Syria denouncing the Syrian crackdown.

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PROTESTS

Calls for special police tactics to be available across Sweden

The chairwoman of the Police Association West Region has said that police special tactics, known as Särskild polistaktik or SPT, should be available across Sweden, to use in demonstrations similar to those during the Easter weekend.

Calls for special police tactics to be available across Sweden

SPT, (Särskild polistaktik), is a tactic where the police work with communication rather than physical measures to reduce the risk of conflicts during events like demonstrations.

Tactics include knowledge about how social movements function and how crowds act, as well as understanding how individuals and groups act in a given situation. Police may attempt to engage in collaboration and trust building, which they are specially trained to do.

Katharina von Sydow, chairwoman of the Police Association West Region, told Swedish Radio P4 West that the concept should exist throughout the country.

“We have nothing to defend ourselves within 10 to 15 metres. We need tools to stop this type of violent riot without doing too much damage,” she said.

SPT is used in the West region, the South region and in Stockholm, which doesn’t cover all the places where the Easter weekend riots took place.

In the wake of the riots, police unions and the police’s chief safety representative had a meeting with the National Police Chief, Anders Tornberg, and demanded an evaluation of the police’s work. Katharina von Sydow now hopes that the tactics will be introduced everywhere.

“This concept must exist throughout the country”, she said.

During the Easter weekend around 200 people were involved in riots after a planned demonstration by anti-Muslim Danish politician Rasmus Paludan and his party Stram Kurs (Hard Line), that included the burning of the Muslim holy book, the Koran.

Police revealed on Friday that at least 104 officers were injured in counter-demonstrations that they say were hijacked by criminal gangs intent on targeting the police. 

Forty people were arrested and police are continuing to investigate the violent riots for which they admitted they were unprepared. 

Paludan’s application for another demonstration this weekend was rejected by police.

In Norway on Saturday, police used tear gas against several people during a Koran-burning demonstration after hundreds of counter-demonstrators clashed with police in the town of Sandefjord.

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