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PROTESTS

Norwegian police clash with counter-demonstrators at Koran-burning event

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

Published: 23 April 2022 19:02 CEST
Updated: 24 April 2022 10:51 CEST
A photo of a Koran
A photo of a Koran, the sacred scripture of Islam. Photo: Unsplash

The anti-Muslim organisation “Sian” held the demonstration in Sandefjord, which is about 90 kilometres south of Oslo, where they burned the Koran on Saturday afternoon.

Between 300 and 400 counter-protesters turned up and clashed with police.

“Right now it’s a little unpredictable here. There are a number of gatherings with people who push towards the blockade, and the police have had to use gas against them”, station manager Siw Thokle at Sandefjord police station said on Saturday afternoon.

Sian began their demonstration at 3pm and police interrupted it at 4.45pm on Saturday afternoon.

“For the sake of the safety of those involved…the police considered it necessary to end the demonstration that Sian carried out in Sandefjord today”, police station chief in Sandefjord, Siw Thokle, told NRK.

Sian’s own video footage from the demonstration showed stones and eggs being thrown at its members.

Police chief Thokle told news agency NTB that one counter-demonstrator got over the fence that was set up around the Sian members, during the burning of the Koran. That person was immediately arrested by the police. Thockle said on Saturday afternoon that she did not have figures on how many in total were arrested.

Thokle told news agency NTB that Sian leader Lars Thorsen had announced earlier that the Koran would be burned.

“Basically, it is not a criminal offence to burn the Koran, and we therefore have no plans to intervene against it. Work is now being done to calm the mood,” Thokle said.

She emphasised that the police were present in large numbers and they had not received reports that anyone was injured.

Koran-burning, which Rasmus Paludan, the leader of Danish far-right party Stram Kurs has been behind in Sweden, has led to unrest in several Swedish cities recently.

During the Easter weekend in Sweden, 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 burning the Koran.

Swedish 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. 

READ MORE: ANALYSIS: Riots over Koran burning test Swedish tolerance

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PROTESTS

Sami activists launch fresh protests over illegal wind turbines in Norway

Environment and indigenous Sami activists blocked a central Oslo intersection on Wednesday to protest against wind turbines still in place on reindeer herding land two years to the day after a court ruled them illegal.

Published: 11 October 2023 11:44 CEST
Sami activists launch fresh protests over illegal wind turbines in Norway

On October 11th, 2021, Norway’s Supreme Court found that two wind farms in the Fosen region of western Norway — on land used by Sami reindeer herders — violated the rights of the indigenous people to practice their culture of reindeer husbandry.

Two years later, the turbines are still operating. In its ruling, the court found that the expropriation and operating permits for the construction of the 151 turbines were invalid.

However, it gave no guidance on what should be done with the turbines, which were already in operation.

On Wednesday, hundreds of activists, some dressed in traditional Sami clothing, blocked the main Oslo thoroughfare where they erected a laavo, a Sami tent.

They called for the wind turbines to be dismantled and the land restored. Some of them sat on the ground, unfurling a banner reading “The rights of indigenous peoples are not optional”.

“Prime Minister (Jonas Gahr) Store must take his responsibility, stop the human rights violation and make sure it won’t happen again,” said Gina Gylver, the head of the Norwegian branch of the environment organisation Friends of the Earth.

An indigenous minority of around 100,000 people spread over the northern parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia, the Sami have traditionally lived off reindeer herding and fishing.

Sami activists have held protests on symbolic dates since the Supreme Court’s ruling, with this latest one expected to last several days.

Swedish climate and environment campaigner Greta Thunberg is due to join the protest on Thursday.

She took part in a protest held in February to mark the 500th day since the Supreme Court ruling.

Norway’s government has apologised to Sami reindeer herding families and launched a mediation process to try to find a solution enabling both the herders and wind farms to continue their activities. It has yet to comment on Wednesday’s protest.

The ruling could set a precedent for other infrastructure projects on the vast lands traditionally used by the Sami across Norway.

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