Originally shared by Yonatan Zunger
Originally shared by Yonatan Zunger
I don't have time to write an explainer for this, so you'll just have to settle for the raw news. Short version: In the past few months, a large number of street kids, mostly refugees from Morocco, have been living near Stockholm's main train station. The police have been wanting more powers to get rid of them, but haven't gotten much. Last week, they announced that the main train station was now "unsafe" and had been "taken over" by said street children.
Yesterday, a group of about 200 masked men stormed the station, distributing leaflets and beating anyone who "didn't look Swedish." This action was coordinated by the NMR (a local Nazi group), and a follow-up rally was held this morning in Stockholm by the SDP (a far-right party, think the Swedish version of Donald Trump).
Police made no attempt to stop the attack. Three people were arrested, one for punching a plainclothes cop, another for possession of brass knuckles; all have been released. The official police statement is that they "could not confirm that violent attacks took place.”
For a little context, the presence of far-right groups and their readiness for actions like these is not even remotely secret, and the police statement that the area was now unsafe and there was nothing they can do was widely read as a coded message that vigilantes were welcome. (There's a whole history of complicated interplays between Swedish police, the local and national government, and these groups, with "if you don't let us do something, I guess it'll just have to be them" being a classic negotiating tactic)
Important notes here are the extreme coordination of the group (200 people showing up on schedule, dressed in black with balaclavas, literature ready to distribute, and ready for an organized attack), and the tacit cooperation of the police.
NB that violence against immigrants, Muslims, and Jews has been on a sharp rise across all of Europe, and far-right parties have been making significant political inroads, but this is the first highly coordinated attack. Earlier attacks have primarily been by small groups (3-5 people) on individuals, and haven't shown signs of organization, uniforms, etc.
There's lots more that could (and should) be written here, to give context about just why there were so many refugees living there, the six-month ramp-up of the conflict, and the political shifts within Sweden and more broadly within Europe as a result, but I'll have to leave those for someone else to write.
Useful additional coverage: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/sweden/12131460/swedish-far-right-migrant-attack-stockholm.html
(And yes, I realize that I just linked the Daily Mail as the primary source below. Going through English-language coverage of the story, theirs was actually the most thoroughly researched and informative, and didn't have any egregious biases that I could spot. Damned if I know why their coverage was the best, but it was. Normally the Mail is mostly suitable for wrapping fish in.)
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3423968/Mobs-hundreds-masked-men-rampage-Stockholm-central-station-beating-refugee-children.html
I don't have time to write an explainer for this, so you'll just have to settle for the raw news. Short version: In the past few months, a large number of street kids, mostly refugees from Morocco, have been living near Stockholm's main train station. The police have been wanting more powers to get rid of them, but haven't gotten much. Last week, they announced that the main train station was now "unsafe" and had been "taken over" by said street children.
Yesterday, a group of about 200 masked men stormed the station, distributing leaflets and beating anyone who "didn't look Swedish." This action was coordinated by the NMR (a local Nazi group), and a follow-up rally was held this morning in Stockholm by the SDP (a far-right party, think the Swedish version of Donald Trump).
Police made no attempt to stop the attack. Three people were arrested, one for punching a plainclothes cop, another for possession of brass knuckles; all have been released. The official police statement is that they "could not confirm that violent attacks took place.”
For a little context, the presence of far-right groups and their readiness for actions like these is not even remotely secret, and the police statement that the area was now unsafe and there was nothing they can do was widely read as a coded message that vigilantes were welcome. (There's a whole history of complicated interplays between Swedish police, the local and national government, and these groups, with "if you don't let us do something, I guess it'll just have to be them" being a classic negotiating tactic)
Important notes here are the extreme coordination of the group (200 people showing up on schedule, dressed in black with balaclavas, literature ready to distribute, and ready for an organized attack), and the tacit cooperation of the police.
NB that violence against immigrants, Muslims, and Jews has been on a sharp rise across all of Europe, and far-right parties have been making significant political inroads, but this is the first highly coordinated attack. Earlier attacks have primarily been by small groups (3-5 people) on individuals, and haven't shown signs of organization, uniforms, etc.
There's lots more that could (and should) be written here, to give context about just why there were so many refugees living there, the six-month ramp-up of the conflict, and the political shifts within Sweden and more broadly within Europe as a result, but I'll have to leave those for someone else to write.
Useful additional coverage: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/sweden/12131460/swedish-far-right-migrant-attack-stockholm.html
(And yes, I realize that I just linked the Daily Mail as the primary source below. Going through English-language coverage of the story, theirs was actually the most thoroughly researched and informative, and didn't have any egregious biases that I could spot. Damned if I know why their coverage was the best, but it was. Normally the Mail is mostly suitable for wrapping fish in.)
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3423968/Mobs-hundreds-masked-men-rampage-Stockholm-central-station-beating-refugee-children.html
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