Almost a third of Swedes say they are for banning political demonstrations that are offensive to sections of the community following multi-day riots over Easter sparked by anti-Islam protesters burning copies of the Qur’an.
A total of 28 per cent of Swedes say they would support a ban on offensive political demonstrations, with the number rising to around 40 per cent among supporters of the ruling Social Democrats and the Greens.
While 55 per cent say they would not support such a ban the result surprised Torbjörn Sjöström, CEO of the polling firm Novus, who carried out the survey.
“In fact, there are a shocking many who want to restrict freedom of demonstration,” Sjöström told broadcaster SVT.
“This is probably very much a reaction to the fact that there has not been any talk about the complexity of demonstration and freedom of expression in a democracy properly. Instead, you focus on feelings where you may relate more to not offending anyone than the right to speak out,” Sjöström added.
Danish anti-Islam activists and politician Rasmus Paludan was behind the Qur’an burning demonstrations that were blamed for sparking the Easter riots ins several Swedish cities, leading to over a hundred police being injured by locals throwing stones and other objects.
Paludan and his political party Stram Kurs (Hard Line) want to hold additional demonstrations in Sweden and planned to hold an event in Stockholm on May 1st, but have been denied permission to demonstrate by police who cited concerns over the risk of further disorderly conduct.
“The issue of Rasmus Paludan’s state of demonstration is complex because there is a need to strike a balance between people’s safety and the constitutionally protected right to express one’s opinion. We are also awaiting the Administrative Court’s decision for guidance for future assessments,” Stockholm police official Peter Ågren said.
The Swedish government blamed gang criminals for much of the violence during the riots, with Swedish National Police Chief Anders Thornberg stating: “These are not ordinary counter-protesters, we have strong suspicions that those who attack police and emergency services are connected to criminal gangs.”
On Thursday, Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson addressed issues thought to have contributed to the riots, including gangs and immigration, saying: “Integration has been too poor while we have had a large migration. Society has also been too weak.”
Prime Minister Andersson went on to state that integration failures have created parallel societies in Sweden, noting: “We live in the same country, but in completely different realities.”
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