The Easter weekend riots have received widespread attention and are worrying. Those living in “vulnerable areas” have been subjected to violence and destruction, triggered by the Koran-burning of the extreme racist Rasmus Paludan.
The “solutions” proposed to politicians and police are more of the same measures that led to the current situation. They also defend Paludan’s “right” to racist provocations, where he is protected by large and expensive police operations. The real question on the minds of the many who are concerned by Paludan’s rampage is, of course, how to stop the growing racism.
After the weekend, concerns are high among residents where the riots took place. 14 civilians and 26 police officers were injured in poor suburbs in six cities (Linköping, Norrköping, Stockholm, Örebro, Malmö and Landskrona). 44 people have been arrested by the police, three of them with gunshot wounds from police warning shots. Police cars and civilian vehicles have been destroyed and burnt.
Police and Repression
Tougher punishments and more police officers with more powerful weapons is the response from politicians and the media, summed up by Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson as “Those responsible must be arrested, convicted and serve their sentences”. Police Minister Morgan Johansson defends himself by saying that the police have received record-breaking funding in recent years.
Racists on social media are cheering and stepping up their campaign for deportations and their hatred of anyone who defends a humane refugee and migration policy.
Deterioration in Living Standards and Crime
None of this is new. Those living in the 61 areas designated as vulnerable by the police have seen steady deterioration for many years, alongside rising crime. The only positive steps are local initiatives, networks and organisation.
Those who vandalise or deal drugs have not been restricted by Morgan Johansson’s police officers. The most effective measures have been by local community organisations, for example in the Husby district in Stockholm, Jordbro in Haninge and Hammarkullen in Gothenburg. This weekend, local media have reported on initiatives in Örebro and Jönköping. In Rosengård, local residents put out several fires.
Those living in deprived areas have not chosen to be poorer have less secure jobs and lower levels of education. The dramatic increase in inequality in Sweden is the result of deliberate policies. At one end are the record number of billionaires, and at the other are young people with no future.
This weekend’s riots began in Skäggetorp in Linköping. There, the proportion with “low economic standard” is 47.4 percent compared to 15.3 in the rest of the city. The proportion with high economic standards is 0.4 percent compared to more than ten times the proportion in Linköping as a whole. Unemployment in Skäggetorp is over 20 percent. Out of a population of just over 10,000, 1,778 are children living in relative poverty.
Immigrant Working Class
Vulnerable areas have a high proportion of people who were born abroad or have two parents who were born abroad. Behind this there is no “ethnic explanation”, it is simply a matter of class — low-paid immigrant workers and unemployed people live in the suburbs.
Out of 556,000 people living in deprived areas, 411,000 have a foreign background. More than half have lived there for 10 years or more and 76% are Swedish citizens (“foreign background” includes being born abroad or having two parents born abroad. There are 2,543,420 people with a foreign background living in the whole country).
Police Attacked
In several places, the police, rather than the Danish racist Paludan, appear to have been targeted by masked groups. An eyewitness from one of the locations tells Offensiv:
“Between 25 and 50 younger men, dressed in black with hoods, stood in a group. They collected rocks and paving stones in a pile, but just stood still. We were a group of residents standing to the side, hoping that nothing would happen. After a while, two police buses arrived. The group of masked people then attacked the policemen directly. As the police spread out, the group backed away to their ‘base’. The confrontation continued for some hours.”
The violent group there did not seem to have any political or religious purpose — no information was disseminated here, either verbally or in writing. They did not seek local roots.
Divided Society
Magdalena Andersson warns of “reduced cohesion”, but the divisions have not been created this weekend, but over decades. A report by the Crime Prevention Council summarises: ‘In some neighbourhoods, crime and insecurity are higher than in the rest of the country. These are often areas that are also characterised by other social problems such as low socio-economic status, high unemployment, low education levels and high levels of poor health.”
Their researchers drew the following conclusions about police action:
— The results are better when police use of force is combined with actions of a social nature.
— Purely deterrent and punitive measures against young people by the judicial system can have rather negative effects.
— Local dialogue-based policing, in cooperation with others, can increase residents’ confidence in the police.
Racist Provocateur
Rasmus Paludan is a racist provocateur, with a programme of ethnic cleansing through forced expulsions. But those who, like Left Party leader Nooshi Dadgostar, describe the weekend as giving him “exactly what he was after” offer no alternative to what should have been done. The responsibility to act is placed on the police, the same police who gave him permission and protected him.
The racists have undoubtedly been strengthened and are now going further than before. There is a serious threat of increased racist violence, including from the state, and continued right-wing politics with even greater divisions.
Against Racism and Meaningless Violence
The left, anti-racists and trade unions have a responsibility to act against both Paludan and the senseless violence. Burning vehicles and buildings, and acting masked and violent is a greater threat to local residents than it is to “the country’s democracy” as the politicians insist. Anti-racism must be organised.
There needs to be a complete change of course organised around the demands of high-quality and equal education, real investment in neighbourhoods, welfare and secure jobs for all. There are resources like never before — let the billionaires and the banks pay.
A movement for such a change of course must have the fight against racism and sexism high on its agenda. All attempts to scapegoat immigrants and Muslims must be countered. The role of the racists is to divide us “down here” to benefit the one percent of the population that has the economic power.
Rallies and demonstrations with a clear message against the disarmament of right-wing politics, against racism and against the violence of the weekend are the way forward.
