SANDEFJORD (Nettavisen): The anti-Islamic organization Sian (Stop the Islamization of Norway) is holding a celebration in Sandefjord center on Saturday afternoon. They have announced in advance that they will burn the Koranthe holy book of the Muslims.
LAST: At 4 pm, the police warn the public on the spot that they will use gas grenades if they do not pull away from the fences they have set up.
The online newspaper’s journalist on the spot says the police are peppered with pebbles and eggs of angry protesters.
It is about 50-60 meters from the fences where the counter-protesters stand where Sian holds his mark.
– Right now it’s a bit unpredictable here. There are a number of gatherings with people rocking on the fence, and the police have had to use gas against these, says station chief Siw Thokle at Sandefjord police station to NTB at 15.30 on Saturday.
On Saturday afternoon around 3.20 pm, the operations manager in the South-West police district, Øystein Eikedal, told Nettavisen that there have been five expulsions so far.
– It is a bit difficult to say exactly what is happening there now, since we are in the middle of it, but we have enough resources in place and five people have been expelled from the city center. In addition, one person was brought in, he says.
Read the debate post from Rødt’s Ann Cecilie Lund: Sian is not welcome in Sandefjord
– People are furious
The online newspaper’s journalist on the spot says that a bunch of counter-protesters are furious and shake the barricades.
– There is throwing of stones and bottles and a lot of shouting, yelling and screaming. There are also tendencies to petty chaos here. For the time being, the police have good control, but after it escalated a quarter of an hour ago, some of the police have put on helmets, gas masks and equipped themselves with shields, Nettavisen’s journalist says on the spot.
Things are thrown at the police “all the time”, and the patrols continue to gas with CS gas – known as tear gas. It is estimated that there are around 60 visible police present, but there are also civilian police, helicopters, dog patrols and two ambulances with health preparedness in place.
– It is clear that the counter-protesters are furious, and several of them shout “Allahu akbar”. Some actually throw shoes at the police. Some see the police as the enemy, because they do not understand why SIAN is allowed to demonstrate, Nettavisen’s journalist continues.
Eggs are also thrown at the police, and children also contribute with the throwing. In addition, children throw stones and plastic bottles, which in turn causes children to be gassed. The online newspaper’s journalist observes that the gassing of children in particular provokes the adult counter-protesters strongly and helps to escalate the situation.
At 3 pm, the anti-Islamic organization Sian began its celebration on Torvet in Sandefjord. There have also been a number of counter-protesters.
The police estimate that between 300 and 400 people have turned up at Torvet.
Red has announced that they will be present, and turn their backs to show their opposition to Sian.
There have been riots among counter-protesters on a number of occasions in the past when Sian has held rallies.
Sian leader attacked
The demonstration is one of a long line in different parts of the country. In August 2020, it erupted powerful clashes in Bergen where Sian leader Lars Thorsen was attacked and injured. In another demonstration the week before, at Furuset east of Oslo, Police in riot gear stormed a rally on Friday, removing hundreds of protesters by truck.
After violent riots at least eleven young men and teenagers were charged after Sian invited to a so-called “violation party” outside the Storting in the summer of 2020, something Avisa Oslo mentioned. Several of them are now convicted of the riots.
A number of other people were also arrested outside the Storting.
Great forces
In April last year it was stone-throwing and riots in Drammen when Sian again demonstrated.
When Sian was to demonstrate in Bærum last year, after several demonstrations that had ended in riots, were the police and the municipality on high alert. When Nettavisen, and a number of other media, were in place, it was together with over 100 police officers.
Special forces were also deployed The emergency squadscouts, dog patrols, helicopters, in addition, the police used drones and cameras to document any crimes.
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