With messages such as “A different world is possible” and “Climate justice now”, the activists want to attract politicians’ attention to, among other things, the climate issue, by blocking the members’ opportunity to enter.
– We are young individuals who have decided to sit here and block entrances to the Riksdag. We have had enough of our voices, the most affected and the research being ignored and that we continue to rush in the wrong direction while we are in a planetary emergency, says Greta Thunberg.
She believes that previous methods to get politicians to act on the climate issue has not succeeded.
A youth-led civil disobedience action at the Riksdag. Photo: Alexander Mahmoud
– We will stay here right now, but we will also continue this fight for as long as it takes. This is only the beginning. The climate crisis movement has been echoing the same message for decades and it has had no great effect.
Greta Thunberg has previously been convicted for her participation in climate actions, after she blocked traffic at the entrance and exit to the Oljehamnen in Malmö during the summer of 2023
She has a clear message for the people elected in the Riksdag.
– We will no longer let them get away with continuing to act in a way that risks human life and the planet, and which puts countless people in direct danger.
Photo: Alexander Mahmoud
The activists belong to several climate movements, including Fridays for future, which published pictures and videos from the action on Instagram.
It is mainly young people, but a handful of scientists also join the action, dressed in white coats. One of them is Jeannette Eggers, who researches forest planning with a focus on sustainability at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SLU. She has taken vacation to be able to participate.
– The young people are here to show that the politicians are failing them. The future looks dark, comprehensive changes are needed in a fair way and it is urgent, says Jeannette Eggers.
Jeannette Eggers is researching forest planning at SLU and has taken a vacation to be able to participate. Photo: Alexander Mahmoud
Heavily armed police were on the scene, but it has been quiet so far.
– It is an unlicensed public gathering and we are working to maintain order at the site, but there is not much to do in this case other than keep an eye on these people because they are very calm, said police spokesperson Daniel Wikdahl during the campaign.
Whether the police will intervene to make the activists move is not clear at the moment.
– It depends on how this develops. The assessment now is that they make use of their constitutionally protected rights and they also do not significantly interfere with the activities of the Riksdag, so until now the assessment is that they should be allowed to hold their meeting.
Those who do not enter the Riksdag house are directed by guards to an alternative entrance. During the day, only a training day for teachers and a display of the art in the Riksdaghuset was on the public schedule on the Riksdag’s website.
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