Protesters make their feeling clear at the anti-racism rally in Kärrtorp.
Thousands marched against racism and nazism on Sunday in Karrtorp, Sweden where one week ago neo-Nazis attacked a smaller crowd of anti-racist demonstrators, setting upong them with glass bottles, sticks, and firecrackers in violence that resulted in two stabbings.
The rally in the Stockholm suburb was over 16,000 strong, according to Swedish Television, resounding with chants of “End racism now” and “No racists on our streets” as it made its way to a soccer field where musicians were setting up to play for the swelling crowd.
Smaller anti-racist rallies were reportedly held in cities and towns across Sweden.
“It shows how many we are fighting for the equal value of all humans, and that we are many in comparison to the extremists,” said Jytte Guteland, a candidate to the European Parliament for the Social Democrats, in an interview with Al Jazeera. “I think many people are worried about the rise of the far-right in Europe and want to show that in Sweden, we are taking another route.”
The neo-Nazi Swedish Resistance Movement claimed responsibility for the December 15th attack on anti-racist demonstrators, and police came under criticism for failing to stop the onslaught.
According to the Expo Foundation, neo-Nazi activity in Sweden is on the rise. Meanwhile, anti-immigrant party Sweden Democrats is gaining in the polls ahead of next year’s parliamentary elections.
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Source: Common Dreams