The Eritrean festival at Järvafältet in Stockholm should never have been arranged, according to Ole-Jörgen Persson, moderate politician and first vice-chairman of the Järva district council.
– The organizer is so close to the Eritrean regime. Had we been in charge, we would have done everything we could so that this arrangement could not have been carried out, he tells P1 Morgon.
The regime in Eritrea is one of the world’s most brutal and something the city should not allow, he continues.
– I think that the city should, excuse the expression, have enough stake to say that this doesn’t work, we can’t house you.
– What bothers me incredibly is that the festival woes continue in the coming days.
District committee chairman Rashid Mohammed (V) emphasizes to the radio that it is the police who make decisions about the festival.
– What we can do from the district is to follow up on this over the next 24 hours and take further crisis support measures. But that is the police’s decision.
More than 50 people were injured and 140 people were detained when riots broke out when a demonstration and festival participants clashed in connection with the festival on Thursday.