Representatives from all parliamentary parties are now invited by the government to talks after the attack on a political meeting in Gubbängen in southern Stockholm last week.
– We think it is good that you call a meeting and we will participate actively. But we think more meetings are needed, says the Left Party’s party secretary Aron Etzler.
The purpose of the call is to discuss measures to prevent attacks and “similar types of serious attacks against our democracy” in the future, according to a press release from the government. The meeting takes place at 2 pm and is expected to last an hour.
The host is Minister of Justice Gunnar Strömmer (M) and he has invited party secretaries from all parties in the Riksdag and the members of the justice committee. Relevant authorities will also participate to give their situational picture.
The invitation comes after, among others, the Left Party’s party leader Nooshi Dadgostar demanded that the government act against the political violence and wanted party leader talks.
Wide attendance is expected
Both S, MP and V have accepted the invitation and will have representatives on site, the parties confirm for TV4 Nyheterna.
– We think it is good that you call a meeting and we will participate actively. But we believe that more meetings are needed. We have also called for a meeting with the prime minister and all party leaders and the reason for that is that this is a bigger issue than just for the justice committee. It is a major social problem, says the Left Party’s party secretary Aron Etzler to TV4 Nyheterna.
From the Social Democrats, the justice committee’s vice-chairman Ardalan Shekarabi is participating – who emphasizes the importance of bringing about strong measures after the attack in Gubbängen. But even after May Day, when Nazis disrupted several May Day speeches, including in Gislaved, where an elderly woman was also pushed over.
– Several serious events that pose a threat to freedom of assembly and demonstration have now occurred in a very short time. Gunnar Strömmer and Ulf Kristersson should therefore immediately call on Säpo and the police to quickly come up with an action plan to protect our democracy from similar attacks, he tells TV4 Nyheterna.
Last week, several masked people attacked during a political meeting organized by V and MP in Gubbängen in southern Stockholm. They assaulted at least one person, sprayed paint on several people’s faces, vandalized the premises and set off a smoke grenade before fleeing. Three people were taken to hospital, but were not seriously injured. No one has been arrested since the attack.