Uppsala: Authorities meet for crisis meeting after weekend rioting
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There have been more cases of arson in Sweden over the weekend, this time in the university town of Uppsala, and the Gottsunda hounsing estate on the outskirts of town. Car fires, stone throwing, and firebombs - are they signs of deep social unrest, or just bored youths getting some kicks before school starts? Radio Sweden spoke to a leading criminologist and a policeman from Gothenburg to find out what they think lie behind the latest disturbances.
Jerzy Sarnecki, criminologist, Stockholm University:
"This is a cry for attention, again at two levels. On the one level it's a question of well, see, we are here, we are powerful, we don't like you. But on the second level it's a cry of we are not accepted, we are not integrated into society, our parents are without jobs, we are living at poor circumstances. The both levels are important.
(more)
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A dozen youth from Gottsunda gathered on Monday outside the police station in Uppsala. They came to report the police for violence and acting wrong during the riots in Gottsunda over the weekend.
Adam el-Chaabi, a 'youth father' in Gottsunda who works with youth in the area, couldn't hide his anger and felt that the police employed brutal means which only aggravated the situation.
"Their behavior against children and youth was completely unacceptable. I saw how they forced them up against the walls and beat them with their batons, I saw how youth who came from a candy-shop were forced down on the ground and beat up."
Many youth filmed the events, and the film footage and picture were submitted to support Monday's complaints against the police.
At the same time, there are other witnesses who say that the youth attacked the police unprovoked, including kicking. According to one witnesses contacted by UNT the police in this situation chose not to intervene, due to the risk of escalating the violence.
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Authorities are convening a crisis meeting in Uppsala today after a wild weekend of firebombings and burning cars.
On Saturday night in the suburb of Gottsunda, a number of cars were set alight, and a firebomb was thrown into a swimming centre, an officer of Upplands Police told news agency TT. It was the third night in a row of chaos, with youth gangs running rampant, according to a report in the Uppsala Nya Tidning.
A number of local authorities and actors are convening at a hastily arranged crisis meeting on Monday morning to discuss the recent spate of gang violence that culminated in the wild weekend of fires in Gottsunda. Politicians are concerned about the rise of gang-related vandalism, but emphasise that the situation requires long-sighted efforts to address the problems.
At the meeting this morning, between representatives from the county council, rescue services, the police, the fire service and housing association, the police and fire service will present a report on the latest incidents, and the meeting will discuss measures that can be instituted to break the cycle of violence, according to the report in the Uppsala Nya Tidning. The response to the unrest is being handled under the umbrella of a long-standing social, cultural and environmental programme in the district called the "Gottsunda Process".
"The events of recent days are very serious, and no one benefits from it. Now in the first place we will work to ensure order returns, but unfortunately there is no simple solution for this problem," said Hilde Klasson, a local volunteer in the Social Democrats, and coordinator of the Gottsunda Process.
Local authorities appear to be pointing the finger at a small number of disaffected youths in the area as being responsible for the disturbances in recent days, although public explanations about the nature of the problems in Gottsanda have thus far been oblique.
Both Klasson, and fellow Gottsanda Process member and chairman of the social committee for children and youth, Anders A. Aronsson, agree that the disturbances involve only a few perpetrators, who were responsible for most of the damage.
"At the same time it is important to emphasise that the picture is not all bleak. Gottsunda also has other faces. For example, no other district in Uppsala has such a vibrant cultural life," said Aronsson.
(more)
Source: SR, UNT, The Local (English)
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There have been more cases of arson in Sweden over the weekend, this time in the university town of Uppsala, and the Gottsunda hounsing estate on the outskirts of town. Car fires, stone throwing, and firebombs - are they signs of deep social unrest, or just bored youths getting some kicks before school starts? Radio Sweden spoke to a leading criminologist and a policeman from Gothenburg to find out what they think lie behind the latest disturbances.
Jerzy Sarnecki, criminologist, Stockholm University:
"This is a cry for attention, again at two levels. On the one level it's a question of well, see, we are here, we are powerful, we don't like you. But on the second level it's a cry of we are not accepted, we are not integrated into society, our parents are without jobs, we are living at poor circumstances. The both levels are important.
(more)
-------------
A dozen youth from Gottsunda gathered on Monday outside the police station in Uppsala. They came to report the police for violence and acting wrong during the riots in Gottsunda over the weekend.
Adam el-Chaabi, a 'youth father' in Gottsunda who works with youth in the area, couldn't hide his anger and felt that the police employed brutal means which only aggravated the situation.
"Their behavior against children and youth was completely unacceptable. I saw how they forced them up against the walls and beat them with their batons, I saw how youth who came from a candy-shop were forced down on the ground and beat up."
Many youth filmed the events, and the film footage and picture were submitted to support Monday's complaints against the police.
At the same time, there are other witnesses who say that the youth attacked the police unprovoked, including kicking. According to one witnesses contacted by UNT the police in this situation chose not to intervene, due to the risk of escalating the violence.
-------------
Authorities are convening a crisis meeting in Uppsala today after a wild weekend of firebombings and burning cars.
On Saturday night in the suburb of Gottsunda, a number of cars were set alight, and a firebomb was thrown into a swimming centre, an officer of Upplands Police told news agency TT. It was the third night in a row of chaos, with youth gangs running rampant, according to a report in the Uppsala Nya Tidning.
A number of local authorities and actors are convening at a hastily arranged crisis meeting on Monday morning to discuss the recent spate of gang violence that culminated in the wild weekend of fires in Gottsunda. Politicians are concerned about the rise of gang-related vandalism, but emphasise that the situation requires long-sighted efforts to address the problems.
At the meeting this morning, between representatives from the county council, rescue services, the police, the fire service and housing association, the police and fire service will present a report on the latest incidents, and the meeting will discuss measures that can be instituted to break the cycle of violence, according to the report in the Uppsala Nya Tidning. The response to the unrest is being handled under the umbrella of a long-standing social, cultural and environmental programme in the district called the "Gottsunda Process".
"The events of recent days are very serious, and no one benefits from it. Now in the first place we will work to ensure order returns, but unfortunately there is no simple solution for this problem," said Hilde Klasson, a local volunteer in the Social Democrats, and coordinator of the Gottsunda Process.
Local authorities appear to be pointing the finger at a small number of disaffected youths in the area as being responsible for the disturbances in recent days, although public explanations about the nature of the problems in Gottsanda have thus far been oblique.
Both Klasson, and fellow Gottsanda Process member and chairman of the social committee for children and youth, Anders A. Aronsson, agree that the disturbances involve only a few perpetrators, who were responsible for most of the damage.
"At the same time it is important to emphasise that the picture is not all bleak. Gottsunda also has other faces. For example, no other district in Uppsala has such a vibrant cultural life," said Aronsson.
(more)
Source: SR, UNT, The Local (English)
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