On Sunday 17.6. the opening act for the camp was a demonstration “For a World Without Borders“. It started at Kungsträdgarden with around 300 people attending. Speeches were held and music was played along the way.
The call out for the demo stated:
- Close all detention centers!
- Stop all deportations!
- Against all racism!
- For a world without problems!
After the march through the city the demonstration ended in Vitabergsparken where an Asylum musical took place.
After the announced demo there was a spontaneous solidarity demonstration organized for a person who was detained on Saturday by security guards and the police. After the solidarity demonstration dozens of people were chased off by the police and held for hours in a metro station after being followed there.
Also, those who went to show solidarity to those held in the Neckrösen metro station were run after, and some caught and apprehended, by snatch police units.
A more detailed description of the solidarity demonstration and the after math is below this text.
Monday 18th
On Monday a solidarity demonstration, organized by Action Against Deportation Stockholm, took place at a detention center in Märsta. The idea of the demo was to get visual and audio contact with the detained people and show solidarity by making noise for those locked in detention centers in and around Stockholm, and everywhere. People inside the detention center held speeches through the telephone while some people in the demonstration tried to tear down the fences between them and the detention building. Of course the functions and interests of the detention center – not the people actually locked in – were guarded by the police who tried to push people back. Some pushing and shoving occurred but in the end everybody got away without being detained – except for those in the detention center.
Tuesday 19th
On Tuesday action against G4S was organized by the International Solidarity Movement. The action took place at the Kungsholmen office where around 100 persons participated, shared hundreds of leaflets and blocked the office garage, so that people working at the office couldn´t get out. The action was organized in order to protest against the companies´ involvement in the ongoing occupation of Palestinian territories, running prisons in the US and border controls in several countries.
After the action against G4S the protesters joined a solidemo at the police station in Solna Centrum for the people who had been arrested during the two action days.
Wednesday 20th
A “Queer Rrriot in solidarity with Pussy Riot“ took place at Medborgarplatsen in the center of Stockholm. The demonstration/march addressed the imprisonment of three members of the Russian, feminist punk-collective Pussy Riot who are now facing 7 years of prison for ´hooliganism´ after their performance Punk Prayer in the Temple of Christ the Saviour, Moscow. Speeches and testemonies were held to emphasize the connection between macho/state/border violence and to break the general public´s ignorance of violence made in name of nation states. A visible, colorful, masked, noisy crowd marched on our streets of Stockholm screaming ´Free Pussy Riot! No borders, no nations, stop deportations! Say it loud say it clear (queer) Refugees are welcome here! Den som flyr har inget val, ingen människa är illegal! Polisen gråter när ingen ser, dom vill också vara queer!´
Bystanders cheered on at various places, the marched stopped to take the space/stage to hold more speeches and wake up people from illusions and erase racist pollution.
The police were present but kept their distance, during the march they did no attempt of catching anyone. However, reports have been given that demonstraters leaving the march were followed by civil cops. The march ended with a surprising run towards the police cars; then the demontraters ran down to the square Plattan were the Riot samba played and people danced around.
Thursday 21st
Shoot the Shooters demonstration at SAAB Security and Defence Solutions in Järfalla was set for Thursday. The demo was organized by Allt at alla Stockholm (Everything for Everyone). The idea of the demo was to go to the Saab Security and Defence Solutions headquarters which is protected by the Swedish protection law which means that people are not allowed to fotograph, film, illustrate, measure or even describe the area. These things were what people were doing at the demo – people went to the area with cameras, painting equipment, writing pads, etc. The police offered to let one of the protesters to enter the office to tell the personnel the message of the demo, but since it was not allowed to film inside, the offer was rejected. Although it was prohibited to film in the area people anyway started to take pictures outside the building and two people were apprehended by the police and taken into a train station 20 kilometres away Stockholm.
Friday 22nd
On Friday afternoon, because of people still being locked up after the weeks actions and after receiving information about one of the detainees being in a wheel chair because of hunger strike people spontaneously gathered together and organized a solidarity protest in front of the Sollentuna prison house.
Around 80 people attended and walked around the prison building shouting slogans and the samba band making noise in order to send a clear message: our people or any prisoners should not be forgotten. The demonstration also received local support as it appears a school was demolished in order to built this oppresive institution. Even though the No Border camp is ending we will not forget those locked up in the prison system. Free all prisoners!
Saturday 23rd
On Saturday evening No Border Stockholm and El Registro organized an action in front of the Berns night club that is known for using cheap labor of paperless migrants who have been forced to work even 22 hours per day. Some of the migrant workers of the club have tried to organize to force their employers to better their working conditions. However when this has happened Berns has terminated the cleaning contract with the subcontracted company and signed a deal with a new subcontactor keeping the same workers on but reversing the progress made regarding their conditions.
The club has been campaigned against for several years. Around a hundred persons showed up and talked to people entering the club trying to convince them not to support the club. Many people did hear what the protesters said and decided not to enter the club.
People were shouting slogans and standing with signs when the police attacked the demonstrators. People were beaten with battons, chased off, pepper sprayed and finally kettled by the police. The cops were especially aggressive towards people who were trying to help the injured and even tried to stop an ambulance from coming to the location to help a person who had been hit in the head by the police. Eventually their friends intervened and managed to take them to the hospital where they got treated for a concussion.
What happened on Sunday 17th solidarity demo, witness report
Between 40 and 60 people were detained at the Näckrosen metro station in Stockholm after a solidarity demonstration took place in front of Solna police station. The group was held in the station for hours and harrassed by the officers who refused to provide water or medical assistance to people in need. Phyisical force was constantly used on people to keep the ‘order’. After the situation got local attention and criticisme towards police tactics the authorities sealed off the metro station. The whole group was constantly filmed on camera. At one moment officers started to drag off individuals in order to be checked for ID, frisked and taken pictures of. Some went peacefully while others resisted. There were several cases of police brutallity which built-up the tension even more. By the end of the identification process only six people were left out of the big group and it was announced that they would probably be set free but would use another transport. The rest of the activists were forcefully dragged into a wagon and escorted by the police directly to Akalla metro station from where they returned to the camp.
Between 40–60 people went to show solidarity at the Solna police station where anti-riot police forces were standing guard. At that point there was no violence or physical confrontations of any type. Pressure was building up through the police line as they were few in number and seemed to excpect more offensive tactics from the group. Under slogans like ”Freedom for all prisoners”, ”We are here, and we will fight, freedom of movement is everybody’s right” and ”Nobody is illegal” the group formed a live chain in front of the police line. An officer was filming the action and demanding for people to take off their masks. After a quick consensus the group decided not to escalate the situation further and took off to the direction of the nearest metro station. At that moment police vans and riot cops started to follow the group on the way. The ones at the back of the activists’ group were pushed and shoved by the cops on a partiucular staircase accompanied by comments like ”Common, fall!” or ”Move it!” In result of that one of the group members tripped over and slightly damaged a parked vehicule which mainstream media translated as destroying public and private property and throwing rocks and police officers.
The demonstrators were followed by the police to the metro station and afterwards came down to the trains themselves. With all the group members in one wagon the cops ordered for the train not to depart and surrounded the exits of the wagon. After some discussions whether it is better for the group to stay inside or try to go out it was decided it would be too hazardous for individual group members to get detained thus everybody waited for about 15 minutes until about 5 cops got into the wagon and the train departed. At the next station (name of station) more police officers were waiting. After a while an officer asked the group to get out of the wagon so that they can have a ‘talk’. After countless refusals individuals were forcefully dragged out of the train after which a consensus within the group was reached for everyone to leave the wagon. Officers then ordered the people to sit on the ground in lines. They also tried to divide the group in female and male-bodied persons which was unsuccessful. Many people refused to follow orders so they were forced on the ground. In a result of all the hustle and stress a person had a psychological reaction. Although medical help was requested a number of times the police refused to take action.
At one point people understood that a group of about 30 people had arrived at the station in order to support the apprehended group. Anti-terrorist vans were called upon and the group was chased, separated which resulted in a couple of arrests. After some more conflicts, shoutings and tension a police officer announced that each of the groups members will be taken aside in order to verify ID, be frisked and taken a picture of. Not knowing that the majority of people did not cary papers with them for solidarity reasons it was also stated that anyone with ID will be released and those without would be apprehended which fortunately did not occur. Obviously this was not acceptable so police officers had to forcefully drag, pull and shove people out of the ‘common’ space. Some of them resisted more than others and on one occasion an oficer was slisghtely bruised on the hand which resulted again in huge media outbursts about cops being assaulted. No media reported any police violence or brutality which was present at all times during the incident. A couple of more hours passed by until almost everyone was ‘checked’. Unfortunately around six people hadn’t joined the group and upon demanding an explanation the officers replied that they would not be arrested but only transported by bus or another metro line. For good reasons nobody beleived that and police once again had to use force – this time to drag everyone on the train in order to ‘free’ them. Upon returning to the camp it became clear the 3 of the six people that were left behind had been arrested and transported to a police station in the city.