Eritrean Cultural Festival 2024 Sweden

Eritrean Cultural Festival Was A Success – Despite Media Attacks

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The Eritrean cultural festival in Scandinavia took place this weekend, and unlike last year’s unrest, it went smoothly this year, write Av Robert Lilja and Erling Bronsberg for Proletären. The following is a software translation of their reportage.

This year’s festival attendees barely noticed the counter-demonstrators. The police moved their permitted demonstration further away from the festival area. There were also significantly more police officers present this year, something that was needed last year when violent protesters attacked the festival.

Zerai Teclai is one of the organizers of the Eritrean festival at Järvafältet.

“Järva is a vulnerable area, and we have been organizing this festival for nearly 25 years without complaints from any authorities. The violent protesters were present this year as well, but the police made it clear that they were not welcome. Therefore, we were able to exercise our constitutionally protected rights and hold the festival just like every other year: without any problems whatsoever,” Zerai Teclai told Proletären.

After what happened last year, some local politicians tried to ban the festival. Among them were the first vice chairman of the Järva district council, moderate Ole-Jörgen Persson, as well as councilors Åsa Nilsson Söderström (L) and Christofer Fjellner (M).

>> READ: How Ole-Jörgen’s Bid to Ban Eritrean Festivals Flopped

“I can only regret that they do not have accurate information and that they refer to third-party information or the gossip press. And if they choose to base their decisions in that way, how do they handle other issues? To be completely honest, these people shouldn’t be politicians. They choose to support violent individuals and anti-democrats who are only out to sabotage,” says Zerai Teclai.

Last year’s attack and the political attempts to oppose the festival by claiming it collaborates with the Eritrean government have instead mobilized more Swedish-Eritreans to participate rather than deter them; there were clearly more visitors at Järvafältet this year than last year.

When Proletären was on site, the atmosphere was good, and Zerai Teclai described a situation where the Eritrean festival has been vilified by the media, authorities, and politicians, with journalists following suit.

“I personally heard a journalist lament to a colleague: ‘Do I have to go to Husby and there won’t be any trouble…’. That says something about the media today. The festival has been greatly affected by this kind of sensational journalism,” says Zerai Teclai.

“They don’t care about the 30,000 visitors, what the festival can do for integration or for the Järva area. Instead, the politicians focus on publicity for themselves and the media on their headlines.

Zerai Teclai and the festival association will organize the event next year as well.

“We will continue, and there are no legal obstacles for us to do so. We are exercising our freedom of speech and our right to assemble. If you waver on these issues, like Christofer Fjellner and Åsa Nilsson Söderström do, you are discriminating between different groups of people. That is a dangerous path to take.”

SOURCE: Proletären