The failed crusade of Ole Jörgen Persson (M) against Eritrean festivals in Stockholm
Meet Ole Jörgen Persson, who serves as the 1st Vice Chairman (M) of the Järva District Council in Sweden. Additionally, he holds a position on the board of directors for the Moderate Party (M) in Stockholm City.
Lately, his primary political focus in his district seems to be coercing other Council members into supporting a motion aimed at depriving Swedish-Eritreans of their fundamental rights. In his own words, he advocates for stripping Swedish citizens of Eritrean descent of their right to organize cultural festivals within Stockholm.
During yesterday’s committee meeting, as members convened to discuss 32 agenda items, Ole Jörgen, representing his party (M) introduced an additional agenda by proposing “a complete ban on Swedish citizens with Eritrean heritage from organizing cultural events” within his district.
(Ole Jörgen | Translated: Quite a lot of trolls now on my twitter who support the Eritrean regime. And the festival. They have to keep going. I don’t back down one millimeter. Will do everything I can to stop a new pro-regime festival on municipal land here in Järva. It’s the end of the festival now.)
Rätt många troll nu på min twitter som stödjer den eritreanska regimen. Och festivalen.
De får hålla på.
Jag backar inte en millimeter. Kommer göra allt vad jag kan för att stoppa en ny regimvänlig festival på kommunal mark här på Järva.
Det är slutfestivalat nu.
— Ole Jörgen Persson (@jrgen_ole) March 19, 2024
Fortunately, the majority of committee members expressed dissatisfaction with his insistence on pushing them towards an unlawful decision that violates the fundamental rights of Swedish citizens.
(Maria Björklund | Translated: FolketsHusby21/3: Initially there were only 32 points as cases, but OleJörgen (M) sent just before the meeting a new point, 33 regarding the decision to stop the Eritrean cultural festival. Purpose: to force the committee to make decisions they have no right to make. Why is M trying to force make illegal decisions?)
FolketsHusby21/3:Fanns till en början bara32punkter som ärenden men OleJörgen(M)skickade precis innan mötet en ny punkt,33 ang.beslut att stoppa eritreanska kulturfestivalen.Syfte: tvinga nämnden ta beslut de inte har rätt att göra.Varför försöker M tvinga fram olagliga beslut? pic.twitter.com/PIxJbljrS6
— Maria Björklund (@MariaBjor17680) March 22, 2024
Consequently, following an extensive debate, members representing the Swedish Social Democratic Party (S), the Left Party (V), and the Green Party (MP) unanimously dismissed his ludicrous proposal as “unpleasant,” much to his apparent displeasure.
“Will probably come back tomorrow with a report on how it went at the district council regarding our proposal to stop the Eritrean so-called ‘culture festival’ (we were voted down by S, V and MP),” lamented Ole Jörgen on his Twitter account.
Får nog återkomma imorgon med en rapport om hur det gick på stadsdelsnämnden om vårt förslag om att stoppa den eritreanska s k kulturfestivalen (vi röstades ner av S, V och Mp).
Kulmen i debatten nåddes nog när en sosse i nämnden tyckte vårt förslag var ”obehagligt”. 🙄
— Ole Jörgen Persson (@jrgen_ole) March 21, 2024
After reading his aggressive tweets and racist overtone, one is left wondering:
- Why does he harbor such bitterness towards Swedish citizens of Eritrean heritage?
- What fuels his apparent racist tendencies towards Eritrea and Eritreans?
- Who does he think he is to deny Swedish citizens their fundamental rights to peaceful assembly?
- Is he oblivious to the fact that such violations of constitutional rights are challengeable in court?
Whether he acknowledges it or not, Eritreans, like any other citizens in Sweden, are fully aware of their rights, and it will remain an exercise in futility for a liberal politician like Ole Jörgen Persson to even contemplate such actions.