Denmark
In Denmark, answering the call of the Communist Party of India (Maoist) a protest was organised in front og the Indian Embassy in Copenhagen.
Activists from Anti-Imperialist Collective and Communist Youth of Denmark stood infront of the Indian embassy and distributed leaflets in support of the People’s War in India and of political prisoners. The following slogans were chanted: ”Up the international solidarity!”, ”Support the People’s War in India!”, ”Long live the People’s War in India!”, ”Long live the Communist Party of India (Maoist)!”. The hymn of our class, the Internationale was also sung by the activists.
The contingent, although relatively small, was so intimidating to the Indian Embassy People that they decided to evacuate the Embassy.
Norway
In the last week, Kampkomiteen has organized or participated in commemorations in connection with Eugene Obiora's death anniversary, the 49th anniversary of the coup in Chile on 11 September 1973, Pride and the square meetings of the racist SIAN.
On 7 September, it was 16 years since Eugene Obiora was killed by the police in Trondheim. The day was marked with demonstrations in Trondheim, Oslo, Bergen and Kristiansand, and Kampkomiteen has shared reports and photos from activists in these cities.
In Trondheim, the day was marked with a demonstration. At 17.00 a speech was held in the square. Several turned up to listen and many accepted leaflets. Then slogans were shouted before lining up for the train. Several people joined the train that went to the police station. In the train, slogans such as "Justice for Obiora, justice for Mirza!", "No peace without freedom - no freedom without struggle!" were shouted. and "Police and military, capital's mercenaries!" At the police station, a new speech was held and slogans were shouted before the demonstration dissolved. In the speeches, emphasis was placed on the fact that racism and violence by the police is systemic.
Excerpt from one of the appeals:
“This murder was not an isolated incident. Obiora is neither the first nor the last to be killed by Norwegian police, and the police in Norway kill more and more often. Since 2019, five people have been killed by Norwegian police. What these five people had in common was that they had mental health problems, and that none of them were armed with firearms. One of these people was Mirza Osmanovic, who was shot dead by the police in Sarpsborg last year. Witnesses say that the police fired at least four shots. We have seen pictures where he is lying on the ground, with a small knife lying a few meters away. Two police officers hold him down and another approaches with a machine gun. In a new photo, Osmanovic is dead, shot by two officers."
A demonstration was held in Oslo demanding justice for Obiora and Mirza. The demonstration started in Grønland's square with music, slogans and appeals. The demonstration then moved collectively towards the police station in Grønland, where appeals and musical elements were held. The demonstration was very lively and the slogans "Obiora, it was murder - the murderer, the Norwegian state" and "Mirza, it was murder - the murderer, the Norwegian state!" resounded powerfully through the streets of Grønland. The message was warmly welcomed by local residents who shouted along, applauded and clenched their fists as the demonstration moved through the borough on this warm September day.
In Bergen, a commemoration was held for Obiora. Touching appeals were held about Obiora, and about police violence and racism. A banner with the text "We will never forget Obiora" was held up and a picture of Obiora was displayed together with flowers and candles. Several passers-by came and showed support for the marking by making a fist in the salute. Others the activists came into contact with told about their own experiences with the police and harassment.
In Kristiansand, the Kampkomiteeen, Red Youth, Socialist Youth, Red and Antiracist Agder organized a demonstration on the square. The activists brought red flags, and posters and banners against police violence and racism.
Four speeches were held. The story of what happened to Obiora was told, and several of the speakers raised the problem with the special unit, that almost all cases are dropped or end in acquittals and that the police are investigated by their own. An speaker brought up the prison system, with inhumane treatment of inmates, insufficient follow-up of mental health and the inmates top the suicide statistics. A speaker said that when she was asked about holding a speech a week ago, she did not know who Obiora was. They had never learned about the matter at school. This applied to several of the participants at the commemoration, and shows the importance of continuing to mark the day, not letting the matter be hidden, not forgetting Obiora.
Kampkomiteen participated in a counter-demonstration against SIAN at Tårnplassen in Bergen. Ahead of the counter-demonstration in Bergen, posters had been put up around the city.
Activists showed up early with banners and flags. A large number of organizations and environments were present. And when SIAN started its event, a crowd of 100-200 demonstrators had already gathered. As last year, the police had cordoned off Tårnplassen on all sides and carried out searchings on everyone and ID checks on many. Several young people were not allowed into the demonstration area. The police monitored the demonstration with civilian police, photographers and a drone. And had a large amount of police cars and riot police ready to crack down on the masses and arrest people. As last year, the police and others tried to use many "soft" means to stop people. Including the outside contact, the municipality and a wall of slogans that would block protesters from fighting on the barricades and getting over the barricades.
At the beginning of the demonstration, a person who gave Nazi salutes appeared in front of the demonstrators. The person was quickly confronted and large parts of the demonstration were set in motion and chased the person out of Tårnplassen. A short speech was held calling for a fight against SIAN and the police. The appeal received many appreciative nods from those present and the appellant started chanting when it was finished. Throughout the demonstration, slogans such as "SIAN out of Bergen", "No racists in our streets", "Shut up, go home" and "We crushed them in 45, we will crush them again" were shouted by most of the demonstrators in tact which drowned out SIAN. Demonstrators also used signs to create sound and rhythm. A protester handed out chocolates to fellow protesters to raise morale and energy levels in the demonstration. Several battle songs such as the International, Bella ciao and Avanti popolo also created good fighting spirit among the demonstrators. When SIAN started to pack up after 2 hours, the demonstration cheered and some of the demonstrators went over to the other side of the square to show SIAN the fastest way out of Bergen.
On Saturday 10 September, SIAN came to the city park in Stavanger and a counter-demonstration was announced at 11 a.m. Activists were there early with flags and banners with the text “Stop Muslim hatred! Crush SIAN!”. Gradually, more and more gathered to demonstrate against SIAN until about 150 people had gathered.
As last year, the police had set up heavy barriers. This year's barriers were additionally reinforced with concrete weights and an extra layer of barriers. Outside the demonstration area, the police stood visibly armed with automatic weapons. The police searched most of the demonstrators and took personal information on all demonstrators who were present at the roadblocks. A large number of plainclothes police were present and aggressively sought out counter-demonstrators, especially youth. The civil police tried to threaten them away from the barricades before they tried to be kind enough to give them flyers for a free concert at the oil museum. Despite the fact that the corona pandemic is not over, the police forced all demonstrators to take off their mouth guards. But a large number of people remained at the barricades to fight, and more people gathered at the barricades when SIAN started giving speeches. As long as SIAN spoke, tactful slogans such as "No fascists in our streets!" were shouted. and "Nazi pig, Nazi pig, get out of my town!".
When SIAN brought out a Koran, which they set on fire, the masses were shaken violently in the barriers despite the concrete weights underneath. The police, both in civilian clothes and in uniform, tried several times to take people out of the demonstration and the demonstrators defended each other tenaciously and stopped several such attempts. This created a strong sense of unity among those who fought at the barricades. At one point, a large group of uniformed police entered the demonstration to pick people out of the demonstration. Then the police tried to arrest demonstrators and dragged them out of the demonstration by force. The demonstration defended itself against the attack and made the attempt more difficult. And when the people were dragged towards the police car, parts of the demonstration followed and shouted slogans. The demonstration was not stopped,
On 11 September, a commemoration was organized at the Alegría multicultural center in Kristiansand, in memory of the coup in Chile in 1973 and all the victims of the dictatorship. The working group for marking September 11 in Chile (1973-2022), the Latin American groups, NKP, Rødt and Kampkomiteen appeals and Chilean music and food.
On Saturday 10 September, activists from Kampkomiteen in Trondheim participated in the Pride parade with the slogan "Stonewall shows the way - fight and resist!" The Stonewall Riot in New York in 1969 was an uprising against police fascist harassment of LGBT people, and is considered the foundation of the Pride movement. The slogans "Stonewall shows the way - fight and resist ” and “fight back – smash the patriarchy” were shouted.
