Finland: Follow-up reports on the antifascist demonstration on 6th of December
Following we compile two articles by Punalippu:
Communist and anti-imperialist forces resisted the police’s attempt to prevent the HIN demonstration from Gathering at Töölöntori, calling the masses into the struggle with the slogan “Dare to struggle, dare to win!” and carrying a banner which called for anti-imperialist struggle. After the police had for the first time ridden their horses over the demonstrators, they were denounced with the slogan “Down with the Finnish police, down with all the butchers!”.
In the front line of the struggle proletarian internationalism was raised high and the flags of the International Communist League, the League of Poor Peasants and the People’s Women’s Movement of Brazil were seen. Also the flag of the Anti-imperialist League and Palestinian flags were present in the demonstration.
The police was present Heavily armed and received support from the Border Guard.
The police rode into the demonstrators multiple times with horses to crush the resistance of the demonstration and to cause panic, even though the ombudsman has said that the police horse is a vehicle and not a means of using force. The police once again rode over demonstrators. HIN has published a video on their Instagram where a demonstrator is seen falling to the ground in front of the horse.
Police also tried to prevent journalists from taking pictures of the brutal arrests it carried out.
The repression however did not manage to Crush the combative spirit of the demonstration, and the bus with the detainees was received with cheers greeting their acts of resistance.
The police now claims in the media that it is a victim who was hit and kicked. In reality the police had from the beginning prepared to use violence against the demonstrators and it used illegal means or means on the gray area of the law. It exposed its true face, protecting the right of the fascists to assemble, and repressing violently a much bigger antifascist demonstration. The demonstrators simply rebelled against this injustice and defended the demonstration against the brutal attack of the police. However, despite everything the police did not manage to disperse the demonstration which remained determined to the end.
After December 6th: Police launch persecution campaign
Ilta-Sanomat reported on the police’s comments regarding the Helsinki Without Nazis protest:
“The police used force during the arrests. Four protesters are suspected of violently resisting the police, seven of resisting the police, and 28 of insubordination.
The Helsinki Police Department reports that compared to the previous year, what was new was that the protesters violently opposed the police.
According to police, those who violently resisted kicked and punched officers and tore equipment.
The four people who violently resisted the police were all detained overnight.
The police are also investigating an incident with an attempted seizure of an officer’s weapon. However, the suspect has not been arrested.
Violent resistance to the police can lead to a preliminary investigation, while other suspected offenses will generally result in a fine.”
Politically, attention is drawn to the following two points in particular. First, the police draw attention to the strength of the HIN resistance as a contrast to, for example, last year. In this way, they acknowledge the Punalippu’s assessment of the demonstration as correct. By emphasizing the exceptional strength of the antifascist resistance, the police are already plotting a counterattack.
Secondly, it gives the public a story that sounds obviously fabricated about a protester who was completely unknown to the police and who allegedly tried to seize a police officer’s service weapon. If such an attempt has actually occurred, it is a very serious situation for the police, but the media has only been informed of the alleged incident in passing. The police also have serious grounds for self-criticism if they failed to arrest the suspect. It seems that this is intended to serve, in part, to justify the campaign of persecution and generally to intensify repression.
The characteristic patterns of the police include retaliation when the masses have resisted them, challenged their authority and monopoly on violence, and have downright humiliated and mocked them. This will be seen, for example, in acts of persecution under the pretext of an alleged attempt to take away a police officer’s service weapon, in the harsh legal processes of those arrested, and in the outright repression of future demonstrations.
The situation calls for strong solidarity to defend the rights of antifascists. This meets the wishes of the broad antifascist masses, as HIN showed that very broad masses support their arrested comrades without reservation, as Punalippu has reported.
