Zurich police intervene after clashes between groups of Eritreans
The Zurich Cantonal Police confirmed that a large-scale police operation had started at 6 p.m. on Saturday after a violent confrontation between two groups of Eritreans.
Keystone / Walter Bieri
One day after the anniversary of the takeover of power in Eritrea by the current ruler Isayas Afewerki, protests and clashes broke out in numerous cities on Saturday: in Tel Aviv, Israel, in Bergen, Norway, and in two towns in Switzerland. Several people sustained injuries.
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Polícia intervém após confrontos entre 200 eritreus em Zurique
In the city of Opfikon, just north of Zurich, the cantonal police undertook a large-scale operation on Saturday evening after a violent confrontation between two groups of Eritreans broke out.
The police succeeded in separating the two groups and breaking up the gathering. Originally, the meeting was to have taken place in canton St Gallen, police spokesperson Ralph Hirt told the Keystone-SDA news agency. Some of the participants drove from there to Opfikon.
Large-scale police operation
Police officers in protective gear were deployed to Glattpark in Opfikon, according to reporters from Swiss public television SRF. Up to 30 police patrol cars and ambulances had arrived since the alarm was raised, other media reported. A Rega rescue helicopter and a police helicopter were also deployed.
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Videos on the internet show how police officers sometimes used pepper spray. Later, numerous demonstrators were encircled, apparently to shield them from another group. According to the tabloid Blick, the situation calmed down around 8:30 pm and the crowd dispersed. Twelve people were injured and taken to hospital.
At least 150 people were injured after hundreds of Eritreans protested against the Eritrean regime in Tel Aviv, Israel on Saturday (see infobox).
Keystone / Atef Safadi
In Oberuzwil, canton St Gallen, an Eritrea festival took place on Saturday despite warnings from the authorities. The festival was organised to commemorate the beginning of the Eritrean war of independence.
In the Norwegian city of Bergen, opponents and supporters of the Eritrean government attacked each other with stones and bottles on Saturday afternoon. The police were also attacked. The incident was triggered by a festival of Eritrean government supporters.
There were also heavy clashes between police and migrants from Eritrea in Tel Aviv in Israel. At least 150 people were injured. Hundreds of Eritreans protested against the government in front of the Eritrean embassy, breaking through police barriers, Israeli media reported.
In Germany, there were riots at an Eritrea festival in Giessen in July, with at least 26 police officers injured. Opponents of the event had attacked security forces.
In Stockholm, there were violent riots at an Eritrea festival in August with more than 50 people injured.
In Eritrea, President Isaias Afewerki rules in a one-party dictatorship. Freedom of expression and freedom of the press are severely restricted. In addition, there is a strict system of military service and forced labour, from which many Eritreans flee abroad.
Several dozen people from Eritrea wanted to prevent the festival, where supporters of Afewerkis planned to gather, from going ahead. They travelled from all over Switzerland to do so. The police deployed a large contingent. Apparently, many of the participants later moved to Opfikon.
For many critics of the regime, celebrating independence while ignoring the dictatorship is not an option. “We fled from the regime here to Switzerland and we are protected here. It can’t be that the regime persecutes us and makes propaganda videos and propaganda festivals here,” protester Yeman Yohannes told SRF.
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