Thursday, October 03, 2024

Swedish foreign minister flees parliament hall after tomatoes, onions thrown at her during Palestine debate

Pro-Palestinian activists with red painted hands accuse recently-appointed minister of supporting genocide

Leila Nezirevic |03.10.2024 - TRT/AA

Sweden's newly appointed foreign minister Maria Malmer Stenergard

LONDON

Sweden's recently-appointed Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard was forced to flee parliament hall Thursday after tomatoes and red onions were thrown at her during a debate about how Sweden should vote on a UN referendum about Israel and the West Bank.

Stenergard fled when those in the stands suddenly started shouting and throwing the vegetables.

​​​​​​​The leader of the Riksdag, Ann-Sofie Malm, said it was pro-Palestinian activists with red-painted hands who threw the vegetables at the minister, the Dagens Nyheter (DN) newspaper reported.

The debate was interrupted shortly after Stenergard answered a question about the situation with Palestinians in the Middle East.

Those sitting in the audience shouted and accused the foreign minister of supporting genocide.

Police have so far arrested three people, the Riksdag administration was quoted by DN.

“You must be able to participate in a conversation during a debate without having things thrown at you. Especially, in the Riksdag hall, which is the room of the elected representatives,“ Stenergard told Dagens Nyheter.

The tomatoes and red onions were not detected in security checks at the Riksdag, even though visitors are only allowed to bring notepads into the hall, said DN.

Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson demanded stricter security measures after the incident.

“I expect a thorough analysis of how this could happen and stronger measures to maintain the safety of the elected representatives in the hall,” he said.


Tomatoes lobbed at Sweden’s foreign minister during parliamentary debate

Garden-variety attack comes during a discussion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank.


A bag containing the vegetables was thrown in Maria Malmer Stenergard's direction, landing two rows behind her. | Kenzo Tribouillard/Getty Images

October 3, 2024 
By Csongor Körömi

Protestors threw a bag of tomatoes and red onions at Sweden’s foreign minister during a debate on Stockholm’s position on Israeli settlements in the West Bank on Thursday, local media reported.

Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard was returning to her seat after speaking at a parliamentary debate on why Sweden had abstained in the United Nations General Assembly vote on the legal consequences of Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, when “a ruckus” started in the public gallery, lawmaker Ann-Sofie Alm told the AFP.

bag containing the vegetables was thrown in Stenergard’s direction, landing two rows behind her, the tabloid Aftonbladet reported.
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The minister fled the chamber when she heard the noise, and the debate was temporarily suspended.

“It must be possible to have a parliamentary debate without having things thrown at you. It is fundamental to democratic discourse,” Stenergard wrote in a text message to Aftonbladet, thanking all those who had offered their support in the aftermath.

Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson condemned the incident: “I am proud that Sweden has a competent and upright foreign minister who represents the government’s line on the conflicts in the Middle East. No one should be allowed to threaten her or throw objects at her.”

“We have helped the security guards to remove people from the scene,” a police spokesperson said, adding that two women aged 45 and a man aged 35 were suspected of disrupting the debate.

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