Police in Oslo arrested around 40 people during the weekend after they launched an unannounced demonstration and disrupted traffic by blocking tram routes. The demonstrators were protesting what they called “Turkey’s genocide” against Kurds in Syria and the media’s coverage of the conflict.
The demonstration began when around 50 people assembled outside Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK)’s headquarters in Oslo’s Marienlyst district at around 10:30pm. They blasted both Turkey’s military aggression and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
“The demonstrators moved on towards downtown after awhile and we followed them closely with several patrols,” Marita Aune, police operations leader, told NRK. She said they were relatively peaceful but became noisy when they stopped outside the official residence of Prime Minister Erna Solberg.
Around 40 of the demonstrators had moved on to Henrik Ibsens Gate by 1:30am, where they stood on rail lines to block trams and disrupt traffic. When the demonstrators refused to end their protest voluntarily, police decided to break up the group, and arrest all involved for disturbing the peace, hindering traffic and carrying out an illegal demonstration. Henrik Ibsens Gate reopened to traffic around 2:20am.
newsinenglish.no staff
