At least nine injured in clashes at Eritrean festival in Toronto

At least nine people were injured, one seriously, in clashes between participants in a festival of the Eritrean community and protesters, Eritreans themselves, Saturday in the west of Toronto. Police were called early in the morning about a person with a knife, clashes and burning tents in the Earlscourt Park area.

City police eventually deployed the riot squad to the park where the Eritrea Festival descended into chaos almost from the start. The first scuffles broke out around 10 a.m. and tensions continued throughout the day.

People carried sticks, while demonstrators chanted slogans such as festival of shameaccording to what Radio-Canada observed on the spot.

Paramedics transported the 9 injured to hospital, adds the Toronto Police Service (TPS), which asked the public to avoid the scene and warned that motor vehicle traffic continued to be heavily disrupted on the streets. around Saturday afternoon.

THE SPT indicates that it was a large demonstration which would have turned violent, but did not identify the group or groups involved.

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The Eritrean Community Festival which takes place annually was underway in this park when the unrest began.

Violence temporarily resumed during the afternoon, according to the SPT. Agents come to lend a hand to gain controlsaid law enforcement on their X (formerly Twitter) account.

Eritrea is described by human rights groups as one of the most repressive countries in the world. Since gaining independence from Ethiopia three decades ago, the tiny Horn of Africa nation has been ruled by President Isaias Afwerki, who has never held an election. Millions of people have fled the country to escape authoritarianism, such as forced military conscription.

Protesters call the festival a policy

Mussa Shehai, who presented himself as a protester and an opponent of the regime, claimed that the festival has political aims. It is organized and sponsored by the consulate of Eritrea, supported by the dictatorship and they raise funds to finance the wars. We oppose thishe said.

Another protester, Haregu Asefa, railed against the Eritrea celebration as we have a dictator in power for 50 years, no constitution, everyone is in prison, no parliament at all.

They hold a festival every year to raise money for their propaganda. We are protesting peacefully to stop this festival which supports Eritrea.

By email, the Eritrean consulate denies being directly related at the festival.

Reached by telephone, Lambros Kyriakakos, president of the festival’s organizing body, deplores the violence committed on Saturday. It is very unfortunate that the protesters have chosen a path that does not help their message if they have a real message and a concern he said.

If anyone wants to protest, that’s their right. But hitting and hurting people in the name of human rights is really an oxymoron.

The violence was organized and committed by the death squadaccording to Mr. Kyriakakos, a group that opposes the Eritrean government and any event supported by the Eritrean government in the diaspora. This group, also called Brigade N’hamedu, would have formed in the last six months and cause global unrest, says Kyriakakos.

Rather, it is a festival that simply celebrates Eritrean culture, said festival attendee Rora Asgodom. She critiques ignorance Some protestors.

They oppose the government [érythréen] and their choice of how to handle it is to cancel anything that shows patriotism towards the countryshe says.

We are a mixture of different backgrounds in the country, different ideologies, different points of view. But they assume that if someone is proud to be from Eritrea, they support whatever they oppose and they think violence will be the solution.

By email, a spokeswoman for the City of Toronto says it does not issue permits for protests or gatherings. The City neither ignores nor tolerates any form of violencesays Jaclyn Carlisle.

In a post on social media, the councilwoman in the Davenport ward, Alejandra Bravo, said to herself shocked and saddened to hear that violence broke out during a political protest against a festival in Earlscourt Park.

She adds that the number of victims and the extent of their injuries are not yet known and that her office will continue to provide updates as they become available.

Other Eritrean celebrations marked by violence

This is not the first Eritrean festival to go awry. On Friday, 50 people were injured at a similar festival in Sweden.

In Germany, 22 police officers were injured last month, in particular by throwing stones.

The Eritrean festival will continue on Sunday and Monday as planned, assures the president of the Lambros Coalition Kyriakakos. An online petition posted on behalf of the N’hamedu Brigade is asking the Sheraton Center Toronto Hotel not to host the festival event scheduled for Sunday night. It has collected nearly 1,600 signatures as of Saturday 8 p.m.

With information from Jean-Loup Doudard and AFP.