Wednesday 29 Jul 2015 - 11:07 Makkah mean time-13-10-1436
Stockholm (IINA) - An unofficial gay Pride parade organized by a right-wing nationalist is planned for July 29 to run through a predominantly immigrant neighborhood with a large Muslim population.
The event is making the headlines in the country and globally for all the wrong reasons, Al Jazeera reported. Pride Järva, is organized by Jan Sjunnesson, a former editor-in-chief of Samtiden, a web-magazine owned by Sweden Democrats, the anti-immigration party that became the third largest political party in the Swedish parliament following 2014 general election. Sjunnesson is also the editor of website Avpixlat, often described in mainstream Swedish media as a xenophobic and far-right website.
The planned parade has attracted criticism from the official Pride organizers, Sweden's LGBT federation and anti-racism groups. They believe the agenda behind this parade organized by the far-right is to try to provoke Muslims in the predominantly immigrant areas. In a joint official statement released to Al Jazeera, the official Stockholm Pride and the Swedish Federation for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights (RFSL) said they were distancing themselves from the initiative. "Jan Sjunnesson has during a long time made himself known as a person who's spreading hatred towards Muslims on social media who's not supporting LGBT rights.
"The magazine Expo published, in February, a compilation in which they, among other things, showed how Sjunnesson, with positive comments, had shared an American film where Muslims were described as paedophiles and homosexuals and a "Satanistic threat against society" who should be deported," the statement said. Sjunnesson, a 57-year-old father of one, said that he rejected the claims that he is "homophobic" and "racist"
I am not homophobic, the media made these remarks about me. I used to be bisexual, now I am married to an Indian woman, so I am not racist either," he said. "However, I am against the Islamization of Sweden." Sjunnesson says the leftist media has been very critical of the parade which they say its "provocative". "I don't think there is anything wrong with that! I think it's good to be provocative and have an element of surprise," he said.
Sjunnesson said the plan is to have a fun and peaceful parade which about 100 people are expected to attend. He believes it is time to bring the Pride Järva to areas other than central Stockholm, and that is why he chose to have it in these areas. "I chose the area because I think we should be able to parade anywhere and we should not allow the Islamization of Sweden to grow and stop us from what we want to do," he said.
Annika Hamrud, a journalist, believes Sjunnesson is staging the parade for attention and publicity, and the media is buying into it. "The organizer has a history of making homophobic statements in the past, and he was expelled from SD for being too extreme. He is using this as a platform to make it more antagonistic between the LGBT and the Muslim community," she said. Hamrud said: "There are so many areas in the capital that have never had the Pride parade, why not go there, why isolate the event by holding it in an area that is too far from the main parade?"
She concluded that the parade is called Pride because people are supposed to parade with pride in the heart of Stockholm, not in isolated areas. A counter parade is planned on the same day, according to a post on the Facebook page of the Anti-racist Pride Park March. Emelie Martensson, organizer of the counter parade, says 800 people have registered to attend. They intend to meet the parade at the finishing point in Husby. "When the racists and Islamophobes want to use LGBT as a tool we have to unite and say NO," said Martensson. The counter parade will turn their back at the alternative pride parade once they pass their area and after that the entire group will head to the park where everyone in the community from all walks of life can be together
HA/IINA
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