Polarized demonstrations commemorate Turku attack

Two persons were detained as ideologically polarized processions marched on Sunday in the southwestern city of Turku, in commemoration of the 2017 terrorist attack in the city.

A nationalistically oriented grouping arranged a procession and threw flowers into the river Aura. Another procession marched under the banner "Turku without Nazis", targeting the alleged ideological character of the other demonstration.

Local media said some 250 people marched on the nationalist side and 500 in the "anti-Nazi" procession.

Finnish language newspaper Turun Sanomat reported that both processions went without incident, but when the anti-Nazi procession had reached its end at the Old Grand Square, the atmosphere became tense as members of the other demonstration had arrived to the scene.

Both demonstrations took place under heavy police protection, with police in combat gear and motorcycle police accompanying both marches.

The police said later that the two detained persons were released, without specifying the affiliations of those detained.

Local media noted that last year as the first commemoration took place, 10 people were arrested.

Besides the two marches, there was a third commemorative event by a youth organization. Senior police officer Gisela von Porat told Swedish language newspaper Hufvudstadsbladet that the police were aware of all the three.

In the stabbing incident on August 18, 2017, Moroccan national Abderrahman Bouanane killed two persons and injured eight others at the Turku Market Place. He was given a life sentence by a the court in June 2018.

The Moroccan had arrived in Finland as an asylum seeker but had been rejected. The Turku stabbing was the first terrorist attack in Finland.

Vilhelm Junnila, a member of parliament representing the Perussuomalaiset ( Finns Party), addressed the nationalist event. He suggested that the city of Turku would start a tradition that one of the bridges of the Aura River would be lit with Finnish colors - white and blue - every year on the 18th of August.

Jaakko Lindfors, a local politician representing the Vasemmistoliitto (Left Alliance), was leading the "anti-Nazi" procession. He said it is important to be opposing racism and the extreme right wing.

Turun Sanomat interviewed local people in the streets. One of them expressed the hope that the city of Turku would take over arranging the commemorations.

"A city-arranged event could defuse the current polarization", she said. "But we are already two years late," she added.