Tens of thousands to demonstrate against street violence
Major demonstrations are set to by held in Sweden's three largest cities on Friday in response to a brutal assault in Stockholm last weekend that resulted in the death of a 16-year-old boy.
The fatal attack in Stockholm's Kungsholmen district has provoked a powerful reaction among the general public.
Tens of thousands of young people have responded to calls to protest against urban violence and many are expected to turn out at Friday's demonstrations in Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö.
One of the people behind the Stockholm demonstration is 15-year-old Anton Abele, who attended the party last weekend that ended in tragedy.
By Thursday morning, more than 65,000 people had joined the group he created on community website Facebook in response to the attack. The group is called "Protect us from street violence" ("Bevara oss från gatuvåldet").
"We can't wait for street violence to claims its next victim. We have to act now," said Anton Abele
"The police can't solve everything. We young people, and the people around us, need to ask ourselves how this can happen," he added.
Anton Abele is supported in his initiative by his father.
"The appeal and the demonstration have both met with enormous interest. Our private computers have crashed under all the pressure," said Gunnar Abele.
He also noted that music channel MTV had agreed to interrupt its programming on Friday to observe the minute's silence due to be held in honour of all victims of street violence.
Two local politicians have already agreed to speak at the demonstration in Kungsträdgården in Stockholm.
"We have also received indications that there will be government ministers among the demonstrators, who will be there in their capacity as parents," said Gunnar Abele.
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The fatal attack in Stockholm's Kungsholmen district has provoked a powerful reaction among the general public.
Tens of thousands of young people have responded to calls to protest against urban violence and many are expected to turn out at Friday's demonstrations in Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö.
One of the people behind the Stockholm demonstration is 15-year-old Anton Abele, who attended the party last weekend that ended in tragedy.
By Thursday morning, more than 65,000 people had joined the group he created on community website Facebook in response to the attack. The group is called "Protect us from street violence" ("Bevara oss från gatuvåldet").
"We can't wait for street violence to claims its next victim. We have to act now," said Anton Abele
"The police can't solve everything. We young people, and the people around us, need to ask ourselves how this can happen," he added.
Anton Abele is supported in his initiative by his father.
"The appeal and the demonstration have both met with enormous interest. Our private computers have crashed under all the pressure," said Gunnar Abele.
He also noted that music channel MTV had agreed to interrupt its programming on Friday to observe the minute's silence due to be held in honour of all victims of street violence.
Two local politicians have already agreed to speak at the demonstration in Kungsträdgården in Stockholm.
"We have also received indications that there will be government ministers among the demonstrators, who will be there in their capacity as parents," said Gunnar Abele.
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