Young Swedes Banned from Municipal Premises – Files Complaint with Ombudsman

At the beginning of the year, Ungsvenskarna Jämtland, the Sweden Democrats’ youth wing, booked a venue. A few weeks later, they were notified that the booking had been stopped. Now, Ungsvenskarna is reporting the municipality of Östersund to the Parliamentary Ombudsman (JO).

Tingshuset is a meeting place for young people aged 15 to 25 and features a café, rehearsal rooms, an art studio, and meeting rooms that are rented out by the municipality.

The decision to withdraw the booking was allegedly made after the management of Tingshuset reviewed statements and materials from the youth wing’s public communications.

According to Annika Berkö, head of the municipality’s youth centers, any activity conducted in municipal spaces must follow the municipality’s guidelines on equality and non-discrimination. In an email to Östersunds-Posten, she stated that Ungsvenskarna has made statements that “target groups based on ethnicity or religion in a way that risks being perceived as exclusionary and disparaging.”

This prompted Ungsvenskarna to file a complaint with the Ombudsman. When they called the municipality, they were told that LGBTQ people and foreign-born individuals are commonly present at Tingshuset.

Feeling of Insecurity

According to Anna-Carin Svedén, head of the department for culture and leisure, people in the premises reported feeling unsafe when they heard Ungsvenskarna would be coming there.

When asked whether they understand the municipality’s reasoning that they are not in favor of equality, Milian Kron from Ungsvenskarna responds “absolutely not,” and says they feel that political activists within the municipality have made this decision. He also points out that both SSU and Ung Vänster hold their annual meetings in the same venues.