On Monday, the Norwegian Police Directorate recommended that all pride events throughout the country be postponed. The recommendation came just a few hours before the big celebration in front of Rådhusplassen in Oslo was to take place on Monday night. The explanation was that the police could not guarantee security. Many still defied the recommendation and met at Rådhusplassen on Monday night. On Wednesday afternoon, PST changed the advice again. The threat level was lowered from five to four and the National Council on Postponement of Pride Events was removed. Several in the queer environment react to the police’s handling of the situation. – I think there is still unrest. I hope it will be a memorial service so people can gather. But I still feel insecure, says author and public debater Amal Aden. Amal AdenAge: 39Professional: Author and lecturer. Among other things, he has written the book If hope is lost, everything is lost. Gay refugees. She thinks it has been extremely painful that queers have not been able to gather. – It has been so painful and painful. I come from another culture and have already lived with threats, incitement and hatred, and come from an environment where homosexuality is not accepted. Aden has had little night’s sleep since Saturday. – You are left with many questions. How safe are we really? Why don’t they get more resources? It’s great that the police are watching, but there is poor communication. Of course, they can not share everything they know, but it creates extra unrest. Still high threat level Threat level four means that the risk of a new attack is still high. Several NRKs have spoken to still feel insecure. – I think this is difficult to navigate. It is of course positive that the threat level is lowered. But what now? How unsafe is one notch safer? Gisle AgledahlAge: 31Professional: Journalist. Program manager for the documentary series Jævla homo. That’s what Gisle Agledahl says, who is a journalist and is behind the series “Fucking gay”. – It is disappointing and frustrating to be told that we are not safe, that we can not be protected, and that we must hide. It is a confirmation of everything we fear. – That the public is not able to take care of us now sends a very unfortunate signal, because we have a long, ugly history with just that, he says. Need to not keep quiet Tiril Skår is relieved that the national council has now been removed. Hen was among the many who still showed up at Rådhusplassen on Monday. But the fact that pride events have so far been postponed and canceled, has caused Skår to react violently. – I reacted with a lot of anger. We needed the support of the police and allies the most, but then it felt like we were standing there alone anyway. Tiril Skår Age: 25 Profession: Filmmaker and influencer. Behind the Instagram profile @skeivetendenser. – We had a need not to keep quiet, but then we get a call from the police that this is what we should do. It feels like we are being placed in the closet again, Skår adds. The 25-year-old says that it is expected that the police should be able to protect freedom of expression, even at events where queers are in focus. – By canceling such events, it means that fear wins, and that is not the goal. The goal is for us to be in the world where you can be who we are and love who we want to be. It feels like going back in time, says Skår. Theater director and actor Bjarte Hjelmeland agrees. – Precisely this to be quiet and not take to the streets with our grief and our rage and with our demands for respect for who we are, feels like a way to lure us back into the closet, he writes on his private Facebook page. Bjarte HjelmelandAge: 52 Profession: Actor, director and singer. Theater director at Christiania theater. He reacts to the police’s handling which he thinks seems “random and not particularly thorough”. Being asked to cancel is perceived as a double provocation, he believes. – This is what gays and lesbians have been told at all times. – As long as you do not show it, as long as no one knows, as long as it does not show you what you are, then it will probably go well. It is this invisibility we are fighting against and therefore it seems like a red cloth when we are once again to be intimidated into silence. Warns against police hatred – Security is a prerequisite for freedom. At the same time, it is infinitely sad that events are canceled, says Knut Olav Åmås, who is the leader of Fritt ord. – But it is not difficult to imagine that it is impossible to protect 10,000-100,000 people at events now. Police say it is not about resources, but that the threat is so extremely serious. Knut Olav ÅmåsAge: 54Professional: Author, philosopher, editor and politician. Director of the Fritt ord foundation. It has been some strong days for Åmås. – The conflict between security and freedom is at the forefront, he says, and adds: – We also see something similar to police hatred flourishing a bit in the reactions that we can not gather thousands of people. If there’s something we do not need now, it’s hatred of the police. Reinforces the experience of exclusion The Association for Gender and Sexuality Diversity, Fri, is pleased that the police are now removing the national council for postponing pride events until further notice. – But that does not mean that it is free. There is still uncertainty associated with implementation, says Fri-leader Inge Alexander Gjestvang. As of tonight, it is up to each police district to assess the risk of events and handling of large crowds. The West police district has already announced that there will be a pride celebration in Bergen next Friday. Inge Alexander GjestvangAge: 37 yearsProfession: Leader Fri, the association for gender and sexual diversityHas, among other things, prepared the action plan “Brave, diverse Hadeland” for better inclusion of people who violate norms for gender and sexuality. Several other cities, such as Trondheim and Haugesund, are also planning implementation. – We are pleased that there is now room for discretionary assessments around the country. But Gjestvang reacts to how the situation has been handled so far. – The handling of the police in recent days has further strengthened our experience of exclusion – that we experience ourselves as second-class citizens. Communities like medicine Gjestvang thinks it is absurd that football matches, concerts and festivals keep one minute silent for queers, while they themselves have to sit at home, many all alone, because the police can not guarantee safety. It makes many people react. – We see a number of different reactions. There is frustration, there is anger, some become numb. Many people are aware of the major limitations that the signals from the police entail. – We know that being in a community and with friends and loved ones is the best medicine after a traumatic event like this. Then it is frustrating that this recommendation is not met. The Police Directorate has been presented with the criticism and points out that the recommendation to postpone pride events has been removed. On Tuesday, the police and PST admitted unclear communication about the Pride celebration in Oslo on Monday.
ttn-69
– It has been so painful and painful – news Culture and entertainment
