I wrote in an earlier post that Icelanders can get fairly aggressive when it comes to political protests. I read a couple weeks ago in the local paper - The Grapevine - that there would be a protest outside the Althingi Parliament the next day, so I wandered on downtown, situated myself in a quaint little coffee shop until the scheduled protest. When I heard two gunshots go off, I piled all my books back into my bag, and followed the noise over to Parliament. For a bit of background information, many Icelanders are unhappy about their ongoing economic instability, restricted fishing rights, and the government's ongoing consideration of EU membership.
This is what I encountered:
 |
| Apart from those making the smoke, people looked more like spectators than protesters |
 |
| Parents do not shelter their children from such violent political displays; they make sure they get the best views (note child on shoulders). |
 |
| Google translation of Icelandic sign: "Free brings ham solve urban poverty and employment problems Icelanders." Either this man has very poor grammar, or Google translate is not to be trusted; you decide. I trust you can all decipher the meaning. |
| |
 |
| A desecrated flag?! Where is your national pride? |
|
 |
| Althingi |
This was about the extent of the protest. People threw toilet paper at parliament instead of skyre and snowballs this time. Actually, I heard the next day that Reykjavikers were pretty disappointed in the rioters, pointing out that they were very passive and ineffective. I don't think this riot would have made any international reports, so I won't blame you if you had no knowledge of it.
HAHAHAHA,this has got to be the best post yet!! The rioters in the pictures remind me of the 'occupy Vancouver' group(all wanting different things and going about it in useless ways). And actually, I think I saw a similar slogan about ham and urban poverty recently :) Those Reykjavikers are a hard bunch to please...what do they expect from electing a comedian? And couldn't the protesters just arrange to have breakfast with the PM? I know you recently turned down the opportunity...
ReplyDeleteHahaha, people have got to drop the ham! Yeah, no kidding, one of the mayor's promises was that he wouldn't keep any of his promises...Oh, and it was the president I "turned down" a breakfast with - maybe people could actually get somewhere with the PM if she offered invitations ;)
ReplyDeleteAnd those protesters in orange really stood out amongst everyone else - they were like EXTREME!
ReplyDelete