“How the hell can you not care?” – M and SD in a heated argument about celebrating Syrians

Published 10 December 2024 at 06.24

Domestic. A Twitter fight between members of parliament Jan Ericson (M) and Adam Marttinen (SD) flared up on Monday evening due to Syrians in Stockholm celebrating al-Qaeda's takeover of power in Syria. Among other things, Marttinen recommends his moderate colleague – who thinks the celebration is “reasonable” – to travel to Syria himself and fight.
– Sweden is the country of the Swedes – I don't want half the Middle East in Sweden, states the SD leader.

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Video clips of the celebrating Syrians at Sergels Torg in Stockholm have sparked strong reactions on social media.

A user who posted up one such video on X states that “mass immigration has destroyed Sweden”.

The user receives an unexpected response from Riksdagman Jan Ericson (M), who is perhaps best known for his tweeting about Putin. In this case, Ericson chooses to give his support to the celebrating Syrians.

“The fact that they are celebrating the fall of the regime from which they fled feels very reasonable, right? Doesn't bother me at all,” writes the M politician .

The demand for celebrating Syrians: Get them out of Sweden – at once.

The scenes of joy on Sergel's square when al-Qaeda takes over.

"Those who did this to Sweden must be brought to justice." https://t.co/Cc5cDwXxHL

— Fria Tider (@friatider) December 9, 2024

“Damn a breakdown that they're even here”
This is what fellow parliamentarian Adam Marttinen (SD) gets to react strongly.

“How the hell can you not care. Think of the Swedish parents who go Christmas shopping with their children and witness how jihadist Syrians gape and dominate entire squares in the middle of Sthlm. It's a hell of a disaster that they're even here and every opportunity to be reminded that it should make those responsible sad,” he writes.

Jan Ericson responds that Syria's secular president Assad was a “tyrant” and that it is therefore “reasonable to celebrate”, even if it was al-Qaeda who overthrew him:

“If you fled a tyrant and he is then overthrown, is it reasonable to celebrate? Many who fled are definitely not jihadists.”

The quarrel intensified when Adam Marttinen questioned whether Sweden should really be a place for demonstrations linked to conflicts in the Middle East.

“Sweden is the country of the Swedes. If you want to fight for something in Syria, organize for it and go there,” writes he.

Jan Ericson then asks the question if Marttinen also wants to stop large demonstrations for Ukraine. However, the SD politician rejects the comparison:

“I just don't want half the Middle East in Sweden where every weekend will be a manifestation for something that has no relevance to domestic issues”, writes Adam Marttinen.

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