City of Toronto Revokes Eritrea Festival Permit After Violent Clashes Leave 9 Injured

Toronto Police work the scene of a protest that turned violent in Earlscourt Park in Toronto on Aug. 5 2023. Police said one person was stabbed and eight others injured during a protest in the city’s west end. The Canadian Press/Arlyn McAdorey

The city of Toronto has announced it has revoked the licence for Festival Eritrea following an outbreak of violence between festival attendees and protesters over the weekend.

“The City of Toronto is aware of violent incidents that took place today at Earlscourt Park and a protest at the site continued to unfold. In the interest of public safety, the City has revoked the festival’s permit at Earlscourt Park,” the City of Toronto said in a statement on Aug. 5.

“The City is working with the event organizers to address the impact this may have on festival attendees and activities. The City does not tolerate or condone violence of any kind and is committed to providing a safe and welcoming environment for all who use or visit city parks.”

According to the Toronto Police Service (TPS), clashes between festival-goers and protesters escalated requiring police intervention.

“The protesters remained in the area of the Sheraton Hotel from approx. 2:00 p.m. until 10:00 p.m., where the protest reportedly became aggressive and water bottles were thrown at officers. There were no reported injuries,” the TPS told The Epoch Times.

While the festival continued after police established control, more protesters, also from Toronto’s Eritrean-Canadian community, arrived at the event brandishing weapons, Global News reported.

The violence spilled from Earlscourt Park to St. Clair Avenue West. Subsequently, the City of Toronto revoked the festival’s licence, effective 10 p.m.

A total of eight people suffered non-life-threatening injuries as a result of the clashes, while another person was seriously injured. The TPS arrested three people, all of whom were released unconditionally. Police said they will continue to investigate any further crimes and identify individuals involved, and charges could be laid at a later date.

TPS said they are also conducting an investigation into the reported assaults and stabbing that took place at the park and are asking anyone with video footage to come forward.

Protesters said the festival supports the Eritrean government, which human rights groups have called an oppressive regime. According to Human Rights Watch, “Eritrea’s government remains one of the world’s most repressive, subjecting its population to widespread forced labour and conscription, imposing restrictions on freedom of expression, opinion, and faith.”

A Change.org petition called for the Toronto Sheraton hotel to cancel the upcoming Eritrea Festival on Aug. 6, arguing the event was “sponsored by the totalitarian regime of Eritrea through operatives in Toronto to raise funds to finance its military establishment.”

‘Peaceful and Family Oriented’

On Aug. 6, the Coalition of Eritrean Canadian Communities and Organizations (CECCO) posted on the X social media platform that the city’s decision to cancel the festival was “regrettable.” The group’s Festival Coordinating Committee said the event had been “peaceful and family-oriented” for the several decades it had been running, and that a “violent extremist group” was allowed to disrupt it in 2023.

“The group that threatened the festival believed that if enough violence was perpetrated against our community, authorities would have no choice but to cancel the event. The City of Toronto’s decision rubber-stamps this strategy and emboldens the agitators to re-offend,” they said.

The organization also claimed that the festival’s participants did not “clash,” but that they were attacked by the protesters. “We warned the city of the threats made to our festival well in advance,” they said.

CECCO has been critical of organizations that pointed out the Eritrean government’s poor human rights record. Last year, the organization wrote to Liberal MP Sameer Zuberi to express “deep disappointment in the selective and biased handling” of research the Subcommittee on International Human Rights did on the conflict in Ethiopia, and questioned the validity of reports on Eritrean massacres in the region.

The Epoch Times reached out to CECCO for a comment, but did not hear back before press time.

Several violent protests erupted at Eritrean festivals in other countries this year. At least 22 police officers were injured during unrest at an Eritrean cultural event in early July in the city of Giessen, Germany, while 52 people were injured when anti-Eritrean protesters stormed an event in Stockholm, Sweden, CTV News reported.