TORONTO — The city of Toronto revoked the permit for an Eritrean cultural festival scheduled to run through the August long weekend after a number of violent clashes between participants and protesters sent nine people to hospital and stalled local traffic for hours.
The city announced the move in a statement shared on social media, noting the permit for Festival Eritrea had been revoked as of 10 p.m. on Saturday evening. The festival has taken place annually at Earlscourt Park for years prior to Saturday's incidents, it added.
Violence broke out at the event shortly after it got underway in the city's west end on Saturday morning. Toronto Police Const. Laura Brabant said officers first arrived at 10:01 a.m. after a report of a stabbing just before the hour.
One person had been stabbed, while eight others had non-life-threatening injuries, Brabant said in an emailed statement, and two more people were treated by paramedics at the scene.
Demonstrators gathered at the festival to protest it, saying it supports the government of Eritrea, which human rights groups have called one of the world's most oppressive regimes.
Brabant said many of the protestors dispersed as officers remained on scene, but around 2 p.m., another group of people came to the park armed with weapons.
Despite a large police presence remaining at the park after the morning's events, tensions continued into the afternoon and evening, with protestors at one point blocking St. Clair Avenue West at Caledonia Park Road on the northwest end of the park.
Brabant said more officers including riot police were deployed from across the city to "separate the combative groups" and remained on scene until around 8:30 p.m.
There is a continuing investigation into the incident, including reviewing video and interviewing witnesses, said Brabant, adding police will continue assessing "other events" in Toronto while facilitating any peaceful demonstrations.
The Eritrean Canadian Community Center of Metropolitan Toronto said it is not affiliated with the organizers of the festivities but, in a statement Sunday night, it expressed "deep concern and distress" after hearing about Saturday's chaos.
"While ECCC is not affiliated with any of the organizers, we have consistently received numerous concerns from our community members regarding the event organizers' close ties to the Eritrean government," the group said in a statement.
"These concerns are particularly distressing for some of our community members who have fled oppressive circumstances in their homeland, causing them to experience re-traumatization. We recognize the significance of these issues and are committed to addressing them with utmost sincerity and sensitivity."
The poster for Festival Eritrea advertises events in Earlscourt Park on all three days of the August long weekend. It also displays the address of a downtown Sheraton Hotel.
Police said on Sunday night the force was monitoring protesters gathered at the hotel.
A Change.org petition started on July 30 addressed to the hotel asks it to cancel events scheduled there on Sunday between 7 p.m. and 1 a.m., claiming the festival is sponsored by the Eritrean regime.
Marriott, Sheraton's owner, did not respond to a request for comment.
The Eritrean government has been described by human rights groups as one of the world’s most repressive. It won independence from Ethiopia three decades ago, and since then, the small Horn of Africa nation has been led by President Isaias Afwerki, who has never held an election. Millions of residents have fled the country, avoiding conditions including forced military conscription.
A City of Toronto spokesperson said the permit for the festival was issued to the Eritrean Cultural Centre. While this group could not be reached for comment, a Twitter account appearing to represent the Coalition of Eritrean Canadian Communities and Organizations posted statements in defense of the festival, saying it's been held peacefully for almost three decades and alleging participants were attacked.
The account also posted a message it said came from the festival's coordinating committee, calling the permit cancellation "regrettable." It called the demonstrators "a violent extremist group" and said the city's decision "rubber stamps" their plans to disrupt and cancel the festival.
Similar tensions played out last week in Sweden during an Eritrean festival in the capital city of Stockholm. About a thousand protestors disrupted the event, leaving dozens injured.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 6, 2023.
— With files from The Associated Press
Rosa Saba, The Canadian Press
