Three migrants on Thursday disrupted proceedings in the Icelandic parliament, demanding family unification and housing, as the body was starting a debate on implementing stricter immigration laws. One of the men climbed over the railing from the upper gallery, making it look like he intended to jump onto the chamber floor.
“The Icelandic asylum seekers made noise, shouting and calling from parliamentary platforms at the beginning of the debate on changes to the Foreign Nationals Act. As a result, parliamentary meetings have been postponed for a few minutes, as people have been scurrying over the delays,” Ásmundur Friðriksson, MP for the Independence Party reported in a post on his Facebook page.
Jón Gunnarsson, another Independence Party MP, stepped into action to assist the police in detaining the protesters.
“I just consider it my civic duty to help the police if the situation is like that,” Gunnarsson said to Icelandmonitor.
Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir commented to the news outlet,
This kind of an incident makes parliamentarians understandably shocked … It is important that these events do not lead to the closure of parliamentary seats. They must be open to the voters; it is important for our democratic tradition.
Iceland, a country of 370,000 inhabitants saw a surge in immigration in 2022, when 17,000 immigrated to the nation. The largest single group immigrating originated in Poland, followed by Ukraine and Romania.
The Alþingi (Althing), the Icelandic parliament, is one of the oldest surviving parliaments in the world, counting its roots back to the founding in 930 A.D. Security at the Althing is quite lax compared to other European parliaments, partly because of the small population and partly because of the low crime rate in the country.
