Thousands demonstrated in Austurvöllur

Thousand of demonstrators came together at Austurvöllur earlier this evening to express their displeasure with the government. The demonstration was a peaceful one and many people brought their children and dogs along to voice their concern for the direction the government is headed in.

Svavar Knútur Kristinnsson, one of the leaders of today's demonstration, emphasized that unlike some politicians, the demonstrators where polite. „There is love in the air, these people support each other,“ he said of the demonstrators. „This is a polite demonstration but that doesn't mean that the situation isn't serious.“

One of the primary topics on the demonstrators' minds was the state of the healthcare system. „Some patients can't afford healthcare and deprive themselves of it. I can often see signs of such inequalities in my work and that is why I am here,“ said Björn Logi Þórarinsson, who is a doctor.

Kristín Lárusdóttir, a music teacher currently on strike like others in her field, said the wages in her profession are unacceptable. „We are below kindergarten teachers,“ she said. „Those in control can pride themselves of our music scene, The Harpa, Sigurrós and Björk, but then they want to cut the roots?“

Fireworks where set off in Fógetagarðurinn, next to Austurvöllur during the demonstration and as the night wore on, demonstrators started yelling louder and banging the fences in front of the parliament building harder. The demonstration was dying down around 7pm when Svavar Knútur, enlisting the help of both journalists and fellow demonstrators, started carrying a make-shift stage away to make sure no-one would be tempted to set it on fire.

The message Svavar says he wants to send to those in power is quite simply „Pull up your pants.“