Demonstrations | The police won’t let Elokapina stop traffic on Kaisaniemkatu

Environmental movement The Elokapina protests again in the center of Helsinki on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The demonstration consists of four different processions.

At the same time, on Tuesday, June 11, at 3:30 p.m., the processions leaving from different parts of the city center are supposed to end up in the area of ​​the Kaisaniemi traffic circle and stay there overnight.

The police are not going to allow traffic to be stopped in the area of ​​the Kaisaniemi roundabout, Chief Commissioner Jarmo Heinonen The Helsinki police say.

“There are no places where a larger number of people can be so that traffic can pass,” says Heinonen.

“The place is important from the point of view of public transport and emergency vehicles and is difficult to get around.”

The Kaisaniemi traffic circle is located at the junction of Kaisaniemikatu, Unioninkatu and Liisankatu in the Kluuv district.

The police according to the demonstration may cause significant and long-term traffic inconvenience.

According to Heinonen, the worst traffic jams occur when the processions move.

“The congestion depends on what they decide to do. If we go to the street in defiance of the police, it will take a while for us to be restored to legal status,” says Heinonen.

According to Heinonen, the police are going to show the protesters another place, that is, they are trying to direct them to the Kaisaniemi park.

According to Heinonen, the concept of the demonstration is similar to the demonstration that started last Friday.

“They have announced that they will leave at the same time from four different destinations and end up at the same destination, i.e. the Kaisaniemi roundabout, where they were supposed to stay overnight. The police have told them that it is not possible,” says Heinonen.

Kaisaniemi the place of the roundabout is the same where the police took refuge in 2020 to use pepper spray to break up a protest.

According to Heinonen, the place was not chosen by chance, but the “theme of the demonstration is related to the memory of the event.”

According to the police’s estimate, a total of about a thousand protesters participated in the demonstration that lasted from last Friday to Saturday.

The protesters were given bunk on the North Esplanade.

According to Heinonen, the situation was different at Pohjoisesplanadi, as traffic could be diverted to a detour, there was no tram traffic, and security in the area was “easy” to secure.

According to Heinonen, the conversation connection with the demonstrators was good the last time. The police hope that everything will go just as well now.

“We’ll see how the situation goes. It depends on what they decide to do,” says the superintendent.

The announced procession routes are:

• Esplanadi park – Mikonkatu – Kaisaniemi park – Varsapuistikko

• House of Parliament – ​​Kaivokatu – Kaisaniemenkatu – Kaisaniemi roundabout

• Dallapé park – Aleksis Kiven street – Hämeentie – Unioninkatu – Kaisaniemi roundabout

• Kauppatori – Pohjoisranta – Liisankatu – Kaisaniemi roundabout

The police recommend setting aside time to move around the city center. The police can direct traffic to detours if necessary.