Archive for category Sweden

Turkish fascism in Sweden – Grey Wolves

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The Grey Wolves is the youth wing to the nationalist party MHP in Turkey that in the election 2015 passed the 10% electoral threshold with 11.90%. The Grey Wolves employ violent methods and aim especially at Kurds, Armenians and various leftist activists.

According to the Turkish State Security the Grey Wolves have murdered 694 people between 1974 and 1980.

In connection with the Turkish State terminating peace negotiations with PKK’s leader Abdullah Öcalan, MHP made a statement that – if the State and Security Service didn’t solve the “situation” with PKK they would take things into their own hands. This has pushed into existence the siege campaign against the Kurdish cities in Bakur (Northern Kurdistan and South-east Turkey) that is taking place right now.

During the 2015 election 120 HDP-offices were attacked (Kurdish parliamentary party) by Grey Wolves.

Exist also in Europe

This fascist organization is not only organized in Turkey but also in large parts of Europe. In Germany they have up to 10,000 members and also in Sweden they have shown up several times, including 1999 when they attacked the Communist Party of Sweden during a leafleting where they called for boycott of Turkey.

Kurdish activists were threatened several times during the election campaign when they were campaigning for HDP and in September 2015 one of their association’s premises were subject to a bombing attack and yesterday (February 13 2016) a Kurdish activist was seriously wounded during a shooting in Fittja.


This is a translation by @b9AcE of the text originally published by the Swedish Rojava Committees in Swedish here.
As always, the main aim was to remain as close as possible to the original text.

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Fires at Swedish refugee housings (20 December 2015)

The entire text that follows is as direct a translation from Swedish as I was capable of from the original two fact-boxes here at Swedish Public Service TV, as last updated by them on 20 December 2015, 12:22.
Nothing except these two lines in italic was intentionally added in any way at all, nothing was removed and even what may be considered as poor writing was preserved through translation as far as possible.

Eight fires in December

Since 1 July the police has 43 preliminary investigations about suspected arsons at refugee housings throughout Sweden. This is their distribution per month:

  • July: 2 fires.
  • August: 2 fires.
  • September: 7 fires.
  • October: 15 fires.
  • November: 9 fires.
  • December: 8 fires.

Source: The operational department of Sweden’s national force (NOA).


 

Fires at Swedish refugee housings

Notable fires at existing and intended refugee housings, as well as attempted arson and other attacks, during 2015:
16 December: An intended residential care home for unaccompanied children in Scanian Ekeby, outside Helsingborg, is ravaged by fire. Police suspect arson.
14 December: An intended asylum housing for unaccompanied children in Södertälje is completely destroyed. Police suspect the fire is an arson.
9 December: Someone tries to set fire to a future asylum housing in Ängelholm by mashing glass and throwing in newsprint paper, that has been lit. But it never became a fully developed fire.
9 December: A residential care home for unaccompanied refugee minors in Långharpan outside Uppsala is completely destroyed in a fire. A boy under the age of 18 is currently held in custody on remand for aggravated arson.
3 December: Apartments completely destroyed when there is a fire in an intended housing for unaccompanied refugee minors in Götene. Motor gasoline is found and the police believes the fire is arson.
15 November: An hand grenade os thrown at the window of a planned refugee housing in Kalmar. Police believes it is very likely it was intended at the planned housing. The hand grenade explodes down at the street, but nobody is hurt.
10 November: A building where there were thoughts of a migrant housing burns to the ground in Forshaga. Police suspects the fire is arson.
7 November: A intended asylum housing in Floda is ravaged by fire.
7 November: Window panes are smashed at a asylum housing in Tranås municipality. A man in his twenties is suspected of vandalism and for placing a placard with racist overtones outside the housing.
28 October: A residential care home in Tjörnarp in Höör municipality, where a number of unaccompanied refugee minors live, was subject to a fire attack. Someone has poured flammable liquid through a window and lit it.
27 October: There is a fire by the door to a housing for unaccompanied refugee minors in Lund and the police label it attempted arson. The same day several small fires start by a planned refugee housing at the Kikebo school in Oskarshamn, which is labeled a vandalism by the police.
27 October: A school in Färingtofta in Scania that is being prepared for unaccompanied refugee minors is ravaged by fire. When the fire department arrives to the building someone had thrown in a large rock and something burnable.
24 October: A building in Eskilstuna municipality, intended to become refugee housing, ravaged by fire. A report of arson is made.
22 October: An intended hosing in Oderljunga in Perstorp municipality burns and the police suspect aggravated arson.
21 October: An intended refugee housing in Upplands Väsby north of Stockholm is subjected to vandalism and attempted arson.
20 October: An asylum housing in Munkedal gets extensive fire damage.
18 October: An old school building in Onsala in Kungsbacka, that was intended to be asylum housing, burns to the ground.
17 October: A school in Kånna outside Ljungby, prepared as refugee housing, burns to the ground.
13 October: Fire starts in a barrack in Arlöv in Scania. The premises were going to begin use as housing for unaccompanied refugee minors the next day.
15 September: Fire at an asylum housing for unaccompanied youth in Boden.
16 August: All living at a refugee center in Arboga, where the so called IKEA-murderer lived, are moved to other housings after two trash bag similar objects with flammable liquid is found near the housing.
16 August: Someone places a burning cross outside an asylum housing in Malung. The event is labeled harassment by the police.
14 August: Fire starts at a housing for unaccompanied refugee minors in Värnamo. The event is labeled arson.
17 July: A fire starts in an asylum housing in Bengtsfors.
19 June: Two fire bombs are thrown into a future asylum housing in Filipstad. A smaller fire starts.
17 June: A balcony at an asylum housing in Vilhelmina is ravaged by fire and the housing’s bus gets its tires cut. Forensic examination has been performed and investigation is ongoing. The event is labeled arson and vandalism.
1 May: 130 people are evacuated from an asylum housing in Filipstad after a fire started in one of the housing’s premises.

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Schedule for Stockholm Anarchist Bookfair

This is the schedule for Stockholm Anarchist Bookfair 2015, held 22 August at Solidaritetshuset.
Translated to English by b9AcE

THE LIBRARY
10:30 – 11:30: Data-protection and the right to self-determination
Tracking and gathering of information about you happens all the time – often without you being aware, and often by companies that you don’t even know about. Learn about how you are tracked, how your life is mapped and what you can do to avoid it – or why it can be impossible to avoid without political change. We talk about data-protection and why it can be both a common responsibility and for the public good.
SPEAKER: Amelia Andersdotter (Dataskydd.net) and Anders Jensen-Urstad (Dataskydd.net, The World Library)

13:00 – 14:00: Commons from a feminist perspective
Within Allt åt Alla (All for All) Stockholm’s feminist struggle group we have started working with commons as a feminist strategy. In our work we have started largely from the autonomous feminist Silvia Federici’s thoughts and it is also on these our talk will be based. A commons is a resource, any, that is managed by a collective based on rules made together. How commons and feminism belongs together you will hear in the seminar.

14:40 – 15:30: How can the women that are exposed to religious oppression be supported – at the same time as racism is fought?
A fundamentalist religious oppression of women is growing in some suburbs. At the same time SD (the “Sweden Democrat” party” is baiting against Muslims as a part of their racist agenda. How can we fight the religious fundamentalism, at the same time as we are implacable against the racists?
Participants: Leila Qaraee, Kvinnors nätverk (Women’s network) and Helin Gül, Varken hora eller kuvad (Neither whore nor subdued). Discussion leader Jens-Hugo Nyberg, Arbetarmakt (Workers Power)

16:00 – 17:30: Realm of Freedom – wikipedians about their practice, their production methods and Capitalism
Is “peer production” a complement or an alternative to Capitalism? Arwid Lund will try to answer the question ny studying swedish wikipedians’ view on it.
SPEAKER: Arwid Lund postgraduate at the ABM institution, University of Uppsala)

18:00 – 19:00: The Swedish State’s violence against women, LGBTQ-persons and the working class
The Swedish State performed forcible sterilizations, lobotomies, castrations and institutionalizations against women, LGBTQ-persons and the lower stratas of the working class during the years 1934-1974. A seminar about the mentality and the broad political support that these laws had and how the Swedish State and our politicians try to silence and sweep all this under the rug.

OUTDOORS SEMINARS IN THE PAVILION
10:00 – 11:00: About anti-fascist strategies to a broader public with foundation in how anti-fascism was seen and handled by the nationalist right-wing of the 2000s.
Kim Fredriksson will speak about his own time in the radical right movement and give examples on how the radical right has developed through the years. He will also give his view on how future activism can be carried out while the right wing swing of society becomes more and more substantial.
Lecturer: Kim Fredriksson, former organizer and strategist within the radical right movement. Today he is an outspoken anti-fascist and sees himself as a democratic socialist

13:30 – 14:30: Presentation of Firefund
Firefund is a newly established crowdfunding site that targets protests and social movements around the world. The site has recently launched with the Kobane reconstruction board’s project for rebuilding Kobane. Through a presentation of Firefund, the ideas behind and thoughts on the Kobane campaign, the presentation will include a debate of international solidarity anno 2015 and a discussion on the tools and methods we, as activists, use to support each others protests around the world.

15:00 – 16:30: Antifenix – ‘Operation Fénix’ Police Repressions in Czech Republic
A presentation about the police repressions against Czech anarchists that broke out on 28th April this year and continues since then. The police used infiltrators to provoke consent to a fabricated plan and they forged evidence that lead to the arrest of several people. The police raided flats and a social center and confiscated personal material as well as a server that hosted several important Czech anarchist websites, among them ABC and Green Action.

Four anarchists are now imprisoned and awaiting their trials for crimes that actually never even happened. They are accused of “terrorist activity”. The surveillance and targeting of anti-authoritarians is not unique in Czech Republic, we have seen it recently in Spain, US and through history. It is important that we realize this so that the police can’t frighten us with these tactics!

From the presentation you will learn some about the anarchist movement and situation in Czech Republic, information about the police operation ‘Fénix’ and what is going on currently. We would also like to open for a discussion and questions about security culture, surveillance and how to react on such events described, for example building stronger and safer networks. Solidarity is our weapon so if people are interested we would also like to talk about some ideas on how to help the victims of the state.

17:00 – 18:00: To be announced.

18:30 – 19:30: To be announced.

THE SMALL COURTYARD
10:45 – 11:45: Arbetarmakt: Anarchism during the Spanish Civil War – a critical review
The stalinists and and reformists intentionally stabbed the Spanish Revolution in the back and thereby contributed to fascism’s victory. How could this have been prevented? Did the anarchists show a path that could have led to victory, and in that case: which anarchists? The difference between CNT’s ministers and Durutti’s friends was big. What can we learn from the experience?

14:45 – 13:45: Activist law with focus on evidence
How do you that is prosecuted for crimes in connection with political actions to get the prosecutor’s evidence to be considered of low value as well as bring your own counter-evidence? Workshop-like seminar based in practical experiences from both the lecturer and the participants.
Organizer: A member of Vänsterjuristerna (Leftist Lawyers) Stockholm

14:15 – 15:15: International Solidarity Movement Sweden – Palestine
Have you ever thought about going to Palestine? International Solidarity Movement Sweden will have review of history and tell about the situation on the West Bank and in Gaza. How do they work on location with non-violence and direct action? What is their goal? How will they ensure that Israel’s illegal occupation of the Palestinian areas ceases? Welcome to the seminar!

WORKSHOPS IN THE OTHER INNER COURTYARD
11:30: RASA: Anti-sexist internal work and consent (3 hours. Limited participants: 15)
We live in a society that says it is up to us to not get subjected to abuse, forces us to fight for out corporal integrity and puts no responsibility with the assailant. The workshop wants to change this. We want the rape culture to get changed into a consent culture, where all except a continuing yes means no. During the workshop we will discuss and write about consent, what it means for us as participants and how we can practice it in our every day lives. We want to have a safer room for everyone. After the workshop the room will be open for continued talk or discussion. We also want to be clear with that we lack knowledge in how to handle traumas. The workshop has its focus on how we together can build a consent culture.

Note! If the workshop feels troublesome, or a part of it, there is the a possibility to abstain from some exercises or leave the workshop. We also ask you to respect if someone is uncomfortable with your presence, which means that you must find other places to work with consent.

17:00 – 18:00: Sober Coven: Temperance
The alcohol norm is constant present in our lives and is something often overlooked, even though it can not be avoided. Meanwhile the many negative sides are affecting “Our Movement” and exposed people to a very large degree. We want to highlight yhis, we want to go other directions, see other possibilities to find each other in the every day instead of drowning our sorrows. We want to give us tools and weapons to create something else, without fuzzy edges. Come to our workshop to participate in a discussion about how we can struggle and find alternative paths.

ANARCHIST MOVIE SCREENING IN THE PROJECTOR ROOM
11:00 – 12:00: Eyes on the Prize: America’s Civil Rights Years 1954 – 1965 (60 min)
A documentary about the American Civil Rights Movement in the United States. The first season, Eyes on the Prize: America’s Civil Rights Years 1954–1964, chronicles the time period between the United States Supreme Court ruling on Brown v. Board of Education (1954) to the Selma to Montgomery marches of 1965.

14:00 – 16:00: Joe Hill (114 min)
Joe Hill is a 1971 biopic about Swedish-American labor activist Joe Hill, born Joel Emanuel Hägglund in Gävle, Sweden. The film depicts Hill’s involvement with the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) union, and his trial for murder during which he defends himself. It won the Jury Prize at the 1971 Cannes Film Festival.

18:00 – 20:30: Reds (195 min)
A radical American journalist becomes involved with the Communist revolution in Russia and hopes to bring its spirit and idealism to the United States. The film covers the life of John Reed and Louise Bryant from their first meeting to Reed’s final days in 1920 Russia. Interspersed throughout the narrative, several surviving witnesses from the time period give their recollections of Reed, Bryant, their colleagues and friends, and the era itself.

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