Fascist goons attack Swedish feminists
2014 2014-04Read it in the scan (PDF at ETOL), page 3 →
The words are the paper's own, from its digital file; the division into articles was made by machine, so a box or caption can end up inside the article next to it.
Scan page 3
Wish site Motkraft.
Late last night [March 8] several people were attacked in central Malmö by mem bers of the fascist Svenskarnas Parti (Swedes Party). They were on their way home after having taken part in celebra tions for International Women’s Day.
The incident occurred just after a nighttime demonstration against vio lence against women finished up at around midnight on Möllenvångstorget (a square in the heart of a multicultural and left-wing district of Malmö). One person is now in intensive care with se rious head injuries, and a further three have suffered knife wounds to the arms and lung, amongst which was a member of Allt åt Alla Malmö. The nazis had been searching for potential victims the entire evening in the vicinity of the March 8th Festival at Moriska pavilion in Folket spark. The attack was, in other words, no coincidence.
The attack on the March 8 demonstra tors can’t be seen as an isolated incident. The arson attack on Kvarnby peoples’ high school in October 2013 was only the beginning of an escalation in nazi violence around Malmö. Left-wing lo cales and premises have been exposed to graffiti and broken windows. In January, a 16-year-old member of SSU (Sweden’s Socialdemocratic Youth organisation) was attacked by two men, warning her about spreading her views. In several other places and cities, nazis have been identified registering participants in demonstrations on International Wom en’s Day.
The seriously injured 25-year-old Showan, who is currently being cared for in a sedated state in hospital, is a lead ing figure in the fight against racism and homophobia in the football world, a SAC member and devoted supporter of Malmö FF.
He also helped to found “Football fans against homophobia.” Based on this, he has been recently hung out on the Swedes Party-linked website “Realisten.”
According to witnesses at the scene, a high-ranking member of the Swedes Party, Andreas Carlsson, was involved in the attempted murder. He was seen at tacking feminists with a knife. Andreas Carlsson is one of the members of the Swedes Party who travelled down to Kiev as “Ukrainafrivilliga” (Ukraine Vol unteers) to support the Svoboda party’s efforts in taking power. On Realisten he has reported on the Swedish National ist delegation’s operation. Some of the delegation’s participants have stayed, according to their own reports, ”to enlist in the Ukrainian army,” while Carlsson’s group returned to Sweden only a few days before March 8.
The Security Services (Säpo) chief ana lyst Ahn-Za Hagström claimed on the 8th of March that they “see no increased intention or capability of committing po litically motivated crimes when they get home.” (SR.se March 8) That same eve ning the nazis attacked. Foreign Minis ter Carl Bildt said in a recent interview on Swedish Radio’s P1 channel that the Swedes Party’s sister party Svoboda are “European democrats who work for val ues that are ours.”
This minimization and normalization of fascist parties has given the Swedes Party and their “Ukraine Volunteers” the belief that they have a free pass for their violent acts.
Not only the Security Service but also the ordinary police have ignored “the far-right violence, by depicting the mur der attempt as a ”gang war” between “opponents on opposite fringes.” This comes less than half a year after police ignored warnings that a similar nazi party, Svernska Motståndsrörelsen (The Swedish Resistance Movement), planned to attack the anti-racist demonstration in Kärrtorp.
It is abundantly clear that the fas cist threat against Sweden and Europe, against individuals and social move ments, is not taken seriously. Neither the government, the security services, nor the police have been able to present a clear and coherent approach towards this. Fascist violence should never be reduced to youth fights or extreme phe nomena, such as [is stated in] Birgitta Ohlsson’s government extremist inves tigation. Then one misses the powerful political force that the fascist parties in Europe have become, the impetus it gives the corresponding parties at home in Sweden, and ignores the seriousness of the weapons training and street fight ing skills Swedish right-wing extrem ists have gained during travels and vis its with Jobbik in Hungary, Svoboda in Ukraine, and the Golden Dawn in Greece these last few months.
Today, they stand for violence in the streets. In September, they stand for par liamentary elections. n Socialist