A - I N F O S N E W S S E R V I C E
http://www.ainfos.ca/,
6.11.99
________________________________________________
Comrades!
Many of you may have heard about the recent events in Sweden, but in case you haven't we, the International Committee of the Syndicalist Youth Federation (SUF)have written this short info-mail.
We enclose a press release from SAC concearning the brutal asassination of active syndicalist Björn Söderberg. Since that time fascists in Sweden have bombed the SAC-owned house Joe Hill Gården in Gävle, the house where Joe Hill was born and the place where the Industrial Committee resignes. The house have a great symbolic value.
No one was killed, parts of the house were demolished.
The fascists of Sweden understand that the swedish syndicalists and workers movement as a whole are the only threat they have to take on seriously. The most brutal fascists are gathered around the NSF (National Socialist Front) and Combat 18. Sweden is also one of the largest exporters of "white power" music.
After the assasination there were several demonstrations and manifestations on Saturday the 23rd or October. These protests were with a few exceptions organized by the Swedish syndicalists. Other groups such as the large reformist unions, bolshevics and other leftist organizations gave us their support.
Demonstrations or manifestations were held in the following cities ;
Unfortunately attempts were made in certain places to tone down the political part of the manifestations which goes directly against the views held by Björn Söderberg, in whose memory they were holding the manifestation, and against the principles of syndicalism!
After these massive manifestations the public as been aroused to the threat from the fascists and the politicians that have ignored the problem for so long now find it hard to do so. The fascists have threatened several participants in the antifascist demos.
Send support statements to the SACs International Committee
or send them to us and we will process them. Please send us news from your organisations,
or if you have a newsletter, send it to us.
Anarcho-syndicalist greetings
/International Committee of SUF
"Press Release from SAC-Syndikalisterna, 15 October 1999
The murder of the union activist Björn Söderberg last Tuesday has direct connections to the criminal and violent organised Swedish fascism. This past summer, Björn Söderberg worked at the warehouse of Svanströms in southern Stockholm. Rober Vesterlund, an organised and criminal nazist, also worked there. Despite this fact, Vesturlund was elected as the local unions' shop steward. Björn Söderberg then did what any citizen with civil courage would have done, he reacted. When Björn made Vesterlunds nazi sympathies known to the press, the central committee of the local union, Handels, decided to expel Vesterlund from the union. Instead, Vesterlund voluntarily left the union before he could be expelled. The same day that Vesterlund's nazi sympathies were made public, Björn Söderberg's passport photo was ordered and sent to the nazi magazine INFO 14's post box. The publisher of INFO 14 is Robert Vesterlund.
Four weeks later Björn Söderberg was been assassinated. The three fascists that have now been arrested all have direct connections with Vesterlund.
The assassination of Björn Söderberg must be placed in a perspective that encompasses an increased nazi violence, both in Sweden and internationally, during the past months. In Sweden, this encompasses the assassination of two policemen in Malexander in May and the car bomb against two anti-fascist journalists in Nacka in June. Everything points towards a group of criminal fascists who are well organised and who don't hesitate in executing violent deeds against those who oppose them. This is why the assassination of Björn Söderberg is not only an act of violence aimed at SAC or the workers movement, but one aimed at democracy's core ideal, that of civil courage.
In order to honour the memory of Björn Söderberg, SAC-Syndikalisterna are arranging a manifestation in Stockholm on Saturday the 23rd of October at 2 pm.
It will be held at Medborgarplatsen, in the heart of Stockholm's traditional workers quarters Södermalm. Similar manifestations are planned across Sweden and Scandinavia. It is the hope of SAC that this manifestation will encourage the entire Swedish worker's movement to honour Björn Söderberg and show their disdain for the brutal and cowardly methods of which today's fascists attempt to silence their enemies with.