The swedish nazi movement 1992

Kategori: Antifascism

The following is an article giving a brief look at the background of the situation in Sweden. Originally intended for the magazine Clashs special issue on the extreme right, it was "lost" in the posts between Stockholm and Amsterdam.

The fascist arena in Sweden can be divided into two parts, parlamentary and revolutionary. The new development of the 1990's, compared to the decades since the 1930's, is that of militant fascist groups. However, most fascists are not militant activists; but are engaged in party-politics, attempting to mobilize people around the question of immigration. The most important parlementary political party is Sverigedemokraterna (the Swedish Democrats) which was founded in 1988. Many of its members have a long fascist history in a number of different organizations dating back to the 1970´s. Sverigedemokraterna tried to establish local branches all over Sweden as a means to attain results in the elections of 1991. They won only two local seats and less than 5,000 votes in the national election. Since then, the party has concentrated on spreading propaganda and organizing 3 yearly public demonstrations in Stockholm. They have also concentrated upon building their organization, using the Front Nationale in France as a model, but have had problems with their internal unity in several local branches.

Storm-nätverket

One of the reasons for this disunity has been the relationship to the revolutionary Storm-nätverket (the Storm Network).Storm-nätverket is organized around a former fanzine, which in the last three years has started calling for a "white revolution without mercy" and the forming of "storm troops". Their political image is to a large extent imported from Great Britain and the United States. Storm-nätverket contains a hardened core of an estimated 50 persons with about 300-800 people in its periphery. At the moment, there are no direct indications as to whether or not it is growing. Storm-nätverket has arranged 3 national demonstrations in Gothenburg during the last two years, with a participation of about 100 individuals on each occassion. The sub-group namedVitt ariskt motstånd (White Aryan Resistance) are preparing for a "race war"; they steal weapons, rob banks and get caught by the police. On a few occasions they have directed bomb attacks against political opponents.

Ny Demokrati

Another new phenomenon in the landscape of the Swedish right-wing is the apperance of an authoritarian-populist party, Ny Demokrati (New Democracy). It was founded in 1991 and immediately recieved around 7 % in the national elections that year. Ny Demokrati´s ideological base stems from the neo-liberalism of Thatcher and Reaganism. However, they are not afraid to use an economically motivated racism in the question of immigration as a popular rallying point. There is a strong underlying racist current in the Swedish population which is commonly referred to as the "Svensson racist." (Svensson being the most common last name - such as "Mr. Smith.") This is due to the deep embeded structural racism which permiates western societies and economic makeup. In Sweden, however, the historically strong workers movement as well as the, until recently, long standing Social Democratic government, have helped to curb some of the most blatant outward expressions of this symptom. But, in todays economic crisis, immigrants and refugees are used as a scapegoat while racial prejudices are given more room for expression.

In 1989, Socialdemokraterna (the Social Democrats) altered their party platform by prioritizing inflation before employment. This set in motion a restructuring of society which the current conservative coalition goverment has only too gladly continued. Ny Demokrati is at the ideological forefront of this process - the dismantling of the welfare state and the intensified economic exploitation in the workplace. Luckily, the party has suffered internal conflicts which have weakened their popularity. The fascist parties, as of yet, do not play a central role in this restructuring process, but have a specific role focusing almost exclusively on immigrantion. Sweden is not yet a formal member of the EEC and the greater portion of the population is either undecided upon or negative towards membership. Never-the-less, Sweden, being lead by the state and ruling economic powers, is deeply committed with and involved in the unification process. Standardization is occuring at all levels and in all areas, not the least of which is immigration politics. Although fascists welcome the closing of borders for refugees, they take a negative stance towards the EEC for nationalist reasons. Sverigedemokraterna uses anti-EEC propaganda.

Attacks against refugee camps

In the spring of 1990 attacks against refugee camps dramatically increased. According to police statistics, 117 attacks took place during 1990-1992, 59 of which involved arson or explosives. During the winter 1990-1991, Storm-nätverket made their entry into the political arena; militants stole weapons, assaulted immigrants and homosexuals and appeared in the media stating "the race war has just begun!" The wave of racist violence reached a peak when an unorganized nazi shot 10 immigrants (1 dead and 9 injured) in Stockholm during the autumn and winter of1991-1992 (6 months later the culprit was apprehended). The immediate response were large demonstrations against racist violence in Stockholm and other parts of Sweden. This helped increase the polarization of opinions and on the 30th of November 1991 (a traditional day of demonstration for Swedish fascists), anti-fascists succesfully stopped fascist marches in Lund and Stockholm. This successful blockade resulted in an increased self-confidence among anti-fascists.

During 1992 police repression reached Storm-nätverket leading to several key members being imprisoned. This is due to many reasons; one is public pressure-Storm-nätverket is politically isolated-another is the sheer clumsiness of their actions. Repression against militant anti-fascists has not reached that level, but on the street, the police attempt to protect fascists, enabling them to carry out demonstrations, public meetings and rock concerts-all in the name of the freedom of expression. According to the now predominant viewpoint, political violence from the left is just as dangerous for democracy as political violence from the right.

The anti-racist movement

The left wing in Sweden encompasses a broad spectrum of parlementary political parties (and their somewhat more radical youth organizations), reformist unions, "grass roots" community-action groups as well as a relatively large syndicalist union and autonomous anarchist groups in its periphial.

The parlementary, union and community organizations tend to work with a perspective on anti-racism, using non-violent methods such as manifestations, media contacts and reformist political and judicial work. This approach attempts to (1st) combat the open expressions of the "Svensson racist" attitudes and (2nd) alter negative attitudes towards immigration, refugees and foriegn cultures. Quite clearly, this is necessary propaganda. In most cases, however, this propaganda has a limited long-range effect due to its perspective of racism as an independent phenomeon without structural ties to societies hierarchal and patriarcal makeup. It simply plays upon the general populations fears of being perceived as "backwards" if they express racist views.

Anarchists and autonomen

The anarchist/autonomous groups tend to work with a perspective on anti-fascism and use both non-violent as well as more militant methods. This approach acknowledges the immediate threat of Swedens´ extreme right-wing and fascist political parties and organizations as well as the necessity to crush them. Under the parole "No fascists on our streets," smaller groups have organized a series of more or less successful offensive and defensive anti-fascist operations over the past few years. The immediate goal has been to confront and intimidate fascists where and whenever they appear. These groups have not ignored the importance of anti-racist work, but hope that work within the premice of their overall goal to alter the entire societal system encompasses this.

These contrasts between non-violent and militant methods in the larger arena of anti-racist/fascist work have lead to the drawing of clear boundries in the Swedish left-wing. In previous years, a certain amount of cooperation could be attained under larger "special interest" groups or in the event of larger fascist mobilizations. But, tensions rose in this limited cooperation and reached a climax on the 30th of November, 1992. The polarization of parlementary/autonomous, non-violent/militant groups brought about not only confrontations with fascists and police but amongst the leftist groups themselves.

A couple of anti-fascists in Stockholm