The Good Violence

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The following Swedish TV documentary “Det gode voldet” (“The Good Violence”) aired recently on Swedish state television.

‘Anti-fascist’ left-wing extremists in Sweden do not restrict their violence to people identified as ‘Nazis’. Anyone with whom they politically disagree may become their target.

Many thanks to The Observer for his heroic effort in translating and time-stamping this video, and to Vlad Tepes for subtitling it and uploading it:

Transcript:

00:00   Uppdrag Granskning tonight. Can the anti-fascist struggle
00:04   always be classified as self-defence?
00:12   Then they told me that they would come back with firearms.
00:16   They also told me that “You realize that breaking windows is only the beginning?”
00:20   Next time we’ll bring guns. Of course it is very uncomfortable.
00:24   Most of the attacks come from the left, that’s an undeniable fact.
00:28   We’re talking about 95% of all the attacks. If you’re a Nazi then you f***ing better
00:32   realize that there are anti-Nazis out there.
00:36   And that it’s going to get bloody. That’s just how it works.
01:04   There is a political struggle taking place outside parliament
01:08   and the municipal council halls. It is a fight that is fought on the streets
01:12   Here at the town square in Jønkjøping on May 1
01:16   the extreme left is demonstrating against the decision
01:20   to allow the National Socialistic ‘Svenskarnas Parti’ (The Swedes’ Party)
01:24   to host a political rally.
01:44   Both the left and the extreme right
01:48   are against the established society.
01:52   And they are prepared to use illegal and violent tactics.
01:56   In the first episode on political violence
02:00   we investigated the Swedish resistance movement ‘SMR’
02:04   which is a militant Nazi organization.
02:08   Last Sunday they gathered a few kilometres from the town square.
02:12   They were being led by Emil Hagberg,
02:16   The leader of SMR in Stockholm.
02:20   The Nazis were picked up in cars, and they brought glass bottles along with them.
02:28   We. You. Are going to march in the streets and in the squares
02:32   in our cities and in our countryside.
02:36   And the enemy will tremble.
02:40   And when the storm has finally died down, we won’t have to sing about the great old times.
02:44   Because then we will live in them, in a Swedish Sweden.
02:48   Because Sweden shall remain Swedish. Full victory. Full victory.
02:56   Tonight we will focus on ‘Revolutionära Fronten’ (The Revolutionary Front)
03:00   the most violent organization of the autonomous left.
03:04   In certain parts of the cultural sector, the universities, the media
03:08   and in political circles there exists some sympathy for this organization.
03:12   The organization claims that they represent the ‘good violence’.
03:16   They maintain that the anti-fascist struggle is always self-defence.
03:20   Tonight we are going to examine that claim.
03:28   It’s springtime in 1985
03:32   A group of Nazis from the “Nordiske Rikspartiet” (The Nordic Party)
03:36   are marching in the town square in Växjö.
03:40   There is also a woman present who can’t just simply look at what’s going on.
03:44   She decides to act.
03:48   She has Polish roots and family members who were in concentration camps.
03:52   Today this classic image is used by the anti-fascist movement
03:56   in their fight against right-wing extremism.
04:00   But the resistance for which she was praised has taken on a completely different form.
04:24   Anti Fascism is self-defence.
04:28   The good violence.
04:44   These pictures were posted on the Internet by the Revolutionary Front,
04:48   which today is the most militant left-wing organization in Sweden.
04:52   Their main task is to chase Nazis from the streets and town squares.
08:05   Anti-fascism is self-defence. We who wish to create a more open and caring society
05:12   will always be perceived as a threat by the fascists.
05:16   And we must confront the fascists in order to advance our political struggle.
05:20   Therefore we defend ourselves.
05:24   We end up with two extremes. These are Nazis, do you understand?
05:28   If you are a Nazi then you better f***ing realize that there are anti-Nazis out there.
05:32   And it’s going to get bloody. That’s just how it works. That’s how it is.
05:36   In the course of your investigation, what has surprised you the most?
05:40   The fact that these groups enjoy such a strong support
05:44   from people who actually reject politically motivated violence,
05:48   but who are prepared to make
05:52   an exception when it comes to violence by the left.
06:12   On March 26 of this year the first of several court cases
06:16   against left-wing extremists were heard in Sweden.
06:20   Six people were indicted, and several of those present in the courtroom in Västerås are masked.
06:24   The trial is the result of the police operation ‘Eskild’
06:28   which was a massive police investigation that led to the seizure
06:32   of firebombs, street weapons and computers from residences belonging to left-wing activists.
06:36   One thing is certain, the organization ‘Revolutionary Front’ (RF)
06:40   is behind many of these crimes.
06:44   They videotaped their own attacks, added music and posted the clips on the internet.
07:08   Yes, they spray-painted the fence.
07:12   There are still remnants of paint over there.
07:16   And then they sprayed the windows, so I wasn’t able to look out.
07:20   They were completely covered in paint. And then they sprayed on the exterior walls.
07:24   This is Anna Jonnson from Västerås.
07:28   She is a member of Svenskarnas Parti (SP)
07:32   which is a National Socialistic organization.
07:36   In the course of a single year she has reported 11 attacks to the police.
07:40   She has also received so-called ‘home visits’ by masked members
07:44   of the Revolutionary Front. The goal of these visits is to force her
07:48   to terminate her political activities.
07:52   The first police report I filed was about a physical assault.
07:56   And another one was about broken windows in my apartment.
08:00   And then we have
08:04   another time when they threw a firecracker into my apartment and smashed the window.
08:08   And then they threw a glass bottles. And then we have the time
08:12   when they put stickers on my entrance door
08:16   after they were here.
08:20   We also have …
08:24   smashed windows, four times.
08:28   plus graffiti writing,
08:32   illegal threats…
08:36   And they vandalized my car on two occasions.
08:40   What did they tell you that they would do if you didn’t comply?
08:44   They informed me that they would come back with firearms.
08:48   Then they told me that “You realize that breaking windows is only the beginning? Next time we’ll bring guns.”
08:52   You never know when they are coming and what they are going to do next time.
08:56   Are they going to break into the apartment, are they going to be armed?
09:00   What are they going to throw into the apartment? Are they going to bring firebombs?
09:04   Of course it’s very uncomfortable.
09:08   Illegal threats, abuse, vandalism and violations of the knife law.
09:12   These are some of the allegations in the court case in Vestmarland District Court where
09:16   Anna Jonnson and several others are testifying as witnesses.
09:20   Among the evidence is a seized computer belonging to a prominent member of RF.
09:24   On it the police discovered secret internet chats that give a unique insight
09:28   into how the RF communicate with each other.
09:32   One of chats is about Anna Jonnson and her then-boyfriend.
09:40   Did you crush him …. or whatever his name is, the guy who is with the Nazi lady?
09:44   Yes. Good! She’s a Nazi, too.
09:48   I hit her in the face with a vacuum cleaner pipe, hahaha …
09:52   What we have discovered is that there were
09:56   several crimes being committed by a specific group.
10:00   And if we look at the cases that we have investigated,
10:04   especially in Vestmarland, Stockholm and Eskildstuna,
10:08   a lot of it is directed at individuals that they consider
10:12   to be their political enemies.
10:16   What crimes have they committed?
10:20   They have among other things vandalized residences, made unlawful threats.
10:24   They have physically abused people and they have done so
10:28   because they consider them to be political enemies.
10:32   You are a member of Svenskarnas Parti (SP),
10:36   which is classified by SÄPO (Swedish intelligence agency) as a National Socialistic organization.
10:40   And you are anti-democracy. Is it that strange then that people react
10:44   and that they get angry?
10:48   Unfortunately, we are vilified by the media, and that is the picture that is presented to the Swedish people.
10:52   And that is a picture that we are trying to change and to try and present a good impression.
10:56   But up until recently your party was called ‘Nasjonalsosialistisk Front’ ( National Socialist Front).
11:00   Yes, that’s right. And we are talking about National Socialism…
11:04   and racial ideology and things like that. There is no doubt about it.
11:08   Yes, that is correct.
11:12   So it’s not necessarily a completely erroneous media description of the party?
11:16   We want an ethnically pure Sweden.
11:20   It’s no secret, it’s even stated in our political manifesto.
11:24   We want Sweden to be governed by Swedes.
11:28   Don’t they have a special responsibility, considering the things they believe in,
11:32   that only Swedes should live here, and the fact that they have a racist ideology that is rooted in National Socialism?
11:36   If you talk to the courts, and if you talk to the police,
11:40   then it’s crystal clear that we cannot pass such judgments.
11:44   We are here to protect everybody.
11:48   Clashes between right and left-wing extremists have followed a wave pattern.
11:52   But things here in Melardalen have escalated more than normal.
11:56   On May 1, 2012 Svenskarnas Parti is staging a rally in Eskildstuna.
12:00   And according to the journalist Mathias Stålhe, who has studied extremism,
12:04   this rally was the beginning of a much more
12:08   organized and systematic political violence.
12:12   Amongst the left, and mind you I’m talking about
12:16   the autonomous left now, a sense of urgency was born.
12:20   F***! Now the Nazis have moved their positions forward
12:24   and we have been unable to keep up with them.
12:28   It took almost six months before they were able to reorganize themselves
12:32   and to strike back with a more structured counterattack.
12:36   And it eventually culminated in an attack against a white power event in Kolsva
12:40   in Vestmarland. Where about twenty masked left-extremists
12:44   from different parts of the country
12:48   stormed in and attacked the concertgoers.
12:52   RF has admitted that they were behind the attack.
12:56   The police estimate that there have been at least 50 political motivated attacks
13:00   in Melardalen over the past 18 months.
13:04   But is there really a difference?
13:08   Who are behind most of the attacks? It’s no secret that most of them originate from the left.
13:12   It’s about 95 -5 if we’re talking percentage.
13:16   95% of the attacks come from the left? Yes.
13:20   Without a doubt. Obviously the right-wingers defend themselves.
13:24   But it is very obvious that they have been more on the defence.
13:28   I don’t mean that they are acting in self-defence,
13:32   rather that they haven’t got the same resources as the left.
13:36   The political violence has spread all over Sweden.
13:40   The most famous incidences have taken place in Malmö and Kärrtorp.
13:44   It was in Malmö that the left-wing activist Showan
13:48   was seriously injured in a confrontation where some members
13:52   from Svenskarnas Parti were involved. A demonstration in Kärrtorp
13:56   was attacked by Nazis.
14:00   A key figure of the militant left, Joel Bjurstrøm Almgren
14:04   reacted and stabbed a Nazi twice in the back.
14:08   Both Joel and Showan are now idolized
14:12   and they are seen as symbols of the autonomous left’s
14:16   struggle against fascism. If it is left-wing extremism to
14:20   refuse to be oppressed, to refuse to be threatened and chased,
14:24   well then I’m a left-wing extremist, a f***ing ardent left-wing extremist.
14:36   I would also like to say that the media, the housing policy and Moderaterna
14:40   are just as nasty as the Nazis. You all have blood on your f***ing hands.
14:44   We’ll never forget. We never forgive.
14:48   The Revolutionary Front is at the
14:52   forefront of this demonstration in Gothenburg.
14:56   We ask a demonstration guard for an interview,
15:00   but those in charge, members of the so-called ‘media group’, say no.
15:04   Another person that I manage to talk to before they intervene tells me that violence
15:08   is necessary today. Everything else is an illusion.
15:12   It is just like Anticimex eradicating pests, he says.
15:32   Opposition to fascism has not always been this organized.
15:40   It began with people throwing eggs and then the spectators finally attacked.
15:44   The first known Nazi counter-demonstration in post-war Sweden
15:48   occurred in Växjö in 1985 and that was a spontaneous attack.
16:08   AFA was established in the 1990s.
16:12   Antifascistisk Aktion gained notoriety during the
16:16   EU demonstrations in Gothenburg in 2001.
16:20   The opposition was no longer just geared exclusively against fascism
16:24   but also against globalization, politicians, the police and capitalism.
16:28   The violence escalated and ordinary citizens were affected.
16:40   But among them were also children who became the victims of heavy-handedness by the police,
16:44   and they became instantly radicalized, and simply lost faith in the rule of law.
16:52   After the EU demonstrations campaigners from AFA started
16:56   the Revolutionary Front, RF, a more radical organization
17:00   that took the political battle to a new level.
17:04   Yankee Foxtrot, there is a fire at the Avenue 200 meters down.
17:08   One of the activists who were sentenced after the EU protests
17:12   was Joel Bjurstrøm Almgren. He has since been convicted of a multitude of crimes.
17:16   Among other things, serious weapons crimes, and for physically assaulting a 14-year-old boy.
17:20   An assault which wasn’t politically motivated.
17:28   Protesters shout “Free Joel” “Free Joel”
17:36   So where does RF draw the lines when it comes to self-defence then?
17:40   I try to talk to some of those who are waiting outside the courtroom in Västerås.
17:44   “But can I talk to any of you?”
17:48   But none of them are willing to talk.
17:52   “But this is public space.”
18:00   We decide instead to talk to some of the people affected by the violence
18:04   to see how far the Revolutionary Front is prepared to go.
18:08   We start with the apartment building that you just saw from the RF’s own movie clip.
18:12   A 26-year-old man used to live here in Torshälla in Eskildstuna.
18:16   A man who has been active in right-wing extremist circles.
18:20   He has moved out, but I talked to some of the neighbours who still live there.
18:24   “What do you remember?”
18:28   “Yes, I remember the bang, and when the fire department and the police arrived.”
18:32   “And I saw those boys, but they were wearing masks.”
18:36   RF attacked several times, first an axe through the door.
18:40   Then they threw a smoke bomb and vandalized his car.
18:44   According to the fire department the whole apartment complex could have burned down.
18:48   An apartment complex where both retirees and families reside.
18:56   Do you remember what happened here in April?
19:00   We were sleeping when they threw in the firebomb.
19:08   I woke up when the fire alarm went off.
19:12   It was very loud.
19:16   And when I came out… I only lifted the… what’s it called…
19:20   The letter plate. The letter plate, yes. And that’s when I noticed that the stairwell was full of smoke.
19:24   And then they threw a grenade in? Yes, so I have been told.
19:28   They threw something into the apartment, a kind of smoke bomb.
19:32   He was forced to…
19:36   Yes, move out of the apartment then.
19:40   Then they vandalized his car. They wrote certain things on it.
19:44   And they wrote certain things here on the wall too.
19:48   The left-wing activists didn’t stop there.
19:52   In order to get the 26-year-old to end his political activities
19:56   they returned another night and vandalized the entire apartment.
20:20   And then you moved into the apartment?
20:24   Yes. I have been picking shards of glass throughout the autumn.
20:28   There ‘s lots of it. I find shards of glass all the time.
20:32   Yes, and they vandalized the apartment too.
20:36   Yes, I was here when that happened as well. What was it like?
20:40   It was a god-awful commotion.
20:44   We looked out the window in that direction and we saw someone running away.
20:48   Then we went out onto the balcony, and noticed people running in the other direction too.
20:52   Yes, they ran because they had finished what they had set out to do.
20:56   I mean we’re all people with different views…
21:00   I want everyone to live in a good society
21:04   One should be entitled to have one’s own views.
21:08   But destroying…
21:12   Yes, because they hurt all the tenants.
21:16   There were lots of people here who were afraid.
21:20   They didn’t want to live here anymore. They strongly considered moving out.
21:24   So, you saw it as an attack on the whole…
21:28   Yes, as an attack on all the tenants here, absolutely.
21:48   We can see that several of these attacks, or home visits, as they like to call it,
21:52   which they made were really only focused on
21:56   persons who are buddies with right-wing extremists, or who move in the same circles,
22:00   but where we cannot see that they are engaged in any form of political activity,
22:04   neither currently or on previous occasions.
22:08   Our investigation shows that the in some cases they think they are paying a visit to someone
22:12   who is their political opponent, but that the person in question doesn’t live there anymore.
22:16   It could be that it is their parents’ home that is targeted, so they
22:20   are in fact committing serious vandalism on a home
22:24   that doesn’t belong to the person that they are out to hurt.
22:32   RF made a home visit one night to this house in Eskildstuna.
22:36   They smashed the windows and the entrance door, but the person they were looking for,
22:40   the son of the couple who own the house, moved out five years ago.
22:48   Yes, I was afraid, and I still am. Memories are brought back to life
22:52   now when we talk about it. I still have the memories.
22:56   I am unable to sleep whenever Jørgen isn’t here at night.
23:00   I look at what they have done,
23:04   which was aimed at my son, but that has affected us
23:08   as a form of rape of our democratic system.
23:23   To express oneself violently like this, is to move back to fascist times.
23:16   And that ‘s what they claim to attack, Nazis and fascists
23:20   but when you look at their actions, it is in fact they who are the fascists.
23:44   It is an autumn night in 2011
23:48   in the residential area Östlyckan in Allingsås.
23:52   Some cars are driving past the cemetery, otherwise it is completely silent.
23:56   In one of the apartments a 24-year-old man has fallen asleep in front of the TV.
24:04   He has previously been active in the right-wing extremist communities.
24:08   His 7-year-old niece and her grandmother are sleeping in one of the bedrooms.
24:20   Suddenly they are woken up by a horrible loud bang.
24:24   The bedroom window has been shattered and the shards
24:28   fall on the girl and her grandmother.
24:32   It’s hard to breathe and their eyes and throats hurt.
24:36   The perpetrators turn out to be four campaigners from RF
24:40   who are looking for the 24-year-old man. They have tossed a tear gas grenade into the room.
24:44   Now the grandmother and the little girl are screaming in panic.
24:52   They run into the bathroom to protect themselves.
24:56   Simultaneously they hear someone chopping repeatedly at the entrance door.
25:00   It is the blows from an axe.
25:04   The cuts from the axe go straight through the door and into the apartment.
25:08   When the police finally arrive they meet a family in shock.
25:12   We enter the apartment and then we meet this family.
25:16   A young man, his mother and her grandchild.
25:24   And it is quite obvious that we’re talking about a tear gas grenade.
25:28   It hurts the eyes, it is a very strong gas.
25:32   The people who were in the apartment were very affected by it.
25:36   I was affected by it too, even though I wasn’t there when it went off.
25:40   It’s a very traumatic experience for someone who doesn’t know what it is like to be exposed to tear gas.
25:44   These groups claim that it is some kind of
25:48   anti-fascist self defence. To me self-defence means
25:52   that you are being attacked.
25:56   Here we have three people who were fast asleep.
26:00   So it is wrong both legally and morally to classify it in those terms.
26:04   During the attack in Allingsås one of the activists cut himself while smashing the window.
26:08   A year later, the police finally succeeded in matching the DNA.
26:12   to a 19-year-old man from Gothenburg.
26:16   During the trial, he acknowledges that it was he who smashed the window.
26:20   But he claims that he didn’t know who was in the bedroom.
26:24   Outside the courtroom 30 or so activists from RF show up
26:28   and begin to disrupt the trial.
26:32   A group of persons with similar opinions suddenly appear.
26:36   They are partially masked, and they begin to
26:40   behaved loudly outside the courtroom.
26:44   The policemen who were there were not able to calm the situation.
26:48   So the people inside had to be transported to another courthouse.
26:52   And they eventually continued the trial there.
26:56   They weren’t able to continue the trial? No, they weren’t. Why not, what happened?
27:00   They were attacked. They were attacked yet again?
27:04   They weren’t attacked physically, but they were attacked verbally.
27:08   It was very loud and a lot of commotion.
27:12   So the police who were there decided to go for this option.
27:16   The left-wing extremists thus succeed in attacking
27:20   and offended the family outside the courtroom
27:24   and forced them to flee from the area.
27:28   The accused member of RF was convicted of physical assault and vandalism.
27:32   The penalty? Two weeks of community service.
27:36   The other three RF activists were never caught.
27:48   We contacted RF via their official website in order
27:52   to find out how they justify their home visits,
27:56   but they don’t reply to our correspondence.
28:00   According to SÄPO, RF is clearly inspired by romanticized violence.
28:04   The members praise terrorist organizations such as
28:08   the Real IRA, the Red Brigades and the PKK.
28:12   But they also appear in completely different contexts.
28:32   In this music video the award winning hip hop group Kartellen
28:36   uses authentic images from attacks carried out by the Revolutionary Front.
28:40   Members of RF also participates in the video.
28:44   Kartellen’s front man, Sebbe Stax
28:48   sees himself as a conduit for the underclass.
28:52   And according to him RF represents the underclass’s wrath
28:56   against injustices in society.
29:00   I know several of them, and I know how they think.
29:04   And I know they are motivated…
29:08   by a grave injustice
29:12   where the Nazis are protected and escorted by the police.
29:24   And I understand why they have chosen to mobilize and fight against this injustice.
29:28   You know, there is a reason why the Revolutionary Front exist.
29:32   And what reason is that?
29:36   It is because the other side exists. Svenskarnas Parti, SMR and all the others.
29:40   There will always be opposites. In the same way that there is
29:44   AIK and Djurgården (Swedish sports teams).
29:48   I have seen pictures of you posing with their banner.
29:52   We made a video and afterwards RF wanted a picture for their Facebook page as a thank you
29:56   for appearing in the video, and they wanted us to pose with their flag,
30:00   so of course I agreed, after all they appeared in my music video.
30:04   But they resort to the anti-democratic methods. But the whole damn Sweden is anti-democratic.
30:08   Sweden is anti-democratic? Right now the policies are anti-democratic.
30:12   Because if you read all the surveys,
30:16   distribution of taxes and stuff like that, they are totally undemocratic.
30:20   But everything is determined in parliament through democratic elections.
30:28   But the alliance has been voted for by the people,
30:32   But that’s what a democracy is. First they went over there and pretended to be in the middle
30:36   then all of a sudden they went over there…
30:40   and all their policies are based upon lies.
30:44   According to Sebbe, RF represents the underclass.
30:48   And this is also how the organization perceives itself.
30:52   But the police in Eskildstuna have a different opinion.
30:56   One can generalize and say that they come from stable homes.
31:00   Some of them even comes from very good homes.
31:04   What we would call affluent homes.
31:08   Are there any children from the working class?
31:12   Some of them, but most of the members that I have surveyed do not come from such backgrounds.
31:16   I would describe them as middle-class or upper-middle-class.
31:20   How do they justify the violence?
31:24   By claiming that fascism and capitalism are intertwined,
31:28   that there is an ever-present element of violence in today’s system,
31:32   and thus they believe that they can resort to violence as a form of self-defence.
31:36   Would you describe it as self-defence ?
31:40   No, absolutely not.
31:44   Protesters shout “Free Joel”
31:48   The autonomous left which include AFA and the Revolutionary Front
31:52   are not only found on the streets. They can also be seen in more established circles.
32:04   This is what it looked like when the Capital of Culture year was launched in Umeå.
32:08   At least ten masked activists
32:12   were allowed up on the stage with ‘Free Joel ‘ hoodies.
32:16   This is the same Joel who is in custody for attempted murder.
32:20   Two months after this event took place he was sentenced to 6 1/2 years in prison.
32:28   This is an op-ed which was recently published in Dagens Nyheter.
32:32   It was signed by several political science and sociology professors.
32:36   In it they are worried that society’s fight against political violence
32:40   could have a backlash and curtail free speech.
32:44   They also claim that the autonomous left
32:48   is characterized by more democracy.
32:52   If you look at the ideology behind it then you see that
32:56   it is based on direct democracy, participatory democracy,
33:00   which we find in many of these new social movements
33:04   that have emerged in many Western countries
33:08   since the 1960’s, the environmental movement, feminism, etc.
33:12   It sounds very nice… Yeah, is sounds nice.
33:16   But when we’re talking about ideology, it is about what
33:20   type of methods we use, and those are of course open for discussion.
33:24   The autonomous left is the AFA, RF, etc. And they use
33:28   illegal methods, undemocratic methods.
33:32   If you read some of the manifestos you’ll certainly find such elements.
33:36   But if we’re talking about the type of ideal society that they strive for
33:40   and how one should act in such societies,
33:44   then a different picture starts to emerge. And if we look at the research
33:48   it becomes obvious that we have to differentiate between
33:52   the types of rhetoric that exist.
33:56   There may be rhetoric that flirts with revolutionary elements
34:00   but we also have to look at the various groups, whom they represent
34:04   and what their ultimate goals are.
34:08   You mention rhetoric. Many of them resort to violence.
34:28   They are proud of this, these types of “home visits”.
34:32   They go to the homes of other people and behave like that. Are you unfamiliar with this?
34:36   Well, this is not the only group that I have studied.
34:40   We look at a broader spectrum of radical activists.
34:44   But this is the autonomous left. This is one of the leading groups
34:48   and AFA. That’s what we’re talking about. How can you write an op-ed like that?
34:52   Is this just an oversight in your research?
34:56   No, what we are saying is that the ideology found in these groups is concerned with other matters.
35:00   What really surprises me, when I read what I have just quoted.
35:04   Is that you turn a blind eye to this.
35:08   That you haven’t even bothered to check out these clips.
35:12   That you choose to focus on…
35:16   Eh… previously they were suspected of…
35:20   and there were many members who were convicted of criminal offenses.
35:24   And it’s obvious that such things have occurred, and that it can be connected
35:28   to some form of activism.
35:32   On September 14, 2013, RF publishes this picture on their Facebook page.
35:36   OK, comrades. We remind you once again. In less than three hours
35:40   there’s a demonstration at Hötorget against the Nazis
35:44   in Svenskarnas Parti. Come on, let’s go!
35:52   Two days later they release this film clip.
36:00   According to the Revolutionary Front two Nazis are being physically assaulted.
36:04   In the comments section on their Facebook page mostly favourable comments appear.
36:12   On various social media outlets a new discussion starts about whether the men
36:16   really belonged to Svenskarnas Parti, and if they indeed were Nazis at all.
36:20   The info is divergent.
36:24   We try to contact the men, but it turns out that they are not in Sweden at the moment,
36:28   but that they will return to Sweden later on.
36:32   In the meantime, we find several other incidents that show that
36:36   the anti-fascist struggle is not only directed against right-wing extremists,
36:40   but also against people with completely different opinions.
36:44   Someone jumps up on my back,
36:48   and I don’t think too much of it. It’s probably just a buddy who wants a hug or something.
36:52   When I fall forward and hit my head on the pavement
36:56   I suspect that it’s a robbery. I’ve got my laptop in my bag
37:00   so I try to protect it, and that’s when the kicks and punches start.
37:04   I try to protect myself with my arms while at the same time protect my laptop.
37:08   This is Fredrik Nykvist, who was previously active in the Liberal Party.
37:12   He was assaulted by several individuals when he was walking in Eskildstuna.
37:20   At first, he had no idea why.
37:24   What did I do to provoke this? I’m Liberal.
37:28   I believe that everyone should have the same opportunities.
37:32   Then another party member receives a letter.
37:36   That’s on a Sunday; the assault took place on a Thursday,
37:40   where AFA takes responsibility for the attack, and claim that we are hostile
37:44   towards workers and that they will continue to do what is necessary…
37:52   …to silence us liberals, and to prevent us from continuing with our policy here in Eskildstuna.
37:56   How has this affected you ?
38:00   I felt that it was incredibly stressful to be involved in political work.
38:04   I was afraid to start again, but I felt that if I quit politics,
38:08   then AFA and RF would win because they wanted to force me out.
38:12   But are you afraid ? Yes, I am
38:16   but the fear is receding. I saw a doctor
38:20   and he diagnosed me with Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome
38:24   after this episode.
38:28   So it has had a big impact on me.
38:32   We kicked some liberals awhile ago. I hit him, he flew 100 meters.
38:36   I jumped on his head… trashed another liberal,
38:40   smashed his glasses while they were still on his face.
38:52   19 year Rebaz Sanar is the leader of ‘Moderaternas Ungdomsparti’ ( Moderates’ Youth Party) in Eskildstuna
38:56   He always carries an assault alarm.
39:00   Ever since he was assaulted by one of the leaders of RF.
39:08   He stood next to me when I was waiting for the bus and started threatening me
39:12   and he then described what he would do to me if I did not quit politics.
39:16   And that was of course a very unpleasant experience.
39:20   What threats did he make?
39:24   He threatened to hurt me, and that I was to blame for the consequences if I didn’t do so.
39:28   But in what way was he going to hurt you?
39:32   He wasn’t any more specific than that, but he said that he was going to hurt me seriously.
39:36   And that I was to blame for the consequences.
39:40   Because of the fact that you were a moderate? Yes, because I’m a moderate and thus have destroyed his life.
39:48   The verdicts in the first trial of RF are handed down on April 14.
39:52   The man who threatened Rebaz is convicted of public disorder and of making illegal threats.
39:56   He is also convicted of threatening to shoot Anna Jonnson from Svenskarnas Parti in the head.
40:04   He is given a five months prison sentence. Four of the other defendants are acquitted.
40:08   The movie clips with the unsolved crimes
40:12   continues to roll.
40:28   What is happening here? This was in August last year.
40:32   The boy who is in the car is a pirate taxi driver.
40:36   And he is responding to a call. They simply just ordered a pirate taxi.
40:40   Two people were waiting for him, and then they attacked the car
40:44   with sledgehammers and baseball bats. They claim that the boy in the car
40:48   has connection with right-wing groups, but we have checked him carefully
40:52   and I have not come up with anything. It is possible that he knows someone
40:56   who is a right-wing extremist, but that he is politically active himself…
41:00   Well then he has managed to fly under my radar, because I have not seen anything that would indicate such.
41:04   Nor have the police linked him to any right-wing extremist organizations.
41:08   We contact the boy who was driving the car,
41:12   but he doesn’t dare to take part in a filmed interview.
41:16   We have investigated this incident.
41:20   I contain behaviour which you are not entirely adverse to.
41:24   The boy in the car has absolutely no connection with extreme-right organizations.
41:28   He is a regular worker, running a pirate taxi and he may have chauffeured some people…
41:32   Do you understand? Yes.
41:36   And the axe through the entrance door in other people’s homes.
41:40   On another occasion a smoke bomb was thrown into a flat.
41:44   Endangering an entire building.
41:48   These are the people you worked with when you made the video. I cooperate with…
41:52   Do you know what I do? But they were there when you made the video?
41:56   Yes, because I want to give an authentic picture of today’s Sweden.
42:00   And it doesn’t matter how you try to make me feel
42:04   because I know what I’m doing is right. I reflect the truth.
42:08   Do you understand? If I want authenticity, I get such authenticity for the video.
42:12   We’ve always done it like that.
42:28   The violence is politically motivated, claims the Revolutionary Front.
42:32   On their website it says that the capitalist system is
42:36   tearing our lives apart, and that the fascists divide the working class.
42:40   That’s why they attack.
42:44   But when we go through the convictions we discover that the extreme left
42:48   also commit violence that has no connection whatsoever with their political struggle.
43:00   This is CCTV footage from a petrol station in Solna in 2009.
43:08   A man is first attacked with an axe,
43:12   then he is beaten and chased by four people.
43:16   What caused the incident was an argument that his buddy had inside a MacDonald’s restaurant.
43:20   Police managed to identify the perpetrators as
43:24   known militant leftist activists.
43:28   One is a member of the RF, according to the police. He is 25 years old
43:32   and has been convicted of serious violent crimes that have no political motive.
43:36   He is now in custody for an aggravated assault on a Nazi in Kärrtorp.
43:48   The brutal violence is a common denominator among the followers of RF.
43:52   Many of them are also active football hooligans
43:56   They glorify the violence in internet chat rooms.
44:00   Some hang out with us because they like to fight, others because they like to hit others.
44:04   We fight cowardly, we always outnumber them and we are almost always armed.
44:08   No morals, just tactics. One time I jumped on some guys head.
44:24   In mid-April we are finally able to contact the men who were attacked in Stockholm.
44:28   It turns out that it is a father and son from Slovakia.
44:32   They are construction workers and they are here in Sweden working on the new Karolinska Hospital.
44:40   They’re still disturbed over what happened to them, and they don’t want to show their faces.
44:44   They say that they were on their way home from work.
44:48   When they got out of the metro station they ended up in the area where the demonstration
44:52   organized by Svenskarnas Parti was being staged.
46:08   The left-wing activists were there to disrupt Svenskarnas Parti’s demonstration.
46:12   One person who witnessed the attack on the Slovak guest workers was Jarko.
46:20   They’re such f***ing cowards.
46:28   We had just parked our car, and there were quite a few people there.
46:32   I began to feel uneasy when people started to do this.
46:40   I had stepped out of the car because I have a buddy who is in the Malaysian restaurant.
46:44   So I was talking to one of the guys who was there, and I noticed that they had regrouped.
46:48   Then I hear ‘run’ or ‘he’, or something like that and that’s when they attacked.
46:52   And it was from behind of course. I can see that they descend on him, and I hear
46:56   a glass bottle being smashed, and then it evolved into one hell of a commotion.
47:00   And then I notice that there is a guy walking around with a handy cam and recording the incident.
48:20   When he and I soccer kick at the exact same time towards the end, that is brutish.
48:24   Haha … yeah. Nice. You know I got a really good hit in the eye.
48:28   Holy s***, that was nasty.
48:40   But eventually another discussion emerges.
48:44   Where it becomes obvious that they have no idea who the Slovak guest workers are.
48:48   What country did he come from? Slovakia.
48:52   I have written to the Slovak AFA and asked them about North Brigade.
48:56   I’ve googled a bit, but I haven’t found anything.
49:04   We cannot release our evidence several days after we published the movie.
49:08   The only thing they base their attack on is a T-shirt with the logo ‘North Brigade’
49:12   that the son was wearing during the attack.
49:16   It takes eight days for RF to explain their motives on Facebook.
49:24   They write : “The North Brigade is a right-wing football supporter group.
49:28   And they base that fact on the logo on the t-shirt which included a skull
49:32   A similar skull to the ones the Germans used in World War II.
49:40   For RF that’s sufficient evidence that both son and father are Nazis.
51:08   The film with the Slovaks is eventually removed from RF’s Facebook page.
51:12   It is not included in Kartellen’s music video, but when I talk to Sebbe Stax,
51:16   I show him the movie clip.
51:20   Yes, what is your point?
51:24   What do you think when you see this?
51:28   That it’s a demonstration. That there are two sides fighting against each other.
51:32   Janne, you cannot expect it to be peaceful.
51:36   You cannot expect that what is happening in Sweden is not going to be felt.
51:40   That it’s not going to burn, that it ‘s not going to be fought, that it is not going to be bloody.
51:44   If you do then which world are you living in? But what were these two people guilty of?
51:48   They are Nazis. You look at it from the wrong perspective.
51:52   I get a lot of threats from Nazis all the time. They’re after me.
52:00   But it does look brutal?
52:04   Yes, but it’s a fight. Do you know how many fights I’ve been in?
52:08   If you are a Nazi then you better f***ing realize that there are anti-Nazis out there.
52:12   That’s the way it works, and that’s how it is.
52:16   Well I can tell you that I met with these two yesterday.
52:20   They are guest workers from Slovakia.
52:24   They have absolutely nothing to do with Nazism at all.
52:28   But why are you telling me this?
52:32   Because you have decided that they are Nazis.
52:36   Why?
52:40   Because they were filmed at a Nazi demonstration. Obviously I’m going to conclude that they are Nazis.
52:44   This is advertising for RF. They’re proud of what they have done.
52:48   And you believe in that? But you are the one showing it to me.
52:52   What the f*** do I know? I wasn’t there.
53:00   Whether the methods of RF are acceptable or not
53:04   has become a discussion within the Left Party’s youth organization ‘Ung Venstre’.
53:08   Three district leaders who have expressed support for RF
53:12   Have so far been excluded from the party.
53:16   The first one was Marcus Allard, who was the leader of ‘Ung Venstre’ in Örebro.
53:20   He compares RF’s so-called home visits with
53:24   police who have search warrants going through a residence.
53:28   The way RF explains it is that it is a practical
53:32   method to stop fascism.
53:36   And it’s the same methods that the fascists use to stop the reds.
53:40   Or what the police do to enemies of the system.
53:44   They are also making a home visit, that it is political violence.
53:48   It’s a political home visit.
53:52   Support for Allard is still high within ‘Ung Venstre’.
53:56   Eight districts have demanded that he be reinstated.
54:00   Political violence is a topic that is quite clearly dividing ‘Ung Venstre’.
54:08   In other contexts, glorified violence and praise for
54:12   convicted left-wing extremists creeps in without significant resistance.
54:16   At this year’s Grammy Scala which was aired on SVT,
54:20   Kartellen performed their song ‘underclass music’
54:24   together with well known actors wearing balaclavas.
54:28   And in Umeå masked activists stand on the stage
54:32   next to toddlers and praise Joel Bjurstrøm Almgren.
54:36   Thoroughly thought through, or not thought through at all, and slightly naive?
54:40   Maybe it reflects the image that we have about the violence in the
54:44   left’s struggle against fascism?
54:48   I think it’s about…
54:56   having to learn the difference between how we want
55:00   reality to look like, and what it actually looks like.
55:04   And when that image doesn’t match, we tend to get locked into our
55:08   own thought patterns. And most of us would like to believe
55:12   that it is the Nazis who are wrong all the time
55:16   while the left, who are anti-racists, represent something good.
55:32   Almost 30 years have passed since the picture was taken,
55:36   the symbol for daring to stand up against evil.
55:40   Who are the representatives of this vision today?
55:44   Maybe it’s the young unknown girl in the video
55:48   who is bravely screaming “stop!”
55:52   when the anti-fascists from RF brutally attack two Slovak migrant workers.
56:16   RF writes back to us,
56:20   and tells us that they would like to answer some questions, but they want them in writing and in advance.
56:24   We agree to the demands, and we ask them where they draw the line
56:28   for anti-fascist self-defence.
56:32   We then get word back that they no longer want to participate in the program.
 

11 thoughts on “The Good Violence”

  1. The violent ‘defence’ of ideology by the Far-Left bears a remarkable resemblance to the violent ‘defence’ of Islam by Muslim activists and terrorists.

  2. I got bored after a few minutes. The easy target for the totalitarian left is the other part of the totalitarian left: the National Socialists. Same stuff, different name. Only difference is the immigration question. Smart folks don’t mind immigration done right. Very smart folks realize that Muslims are votes so they let in as many as possible. The left in all Western countries hate Western Civilization, Freedom, liberty, Christianity, free markets, capitalism, rule of law….the whole ball of wax.

    The Muslims and Islam are sworn enemies of Western Civ. The extreme left, and all leftists today are extreme, have found a kindred spirit in the Muslims, but after Muslims get to be 10, 20% of the population they can’t be controlled so easily.
    The left really has no idea what they are getting into, or worse they do know and the left is crazily suicidal.

  3. It’s clear that the motivation for the violence is the thrill of the violence, there is no real justification, just sadism. In a country where it is illegal to link immigrants to their crimes based on facts, people are bound to turn toward the Right (or false right National Socialism). The Left’s game (backed by media, politics and judiciary ) is to intimidate the populus, they are the iron fist under the liberal velvet glove.

  4. @The violent ‘defence’ of ideology by the Far-Left bears a remarkable resemblance to the violent ‘defence’ of Islam by Muslim activists and terrorists.

    violence is by far the most sucessful problem solving technique in human history.

  5. One day, when a new charismatic Hitler has risen and is continuing the work of the first one, I wonder if people will remember what has led to it. An elementary understanding of Oriental philosophy — .e.g. the bigger the front, the bigger the back — would have prevented all this insanity, swinging from racist evil to nonracist evil.

  6. In the UK, there is an organisation rejoicing in the name of “United Against fascism” which claimed to be originated by the UK Trades Union movement in whose name they falsely obtained the endorsement of many infuential UK people and politicians. It transpires that they are merely the paramilitary wing of the Socialist Workers Party, an anarcho trotskyite faction who believe in constant and total revolution. On the streets, both organisations exercise extreme violence against anyone who disagrees with them yet the press and other media continues to villify the English Defence league whose members are smeared as far right, (most are disillusioned labour voters) and football hooligans. Most of the arrests made at EDL marches involve UAF members and muslims.

  7. Baron, your programme title looks like Danish to me not Swedish–Swedish would be something like det goda våldet not det gode voldet. Was it aired in Denmark?

    • No, the program is Swedish, but the translator is Norwegian. He switched several spellings from the Swedish to the Norwegian versions. When I could identify those — mainly by their use of “æ” or “ø” where there should have been “ä” or “ö” — I looked up the original Swedish versions, for example “Revolutionära Fronten”, “Västerås”, and “Växjö”. But I couldn’t do all of them.

      So all the Danish-looking words you see are actually Norwegian artifacts!

      • Ah, I see. Still makes a chilling must-read, so thanks for posting this in full and to the translator for his/her work.

  8. Churchill said : the fascists in the future will call themselves ” anti-fascists”.

    Quite prophetic. I understand what he meant now.

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