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By Majken Jul Sørensen, War Resisters’ International

Press release, 14th of October

Sweden's largest arms contractor today fights two peace activists in a local court, demanding that the duo pay damages after a disarmament manifestation two years ago.

Saab Bofors Dynamics is a subsidiary to the Saab Group which produces the Gripen fighter aircraft, but it was anti-tank handheld weapons that the pacifists went after on October 16, 2008.

Mark the dates: the WRI Council meeting 2011 will take place during the time of the action camp at the camp itself in Luleå in the north of Sweden. At present, the dates penciled in for the Council are 19-21 July 2011, followed by a seminar organised by/with ofog, and then training and action...

More information on the WRI Council meeting, and also on the seminar, will be available closer to the time. But please keep the dates free...

Please contact the WRI office for more information:
War Resisters' International
5 Caledonian Road
London N1 9DX, Britain

The vast unpopulated areas in Northern Sweden are increasingly used for war preparation and trainings. North European Aerospace Testrange (NEAT) is Europe’s largest overland test range and consists of an area 360 by 100 km of restricted air space and 1,650 sq km of restricted land area (expandable to 3,000sq km). It is a cooperation of the Swedish organisations FMV (the Swedish Defence Material Administration) and SSC (the Swedish Space Corporation).

2010-07-28 Luleå

United States and Swedish Air Force are right now preparing for a large war exercise in Norrbotten. War preparations can never go undisturbed says Ofog, who on Thursday at 12:00 will be at Norrbotten Air Wing F21.

The purpose is to break the silence about the fact that Sweden is at war and USA as an ally is allowed to practise bomb war on Swedish soil. War starts here and we can stop it from here, says Ofog who wants to show a better way to use common resources.

Martin Smedjeback

17 June 2010

I am led into the central office of the Skenäs prison outside Norrköping. Two guards help me to carry my stuff. “It looks like you’re moving in here!” says one guard. “That’s exactly what I am doing, temporarily anyway”, I say. “Do you have your sentence papers with you?” asks another guard. “Yes,” I answer and hand them the papers which say that I was convicted to four months in prison.

Press release the 5th of May 2010

They hammered on weapons – were sentenced to prison

Today the sentence for the two peace activists, Anna Andersson and Martin Smedjeback, was announced. The Svea court of appeal gave them four months in prison for the disarmament action in the city of Eskilstuna in October 2008, where they disarmed fourteen bazookas at Saab Bofors Dynamics weapons factory in Eskilstuna.

In the autumn of 2008, activists from the antimiltaristic network Ofog disarmed fourteen rocket propelled grenades at Saab Bofors Dynamics weapons factory in Eskilstuna. The two activists, Anna Andersson and Martin Smedjeback, were sentenced to four mounths imprisonment each in Eskilstuna district court. At the same trial Smedjeback was also sentenced to pay damages of 155 000 SEK (about 15 000 euros) for having climbed the fence at arms factory Aimpoint in Malmö. Both these cases where put on appeal and will now be tried again in Svea hovrätt (Court of Appeal) in Stockholm.

Sweden decided to phase out conscription in peace time by 1 July 2010. As of January 1, 2011, the current education will be replaced entirely by a three-month voluntary military training. Thereafter, soldiers will be offered a longer education related to a particular position with the goal of creating permanent and contract-based military units. In the current system, 8 000 people out of an annual cohort of 120,000 Swedish citizens are called in to carry out military service.

Issues

Sweden does not recognise the right to conscientious objection for professional soldiers.

Military recruitment

Swedish defence policy is based on the concept of total defence, which means
that all inhabitants are obliged to participate in national defence
in case of emergency or war. Total defence consists of military
service, civil defence service and general service. Conscription only
takes place into military service and civil defence service.

On 22 March 2009 Annika Spaide, Pelle Strindlund and Martin Smedjeback entered the Saab factory in Linkoping, Sweden. The aim was to disarm the Gripen fighter, the military aircraft that Sweden currently exports to South Africa and Thailand. The three disarmers were stopped by a security guard before they reached the aircrafts after having been inside the factory area for about five hours. At the trial on 14 April they were sentenced to four months in prison for "attempted sabotage".

Late last night the six peace activists currently inside the NATO bombing range in northern Sweden heard three strong explosions. The first was around 22:00, the second at 22:40 and the third at 22:42. All the peace activists are unhurt but shocked that NATO choose to bomb the area despite the presence of civilians in the firing range. Of the 2000 personnel involved in the exercise approximately 1000 are British, based aboard the aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious. We have no information on the nationality of the planes which bombed the area last night.