Women attacked by police on International Women's Day

http://Mediafilter.org/guest/Pages/March.12.1997.23.09.05

This Event Happened in Stockholm, Sweden
pool25-9.odyssee.net.

A AA AAAA The A-Infos News Service AA AA AA AA INFOSINFOSINFOS http://www.tao.ca/ainfos/ AAAA AAAA AAAAA AAAAA 11 March 1997 Comrades: On the 8 March 1997 International Women's Day was celebrated in Stockholm. Many demonstrations were held during the course of the day. A tradition of the last 7 years has been for the ANARCHA-FEMINISTS to demonstrate the evening of the 8th under the paroll "Take the Night Back!" Women protest against the fact that they do not feel safe to be able to walk their own streets at night. This year the demonstration was seperatist with 70 ANARCHA-FEMINISTS participating. Many of the women were quite young, being in their late teens. They gathered at 9pm on the square Medborgarplatsen on the island of S/dermalm which is the traditional workers quarters of the city. As in past years the demonstrations winds through the city streets making stops at known pronographic purveyours along the way. At one such stop this year a window was crushed. As the demonstration continued along its way police authorities rallied themselves. Near a well know pronographic shop, Golden Rose, which is owned by the very rich pornographic magnate and underworld figure, Carl Serung the police planned an ambush. As the demo entered the block before the one which Golden Rose lies upon the police closed off both ends of the street. 27 police cars (including 4 anti-terrorist vans) as well as mounted police partoke in the "exercise." Without warning the two ends converged upon the demo. Horses from one end and batong weilding anti-terrorist police from the other. The meley was extensive. Three young girls; 18, 16 and one under the age of 16 (the youthfulness of this victim limits does not allow personal particulars to be released) were sent to the hospital for immeadiate care. The 18 year old required 6 stiches in the head and the 16 year old had her arm broken and shoulder dislocated. Many others were beaten but because of fear of represson have not sought medical care in connection with the demo. In addition, many women were "frisked" by male policemen (unlawful according to Swedish law) and violated in the process. The two "older" women have made made formal charges against the police for assault. Two others who are completly unconnected with the movement, residents of the area who witnessed the attack, one from the sidewalk and one from the kitchen window, have also made formal charges against the police. There are even rumours that certain policemen have brought charges against their own because of the excesive use of force. Many journalists have taken up the issue in the 4 national newspapers as well as in smaller local newspapers and leftist papers. A parlamentary representative from the Green party has also brought the subject up in parlament. The police have begun an internal inquiry. This is to be put in the context of the release of the news last week that the general amount of charges brought against the police for breaches of duty have increased in the last two years. That the unprovoked attack on International Womens Day is an exampel of the sexist tendencies and "backlash" of macho police and men in general is quite clear. That it has occured outside of Serungs "Golden Rose" (Where a non-violent picket line was brutally dispersed last winter) leads one to conspiracy thoughts of payoffs within the police forces. The 15th of March is an international protest day against police brutality. A demonstration is going to be held in Stockholm for this reason as well as the reason of the above described attack. We hope that this will be a large manifestation and we hope that our comrades across the world will support our struggle by mentioning us duing their own demonstrations and appeals. We will supply information concerning the actual demonstration as soon as possible. In international solidarity and against the forces of repression! Stockholms Anarchists

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