BY CATHARINA TIRSÉN
STOCKHOLM - On the night of October 5 the windows of the Pathfinder Bookstore in Stockholm were smashed. Shelves and books were damaged. An eyewitness saw five skinheads break the windows and run away. They had each carried a 20-pound stone block from a work site 50 yards down the street. The five stone blocks were found inside the bookstore. The eyewitness and another neighbor who was awakened by the noise called the police.

The display in the bookstore was dominated by a poster advertising a demonstration in commemoration of Ernesto Che Guevara taking place here on October 8. The books on display included titles by Guevara, Fidel Castro, and others on the Cuban revolution. A notice about an October 10 Militant Labor Forum on the Cuban revolution in the world today was also posted in the window.

This is the second attack on the bookstore in less than two months. On August 15 the main bookstore window was smashed, also by two stone blocks from the same road repair site. That time there were no eyewitnesses.

"This can not be understood as anything but an attack on political freedom, freedom of expression and freedom of the press," said Birgitta Isacsson of the Pathfinder bookstore in a statement. Supporters of the bookstore have sent out a press release and an appeal for support to organizations and individuals.

Slides from the broken windows will be shown at an open house after the October 8 demonstration, which will provide an opportunity for participants in the demonstration to show their solidarity and find out more about the character of the bookstore that led to the attack by the skinheads.

Catharina Tirsén is a member of the Metalworkers Union.  
 
 
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