"This is the first big demonstration I have attended," said Ibirocay Reguiera, a 24-year-old student. "I think it's important to take a stand, to show that enough is enough."

Söderberg, the murdered union activist, was a member of the Syndicalist Workers Federation (SAC), a splinter since 1910 from the main union federation in Sweden, Landsorganisationen (LO). This summer Söderberg had a temporary job in a warehouse where Robert Vesterlund, the editor of the ultrarightist paper Info 14, also worked. When Vesterlund was elected to the local union leadership, Söderberg alerted the top national leadership of this union, the Retail Workers Union, to the fact that the man was a fascist. He also reported it to the media, and the union election made big headlines.

Vesterlund was expelled from the union and soon after quit his job. The same day he was expelled, someone ordered a Xerox copy of Söderberg's pass photo from government authorities to a well-known rightist address in Stockholm.

Three men in their early 20s, who the cops say are associated with forces around Info 14, have been arrested on suspicion of murder. Vesterlund is not among them.

The fact that a union activist was the target of attack was a new development. Previously immigrants, homosexuals, and Jews have been assaulted and even murdered by ultrarightists in Sweden. But Bill Erlands-son of the Retail Workers Union says that other union officials have received threats.

The morning of October 23 a bomb went off outside the SAC office in Gävle, a town 200 kilometers north of Stockholm. Gävle is a stronghold for the syndicalists and is the town where Joe Hill, a leader of the Industrial Workers of the World in the United States in the early part of this century, was born. More than 1,000 people rallied in Gävle in protest hours after the bombing.

In Stockholm a number of local unions organized transportation to the rally. The presence of union officials was notable, but many rank-and-file members also came. So did a great number of young people.

Union members Anna Lithander and Erica Dahlgren attended. Lithander told the Militant, "We were at the May Day rally, but this feels bigger and more committed, more serious, like people really know why they are here."

Bertil Jonsson, the chairperson of LO, and Sture Nordh, the chairperson of TCO, another major union federation, both stressed the "defense of democracy" in their talks.

Since Söderberg's murder there has been a lot of debate on whether "non-democratic and violent organizations" should be made illegal. Anders Lönnberg from the Swedish Academics Central Organization (SACO), announced at the rally, "We are checking whether we can introduce a clause in our statues that gives us the right to refuse membership to people who are members of nondemocratic organizations — regardless of which ones they happen to be."

Officials of the local of the Metal Workers Union at the Scania auto plant in Södertälje, south of Stockholm, issued a bulletin reading, "We don't accept that these antidemocratic violent groups are allowed to run free in our country and threaten, assault, abuse, and murder. It's time for our society to get tough on them. The laws must be applied harder and the police must have day-and-night surveillance of these gangs and their inner core…. We urge the government to speedily place before parliament proposals that give society greater and better authorities to deal with the nazi and racist gangs who defame our fine country." The officials are members of the Social Democratic and the Left parties.

Superintendent Margareta Linderoth at the Security Police announced that the cops will increase their surveillance of syndicalist offices around the country.

Whether to prohibit fascist organizations was a topic of discussion among participants in the rally in Stockholm.

Opinions differed. Frank Pharose a worker from France in his mid-20s, said, "I didn't think things like these happened here. The ultra right is gaining ground all over Europe and I wanted to be part of the protest. But I was surprised when I learned that nazi organizations are not prohibited here. They are in France. I know it doesn't solve the problem. But it makes it a little more difficult for them."

Maria Winsnes was more hesitant, "Maybe you could outlaw nazi organizations, but the question is if others won't be outlawed too."

Moshen Kersch, a student now living in Sweden, but originally from Palestine, was decidedly opposed. "Some politicians give legitimacy to the fascists. They gain ground. Politicians scare people and then introduce police laws. I come from a police state, so I know. They give less space for democracy and make it more difficult for ordinary people. They force us out."

At a Militant Labor Forum October 19, Johan Nilsson spoke on behalf of the Young Socialists. "The Young Socialists and the Communist League are opposed to any attempts by the government to outlaw any organizations," he said. "Neither do we want to put in its hands the right to criminalize membership in what they claim to be 'criminal' organizations. Both would be used against striking workers, militant unions, workers parties, and organizations of social protest."

The next antifascist mobilization takes place November 9. This is in commemoration of Kristallnacht, when the Nazis in Germany attacked Jewish stores and properties in 1939. A literature -table put up by the Young Socialists and the Communist League at the rally had posters announcing the event that was in great demand. The stack of them soon ran out.

Anita Östling is a member of the Transport Workers Union. Daniel Ahl, Birgitta Isacsson, and Maxi Ortíz contributed to this article.  
 
 
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