March 22, 2009: Jas Gripen disarmament attempt
Swedish weapons export discussed in trial
April 14th saw the trial for the three peace activists Martin, Annika and Pelle, who had been imprisoned since their action against the Swedish fighter jet "Jas 39 Gripen". The trio were one week later charged with "attempt of sabotage" and the verdict can be found below. During the trial the activists had lots of opportunities to present the ethical and juridical arguments for trying to disarm the jet fighters.
Annika was sentenced for "Attempt of sabotage", "Crime against the law for protecting areas essential to society" and "unlawful entering" to 6 months in prison.
Martin was sentenced for "Attempt of sabotage", "Crime against the law for protecting areas essential to society" to 5 months in prison.
Pelle was sentenced for "Attempt of sabotage" to 4 months in prison.
They were also sentences to pay 150.967 kr to Saab.
Click here to get info on how to contact the activists.
A reflection by one of the activists on Swedish prison life and on the strategy behind the disarmament actions can be found here.
Jas Gripen disarmament attempt
Three peace activists were arrested inside Saab's plane hangar in Linköping in the early morning of the 22nd of March. Martin Smedjeback, Annika Spalde and Pelle Strindlund were on their way to disarm Jas 39 Gripen fighter jets, intended for export South Africa and Thailand.
The peace activists entered Saab’s industry area in Linköping by cutting holes in the barbed wire fence surrounding the area. Once inside they held a silent minute dedicated to the twenty children that die every minute because of poverty, in a world that invests more money in weapons than in fighting poverty.
In 1999 Saab managed to sell 28 Jas 39 Gripen to South Africa; a deal worth 17 billion Swedish crowns. South African social movements criticizes this affair of being corrupted by bribes. Furthermore, many critics claim that this weapon affair is taking resources from fighting poverty and HIV in South Africa.
In 2010 the Indian air force will order 126 fighter jets. Saab is vying for the contract, with full support from the Swedish government. If Saab gets the contract, Swedish jets could be loaded with weapons of mass destruction, as part of the Indian nuclear weapon programme.
In the fall of 2007, the Thai government ordered six Gripen fighters and Erieye, a Saab radar surveillance system. The deal is worth some 3,8 billion Swedish crowns. Thailand is an authoritarian state marred with civil unrest and internal conflict.
The activists hung pictures of leading conscience workers from across the globe on the Saab fence before going inside. One depicted Indian activist Elsey Jacob, another the former South African archbishop Desmond Tutu. Tutu is working to make his government cancel the Gripen fighter affair. Along with these photos, the activists brought three pictures inside the Saab site, see below.
In addition to this, the activists had a letter to the employees at Saab. In the letter they explained that they have nothing personally against the workers at the factory, and that it's the war politics of Sweden they intend to disrupt. Read the letter here (in swedish):brev_saab_090322.pdf
Pictures with quotes that were put up on the fence surrounding Saab's weapon factories. Click on the pictures to see them as pdf-files.
