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The Nordic Times

Polaris of Enlightenment

The Nordic Times

The Nordic Times

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https://nordictimes.com/the-nordics/sweden/many-pkk-flags-in-no-to-nato-demonstration-in-stockholm/

Sweden

PKK flags fly high at “No to NATO” manifestation in Stockholm

Updated June 8, 2023, Published June 5, 2023 – By Editorial staff
The procession on its way from Norra Bantorget.
3 minute read
Editorial staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

– No to NATO, yes to peace. No Erdoğan laws in Sweden, Erdoğan upside down, were the slogans during Sunday's No to NATO demonstration in Stockholm, organized by the network Allians mot Nato, which featured a sea of PKK flags among the sympathizers.

– Not a soldier, not a rifle, not a penny for NATO's military! curious onlookers could hear echoing in Stockholm's inner city on Sunday afternoon during the No to NATO demonstration. According to police estimates, the demonstration attracted between 500 and 1000 participants.

The background to the demonstration is Sweden's politically infected application to the US-led military alliance NATO. The formally non-partisan demonstration was in fact dominated by representatives from left-wing political parties - including the Left Party's Daniel Riazat who was one of the speakers.

Daniel Riazat of Sweden's Left Party was one of the speakers at Sunday's demonstration.

In his speech, Riazat was careful to point out that the Left Party "was the only party that voted against the Swedish application to NATO" - which is a half-truth at best, as the Green Party also voted against membership.

Our local correspondent could also report that some of the participants were representatives of radical left-wing organizations Rojavakommittérna, Syndikalisterna, Rättvisepartiet Socialisterna and Left Party youth movement Ung Vänster.

"Want to sabotage Sweden's application"

A representative of one of the parties present with whom our our correspondent spoke did not hide the fact that they were there "to prevent Swedish membership of NATO - by all means possible". The same representative clarified that "we choose no other side than that of peace".

Several participants carried flags and placards with the symbol of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and flags depicting Abdullah Öcalan, the founder and leader of the PKK. Strong rhetoric was directed at NATO's outgoing Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, US President Joe Biden and, in particular, Turkey's re-elected President Erdoğan.

Protesters marching towards Mynttorget in Stockholm.

Yesterday's demonstration could potentially delay, at least in the short term, Sweden getting a green NATO light from Turkey. According to reports, Turkey has tried to get Swedish authorities to stop the demonstration, but this did not happen. Several demonstrations in Sweden have been criticized by Turkish President Erdoğan, who has repeatedly made comments such as "Swedish authorities must prevent PKK members from demonstrating if they are serious about the NATO process".

Carl Bildt comments

On social media, both sides of the argument have been very vocal since yesterday. Moderate MP Gustaf Göthberg, for example, called Daniel Riazat's participation a "security risk".

His tweet reads: "With his vitriolic participation in today's PKK demonstrations, knowing that Sweden is in the worst security situation in decades, Daniel Riazat's (V) immature obstruction of Swedish NATO membership is a direct security risk to Sweden."

Sweden's former prime minister, NATO advocate Carl Bildt, who recently visited Ankara as the Swedish representative of the Swedish government, was quick to condemn.

However, the participants in the demonstration do not seem to be deterred by statements such as these, and say that the Swedish government and parliament are "doing whatever it takes to join a wartime alliance, thereby bowing to Turkey and dancing to Erdoğan's tune".

The manifestation ended at Mynttorget, just next to the Parliament building, with further speeches and chants. Several of the participants were unashamedly and vocally open about supporting the PKK in "its fight against the Turkish dictatorship and its dictator Erdoğan".

The manifestation ended at Mynttorget.

Our reporter had a chat with representatives of the police who said that the whole thing had been "calm and tidy" without, at least at the time, any reported disturbances.

Editorial staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

Rojava is a now effectively autonomous region in north-eastern Syria, south of Turkey, with significant Kurdish influence.

Rojavakomittéerna (The Rojava Committees) describe themselves as "a network for solidarity and exchange with the revolutionary movement in Kurdistan". Their focus is described as "organizing activists in Sweden and coordinating projects aimed at supporting the struggle in Rojava".

The PKK is a Kurdish militant organization primarily based in southeastern Turkey and northern Iraq. Since 1984, it has pursued autonomy and increased political and cultural rights for Kurds within Turkey.

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https://nordictimes.com/the-nordics/sweden/report-thousands-of-swedish-gang-criminals-live-on-welfare-benefits/

Sweden

Report: Thousands of Swedish gang criminals live on welfare benefits

organized crime

Published yesterday 2:43 pm – By Editorial staff
According to the latest report from Försäkringskassan, over 4,000 gang criminals are estimated to have been granted benefits totaling approximately €320 million.
3 minute read
Editorial staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

A new report from Försäkringskassan (the Swedish Social Insurance Agency) shows that around 4,000 individuals assessed by police as actively involved in gang crime receive their primary income through Swedish welfare systems. The report has sparked strong reactions within the government.

According to the report, the benefits primarily consist of sickness benefits, disability benefits, and activity support.

In total, approximately €320 million has been paid out in recent years to around 4,000 individuals in the gang criminal environment.

Among the benefit-related criminal schemes identified in the report are fake medical certificates and so-called sham separations, where couples register as separated but in practice continue living together.

Anna Tenje, Swedish Minister for Elderly Affairs and Social Insurance, has reacted strongly to the findings.

In a comment to the Swedish news agency TT, she says: – This is astonishing and deeply provocative. Our collective welfare funds should go to those with the greatest need. Instead, they end up in criminals' pockets and fuel gang crime.

Anna Tenje emphasizes that the findings confirm a problem the government has long been aware of, and points to several measures aimed at stopping welfare fraud linked to the gang criminal environment.

Pengar lön köpkraft
According to Försäkringskassan, several billion has been paid out to gang criminals in recent years. Press photo: Riksbanken

Stricter regulations

An important component, according to Anna Tenje, is the new legislation on confidentiality-breaking provisions that will take effect in December this year. This tool is intended to make it easier for government agencies to share information with each other.

She also highlights efforts against fake medical certificates and a stricter sanction system with benefit blocks for individuals who repeatedly commit welfare fraud.

The government estimates that between €1.3 and €1.7 billion is paid out incorrectly from welfare systems each year, of which approximately half is assessed to constitute outright welfare fraud.

– This is about maintaining the legitimacy of the systems. Hard-working people must be able to trust that the money goes to the right people. If we are to break the gangs, we must cut off this supply of our collective tax funds, says Tenje.

Försäkringskassan: "facade of legitimate income"

Nils Öberg, director general of Försäkringskassan, says in a press release that the report shows how gang criminals exploit the social insurance system to create a "facade of legitimate income".

​– We see increasing gang crime that attacks the entire society, and we are now working on a broad front to secure the welfare system. This report is a result of government agencies now being able to share information with each other to a much greater extent than before. This makes it easier for us to break down the criminal economy, he says in a comment to TV4, owned by Norwegian media company Schibsted.

The Swedish police's latest situation assessment shows that around 67,500 people are part of the Swedish gang environment.

Of these, 17,500 are classified as active gang criminals, while the remainder are assessed as having some form of connection to the networks.

Editorial staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

https://nordictimes.com/the-nordics/sweden/stegra-granted-more-swedish-state-funds-despite-debts-and-unpaid-wages/

Sweden

Stegra granted more Swedish state funds despite debts and unpaid wages

Published yesterday 11:25 am – By Editorial staff
2 minute read
Editorial staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

Swedish steel company Stegra has been granted an additional €35 million in state funding from the Swedish Energy Agency. This despite Turkish workers raising alarms about unpaid wages for nine months.

Stegra was founded in 2020 by billionaire Harald Mix through investment company Vargas and was originally called H2 Green Steel. Mix was also involved in starting the battery factory Northvolt, which has now collapsed.

However, the billionaire left the steel company in October, along with his investment company, which was replaced by Just Climate, a subsidiary of notorious climate activist Al Gore's environmental investment firm.

The goal of the new steel plant in Boden, northern Sweden, is to produce steel using hydrogen gas. This is claimed to be "climate-friendly" by reducing carbon dioxide emissions by up to 95 percent.

But the "climate-smart steel" project has not been particularly successful – the plan was for steel production to start in 2024 and also create significant job opportunities for residents in the region.

Instead, the production start has been postponed to the turn of 2026/2027, while both costs and debts have skyrocketed.

No wages for nine months

In November this year, Turkish workers raised alarms that they had not received wages for nine months, and that they were planning to go on hunger strike until the wages were paid into their accounts.

Before this, the guest workers had been promised $13 per hour, which was then reduced to $9 before wages stopped completely.

At the same time, Stegra complained that the money had run out and that they needed an additional €900 million to complete the project, something that tax-funded Swedish public broadcaster SVT reported on.

Green light for additional taxpayer money

Despite the problems with employee wage payments, the Swedish Energy Agency has now decided to grant Stegra €35 million in state funding.

The justification is that the project has "good opportunities to accelerate the transition within the iron and steel industry".

— Swedish industry is on its journey toward fossil freedom. That journey will give Sweden major advantages in the form of increased competitiveness and reduced emissions. Companies are paving the way forward through innovation, new solutions and products. But state support is necessary for industry to be able to make the technological leaps required to succeed with the transition, says Caroline Asserup, Director General of the Swedish Energy Agency, in a press release.

Stegra has already received a significant amount in state funding, with the Swedish Energy Agency previously granting a total of €108 million, of which €76 million has already been paid out. €23 million is planned to be paid out in November.

Furthermore, the company has also received €250 million from the EU's Innovation Fund.

Editorial staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

https://nordictimes.com/the-nordics/sweden/elon-musk-olof-palme-destroyed-sweden/

Sweden

Elon Musk: “Olof Palme destroyed Sweden”

Population replacement in the West

Updated November 25, 2025, Published November 25, 2025 – By Editorial staff
The idea of a multicultural Sweden was introduced partly through initiatives and debate articles by David Schwarz (far right in the image) and with support from the Bonnier family.
2 minute read
Editorial staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

Elon Musk has once again entered the Swedish immigration debate. On X, he accuses former Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme of having "destroyed Sweden" by introducing multiculturalism in 1975.

The tech billionaire is responding to an X post by journalist Christian Peterson, who claims that Palme, through a 1975 legislative change (Proposition 1975:26), laid the foundation for today's multicultural society, reports Fria Tider.

Peterson argues that the decision was made without a referendum or extensive investigation and links it to current problems such as mass immigration, gun violence, parallel societies, and demographic changes.

"Multiculturalism was added to the Swedish constitution in 1975 (Prop. 1975:26) under Olof Palme — no referendum, no long-term review. 50 years later: mass migration, record gun violence, parallel societies, major demographic shifts. A turning point that no one voted for".

In response, Elon Musk writes briefly and concisely: "He destroyed Sweden" and also attaches an AI-generated summary of the 1975 parliamentary decision.

1975 – a political crossroads

The controversial 1975 proposition established that immigrants and minorities should be able to choose whether to adapt to a Swedish cultural identity or maintain their original cultural heritage.

The new policy also meant that the state would provide financial support to immigrant organizations and cultural projects. Critics argue that this became a political choice with long-term effects.

Musk and Peterson today link the decision to current concerns about integration, social division, and crime.

Elon Musk has previously engaged in Swedish legal matters. During the fall, he criticized an appeals court ruling where a man was acquitted of deportation after a rape conviction, calling the decision "insane".

His latest statement has once again touched on a deep ideological conflict within Swedish politics – a societal issue that remains a hot political topic in Sweden.

Editorial staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

https://nordictimes.com/the-nordics/sweden/sweden-democrats-voted-against-abolishing-controversial-hate-speech-law/

Sweden

Sweden Democrats voted against abolishing controversial hate speech law

Published November 25, 2025 – By Editorial staff
One of the Sweden Democrats' primary reasons for not pushing for a complete abolition of the heavily criticized law on incitement against ethnic groups (HMF), is the "increasing antisemitism" in Sweden (archive image).
2 minute read
Editorial staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

The Sweden Democrats (SD) now wants to reform the country's hate speech law (hets mot folkgrupp). At the party congress in Örebro this past weekend, the party voted by a narrow margin for comprehensive reform – while proposals to completely abolish the law failed by the smallest possible difference.

The Sweden Democrats' party congress in Örebro, a city in central Sweden, resulted in a decision that the party should work toward a fundamental change to the hate speech law.

The vote was very close: 79 delegates supported the party leadership's position, while 78 voted to completely remove the law.

Prior to the decision, several motions had demanded that the law be abolished entirely. These motions received support from many delegates from the floor.

Julia Fält, a delegate from Fyrbodal in western Sweden, criticized the law's current application: — The law doesn't work as intended. It creates arbitrariness, silences debate and punishes statements that don't constitute any real threat.

Petter Nilsson, a delegate from Västerbotten in northern Sweden, joined the criticism: — Through legal precedent, it has more or less been established that Swedes cannot be subjected to hate speech. However, a large number of court cases have come to involve the 'group' of drag queens, which is quite telling.

Several speakers repeated the argument that the law doesn't protect the Swedish majority population and that it is currently applied arbitrarily in ways that limit freedom of speech.

Party leadership wants reform

Despite the criticism, the party leadership maintained that the hate speech law should not be abolished. Instead, they want to reform it so that it returns to dealing with ethnic groups in the proper sense.

Party Secretary Mattias Bäckström Johansson emphasized before the congress that the law should be streamlined and not linked to, for example, sexual orientation or religious affiliation.

Julia Kronlid, a member of the Swedish Parliament Riksdag and member of the party leadership, argued for the leadership's position and emphasized historical reasons for keeping the law.

— I really understand the frustration that may exist. But we must not forget the background to the law, with the persecution of Jews and the Holocaust.

Kronlid also highlighted current societal developments as a reason for the party leadership's position.

— Given the increasing antisemitism, I think it would be a major mistake to remove the law. It will be portrayed completely incorrectly. Our party leader Jimmie Åkesson will have to stand in interview after interview and answer the question 'why campaign on allowing hate speech'.

Editorial staff
editorial@nordictimes.com