ARMS FACTORY
PLOWSHARES: On March 1, 1991 three Swedish peace activists: Stefan Falk,
Anders Grip and Per Herngren, of the Pershing Plowshares, entered with the morning
shift at the Swedish Ordnance’s armaments factory in Ekilstuna, Sweden. Once
inside, they disarmed with hammers two "Carl Gustaf" grenade throwers
and one AK-5 automatic rifle. Their act of disarmament was met by workers,
guards, and later the police, calmly and without violence. The three were
placed under arrest, charged with unlawful entry and property damage, and later
released. (Swedish Ordnance is a major producer of Swedish weapons and the
largest share of its production is for export. The Carl Gustaf grenade thrower
is distributed worldwide and was used extensively used in the Persian Gulf).
They were tried and convicted in the spring of 1994. Per and Stephan were given
fines while Anders was sentenced to 1 month in jail.