Group A (Finland)

Group A (Finnish: A-ryhmä) is an anti-authoritarian political group based in Helsinki that organizes demonstrations and political campaigns, among other things.[1][2] It is part of the Platform, a national anarchist organization in Finland, of which it was a founding member. The "task force" was set up over social media in 2006.[2][3]

Group A
A-ryhmä
Formation2006 (2006)
Location
Key people
Antti Rautiainen,
Suvi Auvinen
Main organ
Sytyke
AffiliationsThe Platform
Websitea-ryhma.org

The group has organized lectures, demonstrations and political campaigns, aiming to make anarchist action easily approachable.[4] It also offers food in a folk kitchen and publishes a magazine called Igniter.[1] The group has operated on the premises of the Student Union of the University of Helsinki. Many of its members are also students at the University of Helsinki.[4]

Well-known people who have worked in Group A include Antti Rautiainen and Suvi Auvinen.

Ideas and values

Group A saw in 2014 that the state was waging a class war for the rich. The group also saw that Finland's national unity was an illusion and that Finnishness corresponded only to the values of the white middle class. The group saw the activities of the Confederation of Finnish Industries as declaring strikes effectively illegal, the purpose of which was to guarantee the property of the owning class at the expense of others. In place of the capitalist system, Group A strives for the implementation of direct democracy in Finland.[5]

Demonstrations and political activity

Labor movement support activities

Group A has organized and participated in the May Day marches for several years, demonstrating against a hierarchical class society. In 2014, police destroyed Group A anarchist flags at the demonstration in Vappu, claiming they were being used as weapons. The incident caused a stir in the media, as police had also destroyed the red flags of the Left Youth.[6]

In 2015, Group A supported a trade union's strike action by stopping a bus transport for strike breakers. As part of a major demonstration against government blackmail, trade unions had cut off the Helsinki Metro. Group A prevented buses carrying strike-breaking labor from leaving Rautatientori by standing in front of the cars, as it saw that it was aimed at watering down the unions' industrial action. Police action against Group A protesters was violent, with the police strangling the protesters. But the police denied these allegations.[4][7][8][9][10]

Antifascism

In addition to the Crow Network, Group A was a supporter of the Helsinki Without Nazis demonstrations. The 2018 procession, which gathered 2,000 to 3,000 participants, flew red-black anarchist flags at the head of the demonstration.[11] Group A also donated a white sheet to Olli Immonen, who was temporarily suspended from Finns Party because of racism, in a reference to the costume of the Ku Klux Klan.[12]

Action against cuts and poverty

In a protest against pension cuts, in 2015, there was an anarchist bloc organized by Group A.[13] In 2014, the group took part in a "Class Trip" from the Suburbs to the Castle on Independence Day, which involved a lot of damage, such as vandalizing a dozen cars and destroying the windows of several shops. In the best-known image of the demonstration, young people threw a bike rack into a shop window. The protest was called a riot in the media. The demonstration set off from Itäkeskus and sought access to the Presidential Palace for the Independence Day Reception. Suvi Auvinen, a well-known member of Group A, said that the reason for participating in the event was the increase in class differences. Another participant said they participated because they wanted to remind decision-makers about the increase in inequality.[5][14][15][16]

References
  1. "Tietoa – A-ryhmä". a-ryhma.org (in Finnish). Retrieved 17 November 2020.
  2. "Sortoa, narsisteja ja tuleva romahdus – näin anarkistit näkevät maailman" (in Finnish). Helsingin Sanomat. 30 November 2014. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
  3. A-ryhmä (7 June 2015). "Anarkistit perustivat liiton" (in Finnish). Автономное Действие. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
  4. "A-ryhmä bussi-iskun takana: "Ihmisiä otettu tosi väkivaltaisesti kiinni"". www.iltalehti.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 17 November 2020.
  5. "A-ryhmä: "Valtio käy rikkaiden luokkasotaa"" (in Finnish). Kansan Uutiset. 3 December 2014. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
  6. "Anarkistit vastustavat vappuna luokkayhteiskuntaa | SSS.fi" (in Finnish). STT. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
  7. "Video: Anarkistit ja poliisi ottivat yhteen Helsingin keskustassa" (in Finnish). Ilta-Sanomat. 18 September 2015. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
  8. "Yksitoista anarkistia otettiin kiinni Helsingissä – "Poliisin voimankäyttö suhteetonta"" (in Finnish). Yle Uutiset. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
  9. "Poliisi raivasi anarkistit ronskisti Rautatientorilta - kuvakooste". www.iltalehti.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 17 November 2020.
  10. "Anarkistit aikovat estää korvaavan bussiliikenteen – "Poliisi on varautunut"" (in Finnish). Yle Uutiset. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
  11. "Helsinki ilman natseja -marssi irtisanoutuu anarkismista, mutta sallii punamustat liput: "Emme halua kärjistää sillä tavalla"". www.iltalehti.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 17 November 2020.
  12. "Anarkistit lahjoittavat PS:n Immoselle lakanan". ts.fi (in Finnish). 23 October 2015. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
  13. A-ryhmä (9 October 2015). "Anarkistit eläkeläisiin kohdistuvien leikkauksien vastaisessa mielenosoituksessa" (in Finnish). Автономное Действие. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
  14. "Poliisi pysäytti Luokkaretki-mielenosoittajat Etelärantaan – matkan varrella ilkivaltaa" (in Finnish). Yle Uutiset. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
  15. "Itsenäisyyspäivän mellakasta isot vahingot – 23 edelleen putkassa" (in Finnish). Yle Uutiset. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
  16. "Mielenosoittaja: Sabotaasi on yksi toiminnan muoto – video" (in Finnish). Yle Uutiset. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
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