Bertil Wedin
Encyclopedia
Former Swedish secret service agent, Bertil Wedin (b. November 21, 1940), was accused in an English
court – but acquitted – of the 1982 burglary of the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) office in London
. In 1996, Wedin was named as the killer of Sweden's premier, Olof Palme
. His accuser, Peter Caselton – who with eight others including Craig Williamson
had applied for amnesty from South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission for the March 1982 bombing of the ANC
office in London – was allegedly a member of an apartheid South Africa
assassination squad. Wedin denied killing Palme. http://www.cesc.net/radicalweb/radicalconsultation/notices/nb173.html He was also suspected of bombing the ANC Stockholm office in 1986.
Wedin participated in an interview with Inter Press Service (IPS) news agency correspondent Nadire Mater, and a group of Swedish journalists, in Kyrenia
aka Girne, in Turkish-held Northern Cyprus early in October 1996. The IPS interview followed a Swedish TV Tuesday report that Wedin was about to be identified as Palme's murderer by Eugene De Kock, the former head of a covert South African police unit notorious for killing and torturing anti-apartheid activists. Already convicted of six murders and 83 lesser crimes, De Kock told the Supreme Court in Pretoria
that he would expose the assassin as "a Swedish agent now living on a Mediterranean island". Then on Wednesday, the Expressen
newspaper published an interview with an unidentified ex-member of the South African secret police (thought to have been Peter Caselton, who was run over and killed by a truck a few weeks later) who claimed that if Palme's murder had been ordered by the apartheid regime, then it was carried out by Wedin. Throughout the interview Wedin appeared relaxed. He even quipped: "I do not know why De Kock implicates me. He must be crazy." Wedin said he had his "own suspicions" as to who really killed Palme, who ordered the killing and why they had never been caught. "But I can't elaborate on them - for then I would face a real threat," he said.
claimed that Wedin had faked a Palme murder link with the guerrillas of the Kurdistan Workers Party
(PKK). The PKK had been battling against Ankara
's security forces in Turkey
since 1984. Wedin allegedly fed the PKK link to a journalist on the Turkish daily Hurriyet and a frantic police sweep of PKK sympathisers in Sweden then followed, but to no avail. Wedin denied any part in promoting the PKK link so as to divert the police investigation from pursuing a South African lead.
. Wedin was eventually acquitted of the offence by an English court but not before having admitted that he was working for - and being paid by - South African intelligence, and that he had been recruited by South African superspy Craig Williamson
. He was also thought to be involved in the bombing of the ANC
's London office on March 14, 1982, since he and Peter Caselton, one of nine people - including Williamson - granted amnesty by the TRC
for this bombing http://www.doj.gov.za/trc/decisions/1999/ac990292.htm, hastily left London the same day for Cyprus. It is believed that, contrary to the TRC's full disclosure rule, Williamson did not reveal in his application that the purpose of this bombing was to kill the then ANC president, Oliver Tambo
. Wedin is also suspected of bombing the ANC office in Stockholm in 1986.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
court – but acquitted – of the 1982 burglary of the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) office in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. In 1996, Wedin was named as the killer of Sweden's premier, Olof Palme
Olof Palme
Sven Olof Joachim Palme was a Swedish politician. A long-time protegé of Prime Minister Tage Erlander, Palme led the Swedish Social Democratic Party from 1969 to his assassination, and was a two-term Prime Minister of Sweden, heading a Privy Council Government from 1969 to 1976 and a cabinet...
. His accuser, Peter Caselton – who with eight others including Craig Williamson
Craig Williamson
Craig Michael Williamson , a former South African police major, was exposed as a spy in 1980, and was involved in a series of state-sponsored overseas bombings, burglaries, kidnappings, assassinations and propaganda during the apartheid era.-Infiltration:In the late 1970s, Craig Williamson had...
had applied for amnesty from South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission for the March 1982 bombing of the ANC
African National Congress
The African National Congress is South Africa's governing Africanist political party, supported by its tripartite alliance with the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party , since the establishment of non-racial democracy in April 1994. It defines itself as a...
office in London – was allegedly a member of an apartheid South Africa
History of South Africa in the apartheid era
Apartheid was a system of racial segregation enforced by the National Party governments of South Africa between 1948 and 1994, under which the rights of the majority 'non-white' inhabitants of South Africa were curtailed and white supremacy and Afrikaner minority rule was maintained...
assassination squad. Wedin denied killing Palme. http://www.cesc.net/radicalweb/radicalconsultation/notices/nb173.html He was also suspected of bombing the ANC Stockholm office in 1986.
Credibility deficit
Bertil Wedin said he heard the news a few days later. "On March 1, 1986, I was in Kyrenia watching videotapes when I heard of Palme's death from a BBC broadcast. I was shocked," Wedin said. "Of course I did not kill him." Wedin then detailed his own theory: that the real assassins planned to frame him as the killer, and then murder him. "According to my own information not one person, Olof Palme, but two people - him and me - were the targets of the assassins. The killers thought that I would be in Stockholm that day. They were there to kill us both the same day so I would be blamed as Palme's assassin, the files would be shelved and the case closed."Wedin participated in an interview with Inter Press Service (IPS) news agency correspondent Nadire Mater, and a group of Swedish journalists, in Kyrenia
Kyrenia
Kyrenia is a town on the northern coast of Cyprus, noted for its historic harbour and castle. Internationally recognised as part of the Republic of Cyprus, Kyrenia has been under Turkish control since the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974...
aka Girne, in Turkish-held Northern Cyprus early in October 1996. The IPS interview followed a Swedish TV Tuesday report that Wedin was about to be identified as Palme's murderer by Eugene De Kock, the former head of a covert South African police unit notorious for killing and torturing anti-apartheid activists. Already convicted of six murders and 83 lesser crimes, De Kock told the Supreme Court in Pretoria
Pretoria
Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is...
that he would expose the assassin as "a Swedish agent now living on a Mediterranean island". Then on Wednesday, the Expressen
Expressen
Expressen is one of two nationwide evening tabloid newspapers in Sweden, the other being Aftonbladet. Expressen was founded in 1944; its symbol is a wasp and slogans "it stings" or "Expressen to your rescue", always on the reader's side....
newspaper published an interview with an unidentified ex-member of the South African secret police (thought to have been Peter Caselton, who was run over and killed by a truck a few weeks later) who claimed that if Palme's murder had been ordered by the apartheid regime, then it was carried out by Wedin. Throughout the interview Wedin appeared relaxed. He even quipped: "I do not know why De Kock implicates me. He must be crazy." Wedin said he had his "own suspicions" as to who really killed Palme, who ordered the killing and why they had never been caught. "But I can't elaborate on them - for then I would face a real threat," he said.
Cold Turkey
On the same day as the Expressen article, the daily Dagens NyheterDagens Nyheter
is a daily newspaper in Sweden. It has the largest circulation of Swedish morning newspapers, followed by Göteborgs-Posten and Svenska Dagbladet, and is the only morning newspaper that is distributed to subscribers across the whole country. In 2009 DN had a circulation of 316,000, reaching 881...
claimed that Wedin had faked a Palme murder link with the guerrillas of the Kurdistan Workers Party
Kurdistan Workers Party
The Kurdistan Workers' Party , commonly known as PKK, also known as KGK and formerly known as KADEK or KONGRA-GEL , is a Kurdish organization which has since 1984 been fighting an armed struggle against the Turkish state for an autonomous Kurdistan and greater cultural and political rights...
(PKK). The PKK had been battling against Ankara
Ankara
Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a mean elevation of , and as of 2010 the metropolitan area in the entire Ankara Province had a population of 4.4 million....
's security forces in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
since 1984. Wedin allegedly fed the PKK link to a journalist on the Turkish daily Hurriyet and a frantic police sweep of PKK sympathisers in Sweden then followed, but to no avail. Wedin denied any part in promoting the PKK link so as to divert the police investigation from pursuing a South African lead.
The South African connection
Wedin accepted in his 1996 interview with IPS that he had served as an agent of the Swedish secret service (SÄPO), but denied ever having been a US, South African or Turkish (MIT) agent. However, he seemed to have forgotten that he was arrested in 1982, and accused of a burglary that took place in the Pan Africanist Congress office in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. Wedin was eventually acquitted of the offence by an English court but not before having admitted that he was working for - and being paid by - South African intelligence, and that he had been recruited by South African superspy Craig Williamson
Craig Williamson
Craig Michael Williamson , a former South African police major, was exposed as a spy in 1980, and was involved in a series of state-sponsored overseas bombings, burglaries, kidnappings, assassinations and propaganda during the apartheid era.-Infiltration:In the late 1970s, Craig Williamson had...
. He was also thought to be involved in the bombing of the ANC
African National Congress
The African National Congress is South Africa's governing Africanist political party, supported by its tripartite alliance with the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party , since the establishment of non-racial democracy in April 1994. It defines itself as a...
's London office on March 14, 1982, since he and Peter Caselton, one of nine people - including Williamson - granted amnesty by the TRC
TRC
TRC is a three letter acronym that can refer to:Media and popular culture* The Red Chord, an American music group* TRC band , a London hardcore punk band* Tomb Raider Chronicles, fifth title in the Tomb Raider video game series...
for this bombing http://www.doj.gov.za/trc/decisions/1999/ac990292.htm, hastily left London the same day for Cyprus. It is believed that, contrary to the TRC's full disclosure rule, Williamson did not reveal in his application that the purpose of this bombing was to kill the then ANC president, Oliver Tambo
Oliver Tambo
Oliver Reginald Tambo was a South African anti-apartheid politician and a central figure in the African National Congress .-Biography:Oliver Tambo was born in Bizana in eastern Pondoland in what is now Eastern Cape...
. Wedin is also suspected of bombing the ANC office in Stockholm in 1986.