DANISH 'ANTI-FRANCO' COMMITTEE ACTIVE from Erik Bhje*
This article has the object of informing you about the activities of our committee. The committee "Spanien Frit", was formed to inform the Danish people about conditions in Fascist Spain and to support, in every possible way, the Spanish resistance movement. As some of the most active resistance organisations in Spain have agitated for a tourist boycott against Spain, we have taken up this slogan. We have conducted an intensive propaganda against holidays in Spain and against travel agencies which arrange these trips. Posters have been put up in all parts of Copenhagen and in many other towns. The Poster says “Holidays in Spain support Franco's terror." 10,000 copies of the poster have been printed.
A declaration demanding a boycott of holidays in Spain has been signed by some 50 well known trade unionists and left wing intellectuals. _ There has been considerable discussion of the question in the daily press. All left wing circles are very angry with the travel agencies. Young activists have smashed the windows of travel agencies specialising in holdiays in Spain on no less than 25 occasions, mostly in Copenhagen, and gasoline bombs have been thrown at two of them, causing severe damage in one Case.
Last: year, after the exccution of Grinau, several travel agencies were bombed by unknown persons, and the campaign for the boycott was started. At that time we asked - as we have done again this year - thetravel agencies to stop trips to Spain, but as 100,000 Danes go to Spain each year, this is a big part of their profit, which they do not want to give up. Our activities in Denmark have been commented upon even by the Spanish Minister for Tourism. He was surprised that anyone could argue for a boycott in view of the fact that so many Danes go to Spain.
Another anti-Franco activity, supported by many left wingers, is the collection of money for the Spanish resistance, for the striking Asturian miners, etc. Large amounts have been collected and sent to Spain,
We should like to know if similar activities are going on on in your country. The struggle against Franco is one which unites left wing people of many ideologies, such as Communist Party members, left wing socialists, Trotskyites, *narchists, etc. We think that the slogan of a tourist boytott of Spain would be received positively by all these tendencies,
If any of your readers know of any anti-Franco activity, especially on the subject of the boycott, we will be interested to hear from them. We would welcome collaboration - if the tourist boycott is to be successful it must be organised internationally. * Eric Bhje is the secretary of the "Komiteen Spanien Frit", Horsekildevej 36, Copenhagen, Valby, Denmark. All correspondence should be sent to him on this matter, elthough we would like a copy if there is material which could be published,