Diplomatic Briefing
Your exclusive news aggregator handpicked daily!Archive for Sweden
Newsline: New Zealand’s embassy in Sweden to close
New Zealand’s embassy in Sweden will close as part of a move to slash $10 million from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s Europe budget. The Stockholm post was opened by the Clark government in 2008 and downsized by the current Government in 2009. McCully said in a statement it was not always necessary to have a diplomatic presence in a country to maintain good relations. “Sweden does not have an embassy in New Zealand and I am confident that we can manage the relationship through an accreditation.” McCully said moving some embassies into less expensive accommodation is another option the ministry is considering to cut costs. “The move is part of a series of decisions that will enable the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to meet the Government’s expectations of a $24 million efficiency dividend and then manage within a flatline budget for the next two years.” McCully said the ministry’s cost-cutting plans have been scaled back following feedback from staff and ministers. “I have made it clear the final package will need to provide a structure capable of attracting and retaining capable staff,” McCully said. The Labour Party last month received leaked documents showing the Ministry is planning to halve the number of job losses it had originally announced in February. The leaked documents say the Ministry is also considering downsizing some bases to create mini-posts in Madrid, Rome, The Hague, Vienna and Warsaw.
http://tvnz.co.nz/politics-news/nz-s-embassy-in-sweden-close-4891357
Newsline: Swedish government expels foreign official
The Swedish government said it had expelled a foreign diplomat, amid reports the person in question was a high level official at the Rwandan embassy in Stockholm. “We can confirm that we have expelled a diplomat,” foreign ministry spokesman Theo Zetterman told AFP, refusing to provide any details on the identity or nationality of the diplomat or the reasons for the expulsion. A weekend report by the Rwanda News Agency said Evodo Mudaheranwa, the second in command at the Rwandan embassy in Stockholm, had last Wednesday been given 48 hours to leave over “activities incompatible with his diplomatic status”. The Rwandan embassy refused to comment, referring questions to the foreign ministry in Kigali, which could not immediately be reached for confirmation. The Rwandan agency report, which cited unnamed observers, said his expulsion may be linked to the disappearance last month of Rwandan journalist Jean Bosco Gasasira with the Umuvugizi newspaper, who had found asylum in Sweden. When contacted by AFP, Swedish police could not confirm the journalist’s disappearance or say if a probe had been launched, and the foreign ministry would not say if any diplomatic steps had been taken in connection with the reported disappearance. Gasasira’s editor Amiel Nkuliza, also based in Sweden, told AFP he had not managed to contact the journalist since January 13. Nkuliza also said that while at the embassy, Mudaheranwa had systematically harassed him, Gasasira and other Rwandans critical of the government in Kigali.
http://www.thelocal.se/39106/20120214/
Newsline: Seven held for taking over Libyan embassy in Stockholm
Seven people, who broke into the Libyan embassy building inSwedenand tried to take it over, were arrested by the police. The intruders hung a Libyan opposition’s flag on the wall of the embassy. The dramatic incident took place when seven people broke into the empty Libyan Embassy in the morning. Some of them stood on the windows and threatened to commit suicide if the police try to come in. Some 15 policemen were sent at the scene first with ambulance and firebrigade arrived aroundnoonas flammable liquid and lighters were seen through the window. A group of 20 policemen later stormed into the embassy through a window. All the seven occupiers have been arrested with no one injured. Libyan opposition supporters have tried to break into the embassy a couple of times in March and April. The embassy has been empty for a long time sinceSwedenrefused to recognise the diplomatic mission sent out by Libyan government in March.
http://www.inewsone.com/2011/08/12/seven-held-for-taking-over-libyan-embassy-in-stockholm/68314
Newsline: Diplomat visits Swedes held in Ethiopia
The Swedish ambassador toEthiopiahas been allowed to see two jailed Swedish journalists and said they are in good condition. “They’re feeling fairly well, considering the circumstances,” Jens Odlander told the Swedish news agency TT. Reporter Martin Schibbye, 30, and photographer Johan Persson, 29, were slightly wounded in the weekend clash between the Ethiopian military and ethnic Somali rebels of the Ogaden National Liberation Front. The government said 15 rebels were killed. Abdi Mahdi, an ONLF spokesman inLondon, said the Swedes entered Ethiopia with rebel fighters. Sweden says they have received treatment for their injuries. The Swedish Foreign Ministry said Schibbye and Persson will face court proceedings but it was not clear when.
Interview: Sweden’s New Ambassador to Singapore “Finally” in Asia
When Sweden’s new Ambassador to Singapore in the end of September 2010 presented his letter of credentials to President S.R. Nathan he had really drawn the winning ticket. Ingemar Dolfe was very pleased to be inAsia, at last. But what the Ambassador did not know then is clear now; while Ingemar Dolfe can involve himself in a very vibrant connection between Sweden and Singapore (and its surrounding region), two other recently arrived Swedish ambassadors to Southeast-Asia are now finding themselves with the unrewarding task of closing down the Swedish Embassy missions (in Kuala Lumpur and Hanoi respectively). Previously he has been Deputy Head at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs Department for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation since 2007 and also placed at three different places in Europe; the Netherlands and Bulgaria among them. Before Stockholmhe was Minister at the Swedish Embassy in London. It was based on genuine interest in the world and foreign places that Ingemar Dolfe became a diplomat. He started exploring the world at young age as a backpacker, first interrailing seven times in Europe; and then backpacking in theU.S.In between his studies, he also took time off for a round-the-world trip. He then visited Singaporefor the first time, back in 1984. This interest led the globetrotter to a career at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs inSweden. “I’m a ‘generalist’. I started the Foreign Ministry’s education in 1988 and have done most things one can do there, so I am broad. I have experience from bilateral and multilateral issues. For instance I dealt with trade-supporting issues inLondon, but also political reporting. And I have done UN work.” What he hopes to accomplish inSingaporeis first of all to give big support to Swedish trade – the core task.
http://www.scandasia.com/viewNews.php?coun_code=sg&news_id=8740
Newsline: 6 arrested in Sweden for Libyan Embassy break-in
Police in Stockholm say they arrested six people after demonstrators broke in to the Libyan Embassy in protest against the installation of a new ambassador loyal to Moammar Gadhafi. Police station chief Katarina Bakcstom said all six have been released pending an investigation into the Thursday night incident. Angry protesters also painted the front door of the building in the colors of the rebel flag after a group of around 20 demonstrators called onSwedento close the embassy. Gadhafi’s opponents inSwedenwere jubilant when they were permitted in February to hoist the old flag of the monarchy that ruledLibyabefore the 1969 coup. That flag was removed in recent days after the appointment of a new ambassador.
http://world.foxnews.mobi/quickPage.html?page=26194&external=868848.proteus.fma
Newsline: Swedes up in arms over Greek envoy’s remarks
A Greek diplomat in Stockholm was recalled to Athens after claiming that Swedish women often cried rape falsely, media said yesterday, amid outrage at reports of discrimination against Swedes in rape cases in Greece. Vassilios Bakalis, the head of economic and commercial affairs at the Greek embassy inStockholm, was reportedly ordered back toAthensshortly after the publication late on Friday of an e-mail he had written accusing Swedish women of using fake rape allegations to make money. Swedes “should be ashamed about the behaviour of Swedish women, on vacation at any part of the world (sic) and with foreign residents in their own country”, Bakalis wrote in the e-mail. “Plenty of taxi drivers in Stockholm have warned me not to take drunk Swedish women to my apartment as there is a high probability ‘they will sue you for rape to get insurance money after they wake up in the morning and realise who you are’.” The e-mail was a response to a message Bakalis received following reports that Greek authorities had decided not to press charges on behalf of a Swedish woman who alleged she was raped during a vacation on the GreekislandofSamosin 2008. Although the woman was examined shortly after the alleged rape at a Swedish hospital where doctors confirmed she had suffered a serious, sexual attack, Greek authorities reportedly have decided to charge her instead for false testimony and slander. In an open letter earlier this week, two Swedish lawyers representing the woman accusedGreeceof violating the European Convention on Human Rights, pointing out that Greek authorities largely based their decision to charge her on their explicit assumption that Scandinavian women often make false rape accusations. According to media reports, the decision to try the woman as well as Bakalis’ statements reflect false rumours inGreecethat Scandinavians can purchase “rape insurance”, believed to prompt fake rape accusations to receive a pay-out. Many Swedes have been outraged by the reports. Embassy spokeswoman Eleftheria Spilotakopoulou meanwhile insisted in a TV4 interview that “whatever has been said by Mr Bakalis does not represent at all the views of the Greek embassy and government”. More than 500,000 Swedish tourists visitGreeceeach year, according to the Swedish foreign ministry.
Newsline: Sweden drops case against American embassy
Sweden is ending its investigation against the American embassy for its alleged surveillance of people outside the diplomatic area in Stockholm. Swedish chief prosecutor Tomas Lindstrand said the reason for dropping the case is because it is not possible to prove that a crime was committed. Media reports in the fall indicated that the American authorities and embassies have been keeping watch over some people in Sweden, Norway and other countries since 2000. Swedish justice minister, Beatrice Ask, said at that time that she was not aware of the surveillance. And the opposiition went to the standing committee on the Constitution for answers. “We have not received access to the American embassy’s archive,” Linstrand told Swedish Radio news. “The Vienna Convention says that embassy archives are inviolable. So, there’s a lack of knowledge, in part when it comes to hearings with certain people, and in part when it comes to what’s in the archive. So, the investigation is simply coming to a stop.” But media reports hint that while the matter has been dropped by Swedish legal authorities, it may now become a question for Swedish politicians to pursue.
http://m.sverigesradio.se/site/index.aspx?artikel=4437012&unitid=2054&offset=0
Newsline: Australia says Assange getting usual consular help
Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard insists Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is getting the same consular help as any other Australian in legal trouble overseas. A British judge has ordered Mr Assange be extradited to Sweden to face sexual assault allegations. Mr Assange immediately indicated he would appeal the decision to Britain’s High Court. Ms Gillard on Friday said in those circumstances it was not appropriate to comment on his case. “But I certainly can confirm that every stage of these legal proceedings Mr Assange has received the same degree of assistance that any Australian overseas faced with such legal proceedings would receive,” she told reporters in Canberra. “There is not one iota of difference.”
Newsline: Sweden mulls embassy closures
Sweden’s foreign minister Carl Bildt has said that planned closure of several Swedish embassies can not be avoided through organizational changes or greater efficiency. ” For the simple reason that we are talking about 130 million kronor ($20.3 million), that is a lot of money in our world,” Bildt told news agency TT on a visit to Riga, referring to the savings required to balance the books at the foreign ministry. Economist Richard Murray wrote in the Dagens Nyheter daily that the closure of the Swedish embassies could be avoided if the UD became more efficient, writing that the foreign ministry’s operations have a number of shortcomings that give scope for savings. ESO, which is an independent research body under the auspices of the finance ministry, concluded in its study that the foreign ministry is too large and top-heavy and is in need of reorganization. Murray argued that development aid should be given its own department and trade affairs should be transferred to the enterprise ministry. Bildt however said that there is an “ongoing operational development ” at the foreign ministry, despite the fact that the report observed that no such process existed. The report also claimed that IT structure is substandard, a situation to which Carl Bildt himself has several times commented upon on his blog, describing the system as ready for the museum.
