In Sweden, “the government believes it no longer needs to pretend to support the peace movement”.
A major Swedish NGO working for peace and disarmament is losing its public funding, the day after Sweden joined NATO. The right-wing government, supported by the far right, thus silences criticism of these century-old pacifist organizations, which are highly respected in Sweden for their contribution to the democratic debate.
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4 minutes
From our correspondent in Stockholm,
with Sweden’s membership in NATO and the forced remilitarization of the Nordic countries, anti-NATO arguments are increasingly unheard of.
” It is clear that the current government does not want to support the debate on international issues, police and security here in Sweden. » Analyzes Malin Nilsson, General Secretary of the International Women’s League for Peace and Freedom (IKFF), an organization founded in 1919 that lost 50% of its budget. Till date, regardless of the parties in power, the subsidy has never been questioned. ” The Swedish state has always considered it its duty to support civil society, opinion formation and discussion of ideas to keep democracy alive. »
Total amount of aid to 18 peace organizations in particular Sweden It amounts to only 20 million crowns (about 1.8 million euros). That’s a drop in the ocean compared to the 10 billion euros Sweden will spend on its defense this year.
Even if more than 60% of Swedes are in favor of their country’s entry into NATO, NGOs regret that for two years, there has been no significant debate on the consequences and the cost of doing so. Pay to be part of the Alliance:
“ For two years, critical voices and real debates within NATO have had little space on television sets and in the media. “, relates Linda Akerström, head of advocacy at Svenska Fred, the Swedish Society for Peace and Arbitration, Sweden’s oldest disarmament organization (1883). “ So we had to compromise our values Obtain the Treaty of Turkey and Hungary. We lost part of our sovereignty by signing a defense treaty with the United States. And even now that we are members of the Alliance, we still don’t know if conscripts will be sent on missions for NATO. Nothing is discussed. »
” The myth of Swedish neutrality »
If Sweden’s transition to NATO is indeed a historical event for the country, many researchers have already ” The myth of Swedish neutrality ” Even during the Cold War, says Niklas Granholm, deputy director of the Swedish Defense Agency, “ Sweden made secret agreements with the United Kingdom and America in case of attack. It was our insurance in case of war, if the policy of non-alignment failed. » With the fall of the USSR, Sweden dismantled its army and very quickly moved closer to NATO. In 1994, Sweden joined NATO’s Partnership for Peace (PPP), began participating in joint operations, and established a Swedish delegation to NATO in Brussels.
However, it wanted to keep intact the image of a neutral, pacifist country, presenting itself as a humanitarian and diplomatic power, a good student of demilitarization and non-proliferation. Over the past 20 years, Swedish peace organizations have not failed to point out the contradictions and hypocrisy of Sweden, which is also a major arms producer.
“ For a long time, more than ten years, we have been surfing this image. We make beautiful speeches, but actions do not follow, Malin Nilsson believes. Today, the mask has definitely fallen. So much so that the current government believes it no longer even needs to pretend to support the movement Peace, disarmament and democracy debate on these international security issues. »
While the war in Ukraine fueled Sweden and Finland’s request for joint membership, many Swedish military experts believe that joining the alliance was a “step”. natural “
Although the peace organizations are fully aware of this, they continue to think that Sweden can afford to remain outside the alliance and, now that Sweden is effectively a member of NATO, they are concerned to see that the ruling coalition puts forward only military solutions. and clearly do not hesitate to stifle critical voices.
Also read“Nordic response”: In the Arctic, Sweden participates in its first NATO exercise
