This article deals critically with irresponsible journalism and the inconsistency of Swedish government policies in relation to media freedom over the last few years. When combined, these two phenomena helped to create an international diplomatic row between Israel and Sweden. As such this article touches on the often taboo subjects of immigration, freedom of expression and racism (a taboo in so far as taking a contrary view to the ‘politically correct’ political left perspective is concerned). The Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet’s recent report in 2009, "Our sons are plundered of their organs" written by journalist Donald Boström alleged that Israeli soldiers kill Palestinians to harvest their organs in “an international organ trafficking scandal”. This report and the propaganda it contains is deplorable. The offending article is baseless, is ill-informed, and has done great damage to both Sweden’s reputation as well as to peace efforts.
While one needs to give Boström the benefit of doubt, and regard his article as being unintentionally ignorant, the effect is that it is nothing more than Jew-hate racism of the worst kind, and the article plays into the hands of both mainstream self-segregating immigrants and extremists within the refugee and immigrant community in Nordic countries. It is also counter-productive to efforts to bring peace to the Middle-East, and efforts to curtail global Islamism. Such blatantly anti-Jew propaganda feeds the anger and hatred and sense of victimisation of many ‘new Scandinavians’ and will lead to a greater degree of self-imposed segregation and religious, cultural and racial self-imposed silos that has befallen many Nordic countries. It also panders to the holier-than-thou political left in Nordic countries who are only too happy to continue to bash those with liberal values on the political spectrum by whatever means including providing tacit support for anti- Western forces within and outside the West.
Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt said that his government would not condemn the Aftonbladet report. Prime Minister Reinfeldt told the Swedish news agency TT, "No one can demand that the Swedish government violate its own constitution. Freedom of speech is an indispensable part of Swedish society". While the Swedish Government has tried to excuse its own refusal to criticise the offensive article by claiming that it will not curb freedom of expression, the Jew-hate propaganda in Aftonbladet goes unchallenged by the Swedish Government. In fact Aftonbladet’s response to the whole issue has been to publish a second article that taunts Israel. The Swedish Government’s defence for its refusal to condemn the article is that it cannot impinge on press freedom, yet critics claim that it did exactly that during the 2005 upheaval over caricatures of the prophet Muhammad in the Danish press. In 2005, the then centre-left Social Democrat run Swedish Government led by Göran Persson took the unprecedented and drastic step of shutting down an Internet site in the country that posted the caricatures, and the Swedish foreign minister wrote a letter of apology to the president of Yemen. This extreme reaction flew in the face of freedom of expression and demonstrated in part how the political left was willing to sacrifice a key aspect of Nordic openness to retain the political support of some intolerant immigrant groups, the very groups that they brought into Sweden. This selling-out of liberalism and freedom of expression by the Social Democrats has come back to bite Sweden.
Similarly in 2007, the Swedish Government, this time the centre-right Alliance for Sweden under Prime Minister Reinfeldt appeared to condemn a Swedish newspaper that published illustrated images of Islam’s prophet, Mohammad. This time however, Prime Minister Reinfeldt’s government did not go to the extreme measures of the previous (Social Democrat) government. In reaction to a cartoon lampooning Islam’s Prophet Mohammad by Swedish artist Lars Vilks, the Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan stated that "Regrettably, the tendency among some Europeans to mix the freedom of expression with an outright and deliberate insult to 1.3 billion Muslims in the world is on the rise". In response, the Swedish Chargé d'Affaires in Islamabad, Lennart Holst said that the Swedish government "fully shared the views of the Muslim community" and called the publication on August 18th "unfortunate." Reinfeldt’s government moved to quickly distance itself from this apparent apology, saying that it was ‘misinterpreted’, and were the views of Holst and not of the government. The Reinfeldt government made it a point to emphasise freedom of expression in Sweden. Perhaps it was a coincidence, however, one cannot help but notice how conveniently Ambassador Holst’s outburst placated some of those who were offended by the caricatures and yet allowed the Swedish government to claim the moral high ground in defending freedom of expression.
However, the damage inflicted by the previous Social Democrat government in placating extremists immigrants in Sweden had become obvious. On the question of the Aftonbladet Jew-hate affair, to some observers, the Swedish Government’s current silence screams loudly for all to hear in contrast to its (the former government’s) extreme reaction to the Mohammad cartoon. To Israeli ultra-nationalists, it appears that the Swedish Government has been a willing enabler of crass anti-Jewish propaganda, and a willing apologist to religious extremists in Sweden and outside of Sweden. To them the failure of the Swedish government to comment on the Aftonbladet affair is reminiscent of Sweden’s failure to intervene during the anti-Jewish holocaust in the Second World War.
The irresponsible actions of the previous Social Democrat government in placating the more extreme immigrants that they allowed to migrate to Sweden, and the apparent hypocrisy of the current Swedish Government exposes the damage being inflicted by some political parties in the Nordic countries, and will ultimately lead to the weakening of Western Liberal Democracy in Nordic countries. After all, the very fabric of Nordic society is permanently altered through irresponsible immigration programmes. The one silver lining in the sorry saga of Aftonbladet’s Jew-hate article is that it exposes the far-left fifth columnists within Nordic countries hell bent on ensuring that the Nordic region will no longer be majority ethnically or culturally Nordic within three generations (if recent trends continue). While there is nothing wrong with this trend racially, this matter has nothing whatsoever to do with race or skin colour. What should be of major concern to all Nordic people in pondering immigration is not race or skin colour but culture, attitude and beliefs - the socio-political and legislative impact brought by many immigrants. The openness, tolerance, and socially liberal values of Nordic countries will eventually become victims of careless and short-sighted and politically correct government policies such as ill-conceived and utopian immigration programmes.
Current events demonstrate that the Alliance for Sweden is much more willing to defend freedom of expression than the previous Social Democrat government that was obviously only too keen to sacrifice freedom of speech to retain votes of extremist immigrants. The writer does not suggest that the Reinfeldt government should curb freedom of expression or freedom of speech - merely that some degree of common sense should prevail, and basic leadership in the form of non-legally binding comments criticising racism and encouraging greater journalistic integrity would do much to smooth the matter over. Sometimes, silence is much louder than words, and the Swedish Government’s silence plays into the hands of extremists and racists.
Where to from here? Nordic people must wake up from their slumber before they lose their own countries and find themselves seeking refuge in other countries in order to maintain their Western, liberal, and democratic lifestyle. Immigration can be highly beneficial provided one is very careful and diligent in selecting immigrants who willingly integrate in every sense, and positively contribute to civil society, and no doubt some immigrants in Nordic countries are good immigrants. Finnish and Swedish immigrants in Australia and in the USA are cases in point that illustrate how proper and genuine immigrants (as opposed to colonisers) can contribute enormously to their adopted countries. Immigrants should integrate fully, and adopt the cultural norms and social values of their adopted countries, otherwise they should not stay in the countries that provide them with asylum. After all those who do not integrate, colonise.
Similarly, Nordic newspapers should not pander to the intolerance and hatred of both the anti-West political left and of those immigrants with colonising tendencies, but should instead try to report objectively. On the same thread, political parties, especially those that are left-of-centre should re-examine their naive and utopian political dogma and learn to face reality, and also adopt a longer-term view of the impact of their decisions. Those on the right-of-centre are also not completely free of guilt, and need to match rhetoric with action. Given the fixed term electoral cycles, sadly this is unlikely to happen. The temptation to incur long term losses for the country in return for short term gains for the political party are often just too great to resist. Perhaps the hope lies with the Nordic people, who should realise that sometimes the things they get from their elected government (even previous ones) eventually become a permanent fixture if apathy prevails and decisiveness and moral courage are lacking. They would do well to remember that in a democracy, they get what they vote for, and should exercise their vote accordingly.
Wai Kiong CHAN
Co-Founder
Nordic Forum of Australia
kiong@paradigminfinitum.com
The writer says that governments that pander to intolerant immigrants are actually harming good and genuine immigrants. Such spinelessness also strengthens the hands of extremists and racists in our midst.
The Nordic Forum of Australia is a collection of individuals who are interested in all things Nordic. It provides an open forum for those who share a common interest in business, politics, culture and society. Opinions expressed in this article are the personal views of the writer and should not be attributed to any organisation he is connected with. He can be contacted at kiong@paradigminfinitum.com .
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
What is the Nordic Forum of Australia?
The Nordic Forum was set up to encourage discourse, engagement, and examination of issues currently being faced in the Nordic nations, by interested parties here in Australia.
The Nordic nations, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, and Iceland, occupy a unique place in our rapidly globalising world, and although they may well seem like the most distant places possible from Australia, we believe there is much to learn from the region.
Why Nordic?
Firstly, the founders of Paradigm Infinitum have personal links to the Nordic region through ancestry, so there is a natural interest and enthusiasm for this endeavour.
Secondly, we feel that in Australia discourse on international matters, business and political trends and practices, and cultural issues is largely limited to the USA, the UK and Asia. From our perspective, this is an oversight that we would like to redress.
Thirdly, global brands such as Ikea, Nokia, Ericsson, Absolut, Carlsberg beg the question, how do these five small nations, create these marketing and business phenomenon, leaders in their fields? From a marketing and business perspective, there are many case studies to be investigated which provide a different point of view on some of the business 'norms' we take for granted in an Australian context.
Finally, we believe there is much for us here in Australia to learn from the Nordic nations. The Nordic nations are recognised as having high ethical standards in business in politics and continually come at the top of Transparency International global scorecards. Other fields of interest in which the Nordic countries demonstrate leadership or different approaches include education, niche markets, public policy, and international relations, to name just a few.
About The Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS)
The Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS) was established in 2008 as an arm of Paradigm Infinitum (a training and consulting firm). ISIS is engaged in a range of activities focusing on objective policy analysis and fostering dialogue and debate within and between the public sector, the private sector, elected representatives, academia and the informed public.
Mission:
Our mission is to analyse and promote the understanding of major international and strategic issues and current affairs in order to contribute to the development of policy and the strengthening of liberal democracy/the betterment of society.
The Institute examines areas such as social policy, military strategy, political strategy, economy, science and technology issues, and corporate and business policies.
Its programmes are directed towards six major areas of interest:
1. Emerging Issues and Strategic Trends.
2. Defence, Security, Trade and Foreign Affairs.
3. Local, National, Regional and International Political Economy.
4. Leadership, Organisational and Community Capacity Building.
5. Social Development, International Understanding and Cooperation.
6. Science, Technology, Industry, Energy and Natural Resources.
ISIS provides information, discourse and analysis on strategic trends, and facilitates contacts between government leaders, civil servants, business executives, analysts and observers that would assist in the development of better public policy.
ISIS Forums are a source of timely and objective information, and a discussion platform on international strategic issues for elected representatives, the diplomatic and consular corps, public servants, business and policy analysts, business executives, professionals, economists, the military, commentators, journalists, academics, NGO leaders, and the informed public. The Institute provides independent and objective analyses and owes no allegiance to any government or to any political parties. The Institute’s activities are timely, impartial and relevant, and provide independent information and commentary on a range of strategic issues impacting on national, regional and international business and political economy.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
