Stockholms stad skall kräva tillbaka pengarna från den eriteanska kulturfestivalen. Det var klokt och rättrådigt handlat. Detta skriver Stockholms stads kulturborgarråd Madeleine Sjöstedt i Expressen.
Stockholms stad: “Vi kräver pengarna tillbaka”
Stockholms skattebetalare ska inte bidra till finansieringen av evenemang som försvarar förtryck av mänskliga rättigheter. Trots det har Stockholms stads kulturförvaltning fördelat 50 000 kronor till den Eritreafestival som genomförs i Stockholm i helgen. Expressen (30/7) har rätt i sin kritik av detta.
Kulturförvaltningen får nu i uppdrag att kräva tillbaka pengarna och se över sina rutiner för stödet. Riktlinjerna för kultur- och integrationsstödet säger att stöd ska ges till “ideella verksamheter som i integrationssyfte främjar mänskliga rättigheter och demokrati”. Det betyder att stöd inte kan ges till verksamheter som försvarar förtryck eller förtryckarna.
Men det är precis vad festivalen gör. Var och varannan programpunkt handlar om den eritranska presidenten Isaias Afewerkis parti PFDJ. Det är Afewerki och PFDJ som är ansvariga för att Eritrea ligger sist på Reportrar utan gränsers pressfrihetsindex, och tillhör den mest ofria katagorin i Freedom house frihetsindex. Afewerki och PFDJ håller dessutom flera tiotal journalister fängslade sedan många år, däribland den svenske journalisten Dawit Isaak. Amnesty skriver i sin årsrapport att “thousands of prisoners of conscience were held”.
Det överordnade målet med stadens kulturpolitik är att främja yttrandefriheten. Just därför har arrangörerna all rätt att genomföra evenemanget. De representanter för PFDJ som kommer hit, ska dock inte tro att de är bland vänner.
Madeleine Sjöstedt (FP)
Kultur- och idrottsborgarråd i Stockholms stad.
Lindrig huliganism: Återigen off topic
Från huvudstad till världsstad: Vi kräver tillbaka pengarna från kulturfestivalen
What do you know about human rights you hipocrite ?
Is that why Sweden gov is funding the worst genocide in Africa, yes it is a major donor and business partner to Ethiopia with records like
HRW doc
Ethiopia: Army Commits Executions, Torture, and Rape in Ogaden
Donors Should Act to Stop Crimes Against Humanity
http://tinyurl.com/cg4ygx
Talking about international rule of law that many like to point out, where were the Swedish Government and Media/Journalists When :
19,000 Eritreans died defending their country from Ethiopia that wanted to illegally occupy a sea outlet and used more than 100,000 soldiers as canon fodders (dead) Read Guardian report from that time http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/1999/may/18/ethiopia
The so called international world community refused to enforce their own UN ruling passed by the Hague based independent boundary commission .
http://www.pca-cpa.org/showpage.asp?pag_id=1150
The bush administration tried to reverse the international rule of law in the UN. http://www.slate.com/id/2178793/
The bush administration illegally funded and dumped huge amount of arms shipment for Ethiopia from North Korea to kill Eritreans.
It is so easy to live in a stable country as Sweden and be judgemental about others, but as the saying goes, ”when you point a finger at some one, four fingers point back at you ”.
FYI, Sweden is not the squicky clean country that you think. It does not stop you selling killing machines to Africans that barely can afford them using bribes and other means.
http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/bribe/2009/03/sweden-uncovering-the-secret-deals.html
So please stop lecturing. I had enough.
1. Did I sell guns to anyone? I don’t see my self as a representative of sweden, I see my self as an indivudual that has the right to an opinion. And I have the right to express that opinion, without anybody telling me taht I am lecturing.
I could also write a list of bad things and hippocracy and rael politiks, tah different countries and regimes are responible of.
But is it really relevant?
The Bush administration tried to reverse the international rule of law in the UN. Yes that sucks. I really hated George Bush (I am a lawyer, secialized in international organsisations…). But how is taht relevant to the fact that Essyas Afeworki has held journalists for years without a trail?
Apologies I wrote my previous response in anger. It is just frustrating when people can not see the hidden skulduggery that goes behind, and the hypocrisy of governments including Sweden.
I agree with you Dawit needs to be given a day in court unfortunately his case has become intertwined with bigger politics, he has become cause célèbre .
The biggest issue Eritreans have is, the injustice by the so called world community in refusing to enforce international rule of law. What is the point in having rule of law otherwise.
You as individual are quite right to raise the issue, but you should not be offended as well when Eritreans ask for the International rule of law to be enforced. It is not that Eritreans do not care about Dawit but it is the case of the interest of many outweighs the interst of one.
Imagine Sweden is Eritrea for a moment. It gets its independence ( after 50 years of being a playgroup for US, UK, Russia, E. Germany, Cuba, etc) Sweden forgives every body of what they did, and tries to be a democratic country, ratifies a constitutuion etc. Suddenly Norway invades and takes the town of Goteborg. The population of Goteborg and the border area residents flee as refuguees.
UN with EU and US as observers/enforcers says the city of Goteborg belong to Sweden but Norway refuses to return it. The enforcers do nothing, instead they support Norway against Sweden by arming, giving massive aid and covering for it diplomatically because they want a proxy war with Russia. Lets say you are a Swedish reporter who get arrested/accused at home for reporting something that divulges national security. Things drag for seven years, and so called democratic world community refuse to address the issue.
Now because you have dual citizenship America asks for your release noting Sweden is breaking the law etc. and Sweden says you are a citizen so it is none of America’s business. If America really wants to talk about legality, first enforce the international rule of law and address the return of city of Goteborg and its refugee population, and the thousands that are waiting in trenches to defend the country from another Norwegian invasion. Suddenly you as a journalist become a contention point rather than the bigger issues at hand. It is not that You as an individual are not important, but there are millions of Swedish people that are held hostage by all the mess because of Realpolitik of big powers.
Two wrongs do not make it right, but the case of many always trumps the case of one.
Hope my analogy makes sense.
Apologies again and thanks for caring.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4729800