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(27/11/2006) Swedish ambassador refuses to go under NATO nuclear umbrellaSwedish ambassador refuses to go under NATO nuclear umbrella Protest at Swedish Embassy in Brussels Against Swedish NATO Involvement 27/11/06, Brussels: Peace activists from Sweden, the Åland Islands, Finland, Germany and the UK today protested at the Swedish Embassy in Brussels against Sweden's co-operation with NATO. The action was organised by Ofog, (Swedish network for a nuclear free world), and For Mother Earth, member of Friends of the Earth International. In order to highlight Sweden's hypocritical and increasing co-operation with the military alliance the activists invited the Swedish NATO ambassador Per Anderman to stand under NATO's nuclear umbrella. (Photos free of copyright available at: http://www.ofog.org/fotoalbum) The peace activists delivered letters to the Finnish and Swedish NATO Embassies asking them to send on the letter to the Defence Ministers of Finland and Sweden. The activists are demanding that Finland and Sweden halt all military involvement with the NATO nuclear alliance. The protest also highlights the NATO Summit in Riga 28-29 November. The Summit is expected to discuss how the so-called ?Partnerships for Peace? can be deepened and how the NATO Response Force will be used. The Summit is expected to give the go-ahead for Swedish and Finnish participation in NATO Response Force (NRF) exercises and operations. "We want an open debate about the fact that through the Finnish and Swedish involvement in NATO we are actually playing a part in a nuclear alliance that is turning increasingly offensive in it's way of operating. At the moment this co-operation is happening behind closed doors and I am afraid that the Finnish and Swedish people will not get to know the consequences of such an involvement until it is too late." said Anna-Linnéa Rundberg from the Åland Islands, one of the activists. The NATO Response Force was initiated by the US ex-defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and became fully operational last month. The NATO Response Force is a rapid reaction force with 21.000 soldiers that can be deployed within 5 days. The task of the force is, among other things, ?to fight terrorism?. Sweden has already taken part in two exercises involving the NRF: ?Brilliant Mariner? and ?Cold Response? in Northern Norway in March this year. The USA has 480 nuclear weapons deployed in 6 European countries: Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, the UK, Italy and Turkey. In addition to that, the UK has 185 nuclear weapons. The USA has a total of around 7600 nuclear warheads. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
(10/08/2008)
Printer friendlyFriends of the Earth Flanders & Brussels (formerly For Mother Earth) is a member of Friends of the Earth International