Important update, 8/3:
Former FOI Research Director Dick Sträng accuses today Swedish Defence Minister Sten Tolgfors of “not telling the truth” about the FOI project in Saudi Arabia. Dick Sträng’s statements today’s in Dagens Nyheter (“Tolgfors talar inte sanning om projektet“): “The Defence Ministry had been informed about the project to help Saudi Arabia to build an arms factory”, “I was asked (ombad) by the then FOI General Director to open the (fake) company”. [“FOI” stands for Swedish Defence Research Agency – state institution subordinated to the Ministry of Defence]. Also SvD reports today that the establishment of the fake company “Swedish Security and Technology Innovations, SSTI” was done “at request” (uppmaning) of former FOI’s General Director.
Bo-Göran Bodin and Daniel Öhman, the two journalists that disclosed in Ekot the Swedish arms-technology deal with the Saudi dictatorship, told today 7 of March at a the TV program Gomorron Sverige that they were interviewing high officials at Defence Ministery about the subject during their research for the report breaked in Ekot. This revelation fits well with the hypothesis yesterday in Professors blogg, on that FOI possibly knew that the exposure would come and perhaps the Attack of FOI against WikiLeaks 29 Februarymay have been a diversion maneuver (see down below). Curiously, when the journalist started to list in the TV program the proofs they had on the veracity of the affair, they were – as appeared – rapidly taken out from the broadcasting (the anchors move forward to the next, completely different subject). On other developments, Defence Minister Tolgfors denied today that Sweden is currently building an arms fabric in Saudi Arabia, but he acknowledged that Sweden had made available to the Saudi dictatorship “consult” assignments on the issue.
FOI, the Swedish Defence Research Agency – subordinated to the Ministry of Defence of “Neutral” Sweden, was yesterday reported of helping in complete secrecy – totally behind the Swedish public and Parliament (according to declarations of the Vänster Party chairman Jonas Sjöstedt) – the building of a missile factory on behalf of the notorious dictatorship in Saudi Arabia. The breaking news emerges just few days after FOA ungrounded accused WikiLeaks founder and editor Julian Assange of illegal actions against Sweden. Professors blogg asks, FOA, Who was in fact transgreding the Swedish laws?
March 7, 2012
Also, the State television had announced earlier today that a major reportage on the events was due to be transmitted in the in-depth News program Aktuellt of 21.00. However, the broadcasting was not, as usual is, made available on-line (I checked last time at 22.20. SvT showed instead the Aktuellt program of an earlier day!). [Update 8/3, 10.00: On-line now].
In this Aktuellt program FOA chief Jan-Olof Lind stated clearly that there is no Swedish participation in a factory building in Saudi Arabia. He says also that he closed down the fake company project (bulvan företag upplägget) led then by a FOI official for two years ago (Dick Sträng, picture at right).
But when Lind was asked by reporter Kerstin Holm if he would have done that (closing down the project) by order from the government, Lind said so it was not case, that it was his own initiative after reviewing the situation.
The agreements were first made in 2005 by the Social democratic government of Göran Persson.Here in the picture at right the former Defence Minister (in the social democratic government) Leni Björklund and the Saudi envoy.
On the other hand, as Dagens Nyheter informs 7 March, the said fake company “Swedish Defence Research Agency” given the same address and telephone number as the Swedish Defence Research Agency”.
It is highest unlikely that the Intelligence services at disposal of Defence would not have alerted Tolgfors of the upcoming disclosure. In this scenario, it is likely that Tolgfors’ subordinate, FOI’s Vice Research Director Mike Winnerstig (below) had the assignment of sending a chauvinistic smoke courting to the public, by spuriously accusing Assange and WikiLeaks of non-existent criminal behaviours, such as blackmailing the Nation of Sweden.
This measure was one among the variety of articles and aired programs aiming to discredit WikiLeaks and presenting Sweden under an attack from “Sweden’s Number One Enemy” Julian Assange, as he has previously been named in Sweden’s mainstream media both by the pro-government press and the “opposition” press.
During a recent radio debate in which Professors blogg was invited to meet Expressen‘s editor-in-chief’s opinions (Radio1, aired 3 March 2012) on WikiLeaks, Mr Thomas Mattsson dismissed any explanation pointing to a coordinated media campaign as nonsense. During the acid polemic which have ensued between WikiLeals and Expressen, the tabloid has been signalled as a megaphone of the Moderate Party – or going “hand-in-hand” – as Julian Assange recently indicated.
Another way from the Swedish political establishment of faking a reaction is calling for a modification of the current legislation on arms/weaponry export. With this they let people “understand” that in the agreements with Saudi Arabia dictatorship were nothing illegal, that the law permitted such things even if “one could think it would be inappropriate”. Such is the posture for example of Folkpartiet (a party of the government coalition), in declarations made today by chairman Jan Björklund.
According to TV4 News 6 March (19.00) The chairman of such Constitutional Committee has already declared that the above it will not be considered in any case before year 2013. This because their agenda is fully booked for this year!
The King of Sweden recently bestowed Saudi Arabian dictator with a Swedish medal
In October 2011, the Swedish monarch bestowed his Saudi Arabia counterpart with a Swedish medal, the Wolf Bronze Award. This caused just a minor “storm bubble” in Sweden, almost unnoticed in the country but known abroad thanks to a reportage by The Localof 4 October 2011.
In spite of the documentation gathered by Ekot, officlas at the FOI still denies. And PM Reinfeldt appeals to a “secrecy matter”, according to SvD.
Jan-Olof Lind, FOI’s General Director: “No. And I do not wish to comment on discussions that may or may not have occurred between Sweden and Saudi Arabia. These discussions are classified.” [1]
Anna Troberg, Sweden’s Pirate Party chairman comments “Sweden’s secret arms assistance is not an accident, it is a symptom” (“Sveriges hemliga vapenhjälp är ingen slump, den är ett symptom”).
Refs:
very important post: finally we begin to see a little light in the country that was the country of Olof Palme.thanks Professor! Grazie Professore.Luigi Bianca