'Swedish police should prioritize crimes against freedom of speech'

TheLocal ^ | 17 August 2017 | Emma Löfgren

[aquila48]

The government has presented 'Defence of the Free Word', an action plan to combat threats and hate against journalists, elected representatives and artists. Could you explain the background?

Threats against journalists, elected representatives and artists have been highlighted in a series of studies, and also through reports from victims. Apart from the fact that the government has commissioned and financed surveys to ensure that the measures we invest in contribute to positive change, we have also learned from studies and intense roundtable discussions with everyone from editors-in-chief and journalists to artists and organizers – because another thing that has been noted is that when a museum for example invites an artist to put together an exhibition they have received more and more threats in recent years linked both to the artist but also to the theme. There have been concerning signs and discussions about museums and organizers risking self-censorship because of security costs.

We have been talking about this and I have also travelled around the country to meet many of the various groups being targeted. That's the background why we adopted this action plan against hate and threats.

Many of those we've spoken to say that threats are not the only problem, but also hateful comments in e-mails and elsewhere online that may not necessarily be illegal in the eyes of the law. How do you tackle this?

That is also a big problem, and the action plan we've now got in place is by no means a cure-all. It is part of systematic work by the government, but in society as a whole we need very many different actors using our respective platforms to create a better climate for conversations, because just as you say...

[aquila48]

Nothing says free speech like silencing the opposition. Orwell is smiling.

Sweden's Culture and Democracy Minister Alice Bah Kuhnke.

[wally_bert]

So much for the typical blond hair, blue eyed swedish lady.

[aquila48]

“So much for the typical blond hair, blue eyed swedish lady.”

Preconceived notion of what a Swede, a German, a Dutch, and Italian look like are out of the window. More and more they’re all going to look like Americans. No more white homelands.

[Pollster1]

‘Swedish police should prioritize crimes against freedom of speech’

If a guest rapist is smart, he won’t put his hands over their victim’s mouth. As long as he allows her to shout “rape” it’s okay, and just a cultural misunderstanding that will be forgiven. Foreigners raping their wives, sisters, and daughters are not as big a problem for them? Disgusting. All serious crimes need to be taken seriously, including thugs who steal, rob, rape, murder, or even just threaten others over speech. A civilized country cannot pick which of these crimes to let slide; the correct answer is none of the above.