Battleangel

At least one of the major Swedish newspapers published a translated letter from Mordechai Vanunu today. Vanunu’s request for asylum was denied last autumn and he has since been apprehended twice by Israeli police, last time for trying the leave the country. The first incident lacked any real basis but was made to coincide with the death of Arafat to avoid widescale international media coverage.
He has also made equally fruitless asylum requests to at least Norway and possibly also Ireland, Canada and France. He was even offered a job with the University of Tromsø, Norway.

So what was Sweden’s excuse for not considering the request in the first place? Well, conveniently enough, Sweden does not accept absentee asylum applications. I.e. Vanunu would need to be in Sweden or in a Swedish embassy for starters. And with the restrictions he is under, that wont easily happen.

On the same topic I noted a rather upset journalist in the same newspaper the other day. If I recall correctly there was an argument about Sweden being on the sidelines these days. I would have to agree. One has to take stand, in this case for or against the Israeli government. With regard to the argument, any stance is fine, as long as you have a stance. There is something to be said about neutrality, but it must not result in the silent consent of state terror.

See also: Mordechai Vanunu Responds to Swedish Media Questions