( international relations between Sweden and Ethiopia into some
perspective....
I noted that Gaddafi ( so called king of kings of Africa) was not
invited to the Royal wedding of either our Princess Victoria to Prince
Daniel or that of Prince William to Kate Middleton... and that was
before King Gaddafi declared war on his people.
Ah royal genealogies, the politics and ramifications of monarchy!
Something that first caught my eye in Israpundit:
http://www.israpundit.com/archives/38172
His Imperial majesty the late Emperor Haile Selassie and Gustaf V the
great grandfather of His Majesty Carl XVI Gustaf , the present King
of Sweden were very good friends and this is taken up Emperor
Selassie's autobiography, translated by Edward Ullendorf:
Times have really changed! Once upon a time Ethiopia and Tanzania
( under Nyerere) and South Africa were among Sweden's favourite
countries in Africa. I guess that Tanzania and South Africa are still
among the top favourites - and with Gaddafi gone( but apparently not
yet completely done) Sweden who made air surveillance contributions
to maintaining the UN mandated no-fly zone is also set to play her
role in the re-building of democratic infrastructures in that
country.
http://www.thelocal.se/36012/20110907/
Swedes charged with terror crimes in Ethiopia
Published: 7 Sep 11 16:48 CET | Double click on a word to get a
translation
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The two Swedish journalists held in an Ethiopian prison are to be
charged with terrorist crimes, according to information from the
Ethiopian government and the Swedish foreign ministry.
Jailed Swedes to stay in Ethiopian custody (18 Aug 11)
Jailed Swedes 'hopeful' of swift release (22 Jul 11)
Swedish journalists faced Ethiopian court: ministry (14 Jul 11)
Video released of Swedes jailed in Ethiopia (11 Jul 11)
"We have acquired information that the two Swedes will be charged or
have been charged with terrorism crimes and crimes against migration
law," said Anders Jörle, head of the information department at the
ministry to news agency TT.
According to Jörle, the Swedish embassy in Ethiopia is currently
trying to glean more information.
"Our embassy is busy trying to confirm the information of the charges
with Ethiopian authorities," Jörle said.
"The two journalists are accused of being engaged in a terrorist
activity in violation of the new anti-terrorism statute of Ethiopia,"
said Ethiopian government spokesman Shimeles Kemal, according to the
AFP news agency.
According to news agency Bloomberg, the Kemal confirmed that the two
Swedes have been charged with terrorism crimes and that they appeared
before a judge in Addis Ababa on Tuesday.
The Swedish foreign ministry could not on Wednesday confirm whether
this information was accurate but said that as soon as the Swedish
embassy are privy to any official charges, these will be analysed
together with the lawyers in Ethiopia.
The journalists, Martin Schibbye and Johan Persson, were arrested and
injured in the closed border area Ogaden, on July 1st, when caught in
a battle between Ethiopian government forces and the ONLF guerrilla.
They have been held in an Ethiopian prison since the beginning of
July.
"They entered the country with a gang of terrorists. They have even
been trained in using weapons. Their activities go a bit beyond just
journalistic news gathering," Kemal said, according to Bloomberg.
The news of the charges are met with concern in sweden.
"The two Swedish reporters have remained adamant that they were their
carrying out journalistic activities and we have seen no reason to
question this. Considering this, it feels worrying that they have been
charged," State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Frank Belfrage commented
in a statement on Wednesday.
The two Swedes have admitted entering the country illegally but have
denied any terrorist activity. According to the embassy in Addis
Ababa, they have so far been treated correctly while in custody.
TT/The Local/rm (news@thelocal.se)
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