Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

RUSSIA

Nobel Foundation cancels Russian ambassador invite to prize ceremony in Stockholm

The Nobel Foundation said Saturday it was reversing its decision to invite ambassadors from Russia and Belarus to this year's Nobel award ceremony in Stockholm, after the move sparked a backlash.

Published: 3 September 2023 12:43 CEST
Stockholm
The decision to once again invite the Russian and Belarusian representatives sparked ire in Sweden and abroad. Photo by Lars Groenendijk on Unsplash

In 2022, the Nobel Foundation, which organises the annual Nobel prize ceremony and banquet in Stockholm, decided not to invite the Russian and Belarusian ambassadors to the Stockholm award event because of the war in Ukraine.

They made the same decision regarding the Iranian envoy over the country’s crackdown on a wave of protests.

The Swedish foundation however said Thursday it was returning to its previous practice of inviting ambassadors from all countries represented in Sweden, sparking a wave of angry reactions.

The foundation said Saturday that the decision was based on its belief “that it is important and right to reach out as widely as possible with the values and messages that the Nobel Prize stands for.”

It noted however that the strong reactions “completely overshadowed this message”.

“We, therefore, choose to repeat last year’s exception to regular practice – that is, to not invite the ambassadors of Russia, Belarus and Iran to the Nobel Prize award ceremony in Stockholm,” the foundation said in a statement.

Last year, the Norwegian Nobel Institute still invited all ambassadors to the Peace Prize ceremony it organises in Oslo, and the foundation said this would be the case again.

“As before, all ambassadors will be invited to the ceremony in Oslo,” it noted.

‘Victory for humanism’

The decision to once again invite the Russian and Belarusian representatives sparked ire in Sweden and abroad.

Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko wrote on Facebook that the foundation should support efforts to isolate Russia and Belarus as “millions of Ukrainians suffer from an unprovoked war and the Russian regime is not punished for its crimes”.

On Saturday, Nikolenko called the reversal a “victory for humanism.”

“We thank everyone who demanded the restoration of justice. We are convinced that a similar decision should be made regarding the Russian and Belarusian ambassadors to Oslo,” he said in another post to Facebook.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson also said Friday he disagreed with the Foundation’s decision.

“I would not have done it if I were handling invites to an award ceremony and I understand that it upsets many people in both Sweden and Ukraine,” he said in a written statement to AFP.

Writing on X, formerly known as Twitter, Kristersson on Saturday welcomed the new decision.

“The many and strong reactions show that the whole of Sweden unambiguously stand on Ukraine’s side against Russia’s appalling war of aggression,” Kristersson said.

Potential royal snub

Several prominent Swedish politicians, including the leaders of the Centre, Green, Left and Liberal parties, had said they would boycott the event over the Russian ambassador’s presence.

Hours before the reversal was announced, public broadcaster Sveriges Radio reported that the Swedish Royal Court had been surprised by the decision.

It added that Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf – who presents laureates with their awards at the Stockholm prize ceremony – was evaluating whether to attend.

The glitzy event is held each year in Stockholm on December 10 when laureates in the fields of medicine, physics, chemistry, literature and economics receive their awards from the king.

A separate ceremony is held in Oslo on the same day for the Peace Prize laureate.

While the Norwegian Nobel Institute would still invite all ambassadors, the Norwegian Nobel Committee – which designates the winners of the Peace Prize – on Saturday condemned Russia’s decision to put 2021 peace prize winner Dmitry Muratov on a list authorities commonly use to stifle critics.

Russia on Friday added Muratov, the editor of independent publication Novaya Gazeta, to its list of foreign agents.

Committee chair Berit Reiss-Andersen said in a statement that Muratov had been given the award “for his efforts to promote freedom of speech and freedom of information, and independent journalism.”

“It is sad that Russian authorities are now trying to silence him. The accusations against him are politically motivated,” she added.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.
For members

POLITICS

‘Very little debate’ on consequences of Sweden’s crime and migration clampdown

Sweden’s political leaders are putting the population’s well-being at risk by moving the country in a more authoritarian direction, according to a recent report.

Published: 29 April 2024 08:56 CEST
'Very little debate' on consequences of Sweden's crime and migration clampdown

The Liberties Rule of Law report shows Sweden backsliding across more areas than any other of the 19 European Union member states monitored, fuelling concerns that the country risks breaching its international human rights obligations, the report says.

“We’ve seen this regression in other countries for a number of years, such as Poland and Hungary, but now we see it also in countries like Sweden,” says John Stauffer, legal director of the human rights organisation Civil Rights Defenders, which co-authored the Swedish section of the report.

The report, compiled by independent civil liberties groups, examines six common challenges facing European Union member states.

Sweden is shown to be regressing in five of these areas: the justice system, media environment, checks and balances, enabling framework for civil society and systemic human rights issues.

The only area where Sweden has not regressed since 2022 is in its anti-corruption framework, where there has been no movement in either a positive or negative direction.

Source: Liberties Rule of Law report

As politicians scramble to combat an escalation in gang crime, laws are being rushed through with too little consideration for basic rights, according to Civil Rights Defenders.

Stauffer cites Sweden’s new stop-and-search zones as a case in point. From April 25th, police in Sweden can temporarily declare any area a “security zone” if there is deemed to be a risk of shootings or explosive attacks stemming from gang conflicts.

Once an area has received this designation, police will be able to search people and cars in the area without any concrete suspicion.

“This is definitely a piece of legislation where we see that it’s problematic from a human rights perspective,” says Stauffer, adding that it “will result in ethnic profiling and discrimination”.

Civil Rights Defenders sought to prevent the new law and will try to challenge it in the courts once it comes into force, Stauffer tells The Local in an interview for the Sweden in Focus Extra podcast. 

He also notes that victims of racial discrimination at the hands of the Swedish authorities had very little chance of getting a fair hearing as actions by the police or judiciary are “not even covered by the Discrimination Act”.

READ ALSO: ‘Civil rights groups in Sweden can fight this government’s repressive proposals’

Stauffer also expresses concerns that an ongoing migration clampdown risks splitting Sweden into a sort of A and B team, where “the government limits access to rights based on your legal basis for being in the country”.

The report says the government’s migration policies take a “divisive ‘us vs them’ approach, which threatens to increase rather than reduce existing social inequalities and exclude certain groups from becoming part of society”.

Proposals such as the introduction of a requirement for civil servants to report undocumented migrants to the authorities would increase societal mistrust and ultimately weaken the rule of law in Sweden, the report says.

The lack of opposition to the kind of surveillance measures that might previously have sparked an outcry is a major concern, says Stauffer.

Politicians’ consistent depiction of Sweden as a country in crisis “affects the public and creates support for these harsh measures”, says Stauffer. “And there is very little talk and debate about the negative consequences.”

Hear John Stauffer from Civil Rights Defender discuss the Liberties Rule of Law report in the The Local’s Sweden in Focus Extra podcast for Membership+ subscribers.

SHOW COMMENTS