“The best thing for the security of Sweden and the Swedish people is to join in NATO“, Said recently the Prime Minister of Sweden Magdalena Anderson, as it officially confirmed Stockholm’s intention to join the world’s largest military alliance this week. Its announcement heralds the end of Sweden’s 200 years of military neutrality. And while the majority of Swedes have expressed support for the country joining NATO in the midst of the war in Ukraine, some young people took to the streets of Stockholm after the announcement of the Prime Minister and condemned the loss of military neutrality as a decision that could cause more violence in the world.
Neutrality, Swedish identity
“Joining NATO will shed more blood, because NATO is an organization of war and not an organization that works for peace. “It’s a military alliance that creates more wars and we want to keep the peace in Sweden,” Ava Ruddberg, 22, president of the Young Left Party in Sweden, who took part in the protest, told DW. Linda Ekestrem, head of the disarmament department at the Swedish Society for Peace and Arbitration, told DW that many people are angry because neutrality in military conflicts is closely linked to Swedish identity. “I think for many people, this decision is a big change, because all these years, a lot of Swedes see themselves as voices of peace around the world. “But at the moment, I think a lot of people think that the decision to join NATO is a hasty decision based on fear.” “Basically, making such a big decision in a very tense situation and largely based on fear is like going to the supermarket when you are hungry, and we all know that it is not a situation where you make good choices. “There was not enough dialogue with the two sides to legitimize such a big decision.”
According to NATO, Sweden formally declared neutrality in military conflicts under King Gustav XIV in 1834. During World War II, while allowing the country mainly German forces to cross its territory, continued to maintain a neutral stance. While Sweden played a role in Afghanistan by deploying troops to the country as part of the NATO mission until the end of May 2021, Alina Engstrρεm, a security policy analyst at the Swedish Defense Research Agency (FOI), told DW that since the 1990s country intensifies cooperation with NATO. This means that it already adheres to NATO standards. The announcement of joining the alliance now means “a small step at the military and operational level”. He added that “the benefits of abandoning neutrality have to do with the fact that Sweden can now be part of NATO’s defense planning and enjoy security guarantees. “But the disadvantage of joining the alliance is that Sweden needs to be more flexible in adapting its security policy and losing some room for maneuver in foreign and security policy.”
“We live in an unknown situation”
Lisa Nabo, 27, president of the ruling Social Democrat Youth Union, says that despite previous co-operation with NATO, the official loss of neutrality is an issue that many young Swedes are struggling with. “My generation, we are in our twenties now,” he told DW. “We do not remember a war in Europe. So this situation, in which we are now, is very unknown to us, we do not have the same history as the war, like many of our neighbors, countries that participated in World War II or As young Social Democrats, we are struggling a little with our self-image right now, because many of us started our political careers with the idea that we were a peaceful organization fighting to stop militarization. “NATO membership, but of course we respect our party’s decision, which was democratic and unanimous. Now our goal is to ensure that we can still be an important voice for world peace.” But it is not that all young Swedes There are many who believe that in the light of what is happening in Ukraine, it is the right decision and it is being made at the right time. “Martin Aberg, a young Swede living in Stockholm, told DW. “With the accession of Finland, it would be strange if we were the only Nordic country that is not a member of NATO. Then Russia may consider invading Sweden’s largest island, Gotland, as a good choice. But only Ukraine is not in NATO. “.
Lynn Sonderlands, a 29-year-old senior policy adviser from Brussels-based Sweden, reiterated the same view, adding that Sweden and Finland, members of NATO, are now fortifying the Baltic region against Russian threats. “Joining the current security situation is the right decision. We could have already joined in 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea,” he said. At the same time, Sarah Anderson Agnak, a young artist living in a small village in the northern part of the country and belonging to the indigenous ancient Saami people, is also concerned about how this decision could affect his rights. “I feel it is problematic for Sweden to join NATO, especially for me as a native in the north. I feel that there is already a land dispute in the country and I believe that NATO can see the northern part of Sweden, which is the territory of the natives, as a huge military area to carry out its exercises. “So I just see it as another form of colonization,” he told DW. “Even today we are affected by aviation activity in our fields which also affects the reindeer population. “Such activities are now certain to increase and I am afraid that this decision will affect our rights and the environment,” he added. However, the Prime Minister stressed that while joining the military alliance would ensure Sweden in Europe’s current security environment, Sweden will not accept nuclear weapons and NATO permanent bases on its territory.
“Collective security does not stop conflicts”
While the decision to join NATO and the loss of neutrality have now been finalized, Inda Jansson, a 30-year-old Swedish employee currently working in Brussels, told DW that many of her peers in Sweden want more dialogue. in national level. Understand what NATO is doing and what it means for Sweden’s new military identity. “Personally, for practical reasons, I understand why we should become a NATO member in the current circumstances. But history has taught us that collective security does not stop conflict. That is why many young people fear that the loss of neutrality in this context will not lead to a positive peace. “So we need to have regular discussions at the national level about our activities as NATO members, as we begin to accept our new military identity,” he added.
Alina Engstrμm, from the Swedish Defense Research Agency, added that Sweden, as a new member of NATO, should not give up disarmament at the same time. “As a peace organization, we have already released a list of our demands on what we think Sweden needs to do right now in order to secure some disarmament positions in the world. One of them is to have an anti-disarmament law. “These are two of the most important steps that need to be taken at the moment,” he told DW. our stance on Turkey, a NATO member, and its demands for Sweden to resume arms exports to it, to succumb to such Irene”.
DW – Sankar Priyanka / Irini Anastassopoulou
Follow Skai.gr on Google News
and be the first to know all the news
