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To: Doug R who wrote (456946)	9/11/2003 11:54:29 AM
From: Skywatcher	Respond to of 769669

Another tragic day for peace in the world and rights for the human race: Sweden Faces Its Second Political Murder By KARL RITTER Associated Press Writer September 11, 2003, 10:40 AM EDT STOCKHOLM, Sweden -- The murder of Foreign Minister Anna Lindh while shopping unguarded in a department store generated harsh criticism of Sweden's security policy for government officials. It also raised concerns in Sweden and its Nordic neighbors about the openness of their countries, where it's common to see a prime minister jogging without escorts or politicians strolling the streets with their families. Critics said Sweden's security agency, known as SAPO, should have learned more from the 1986 murder of Prime Minister Olof Palme, who was shot while walking home from a movie theater with his wife. That slaying has not been solved. Like Lindh, Palme had no bodyguard. "I am somewhat shocked that the responsible authorities haven't learned anything after Palme was murdered," said Jerzy Sarnecki, a Stockholm University criminology professor. Sweden prides itself on the accessibility of its politicians. Although security was tightened after Palme's murder, only the prime minister and the king are afforded round-the-clock protection. SAPO officials conceded that security could have been better around Lindh but stopped short of accepting blame. "There was no threat picture against Anna Lindh and that's why she didn't have any bodyguard protection," acting SAPO chief Kurt Malmstroem told Swedish radio. "It is, of course, a failure in that this has happened. The future will have to show whether there has been an erroneous judgment." Sarnecki criticized SAPO's judgment by pointing out that Lindh was a leading figure in the Social Democratic government's efforts to make Swedes adopt the euro in a referendum Sunday. "To put it mildly, how the hell can you say that there wasn't a threatening picture in a politically inflamed situation?" he said. "That's not assessment I would have made." Lindh died Thursday, a day after she was attacked while shopping with a friend inside a department store in downtown Stockholm. Police said she was stabbed in the stomach, chest and arm by a man wearing a military jacket who fled. He was still at large. "Our country is known for its openness, known to be a democratic society and the closeness is and should be great between people and elected officials," Prime Minister Goeran Persson said in announcing Lindh's death. "A tolerant society unique in its context and Anna Lindh was a good representative of all that." The murder stunned neighboring Nordic countries, where government officials called it an assault on the open government they long have espoused. "It is an attack on our open form of democracy," Norwegian Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik told Norwegian radio network NRK. "We have to be more watchful, but I feel safe. ... If we close ourselves in, we will lose some of the openness of our Nordic societies." Bondevik said his government would examine its own security and whether it was stringent enough. He said state security officials started the review after learning of Lindh's stabbing. In Finland, where government ministers often shop or jog on their own, Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen described the attack as "a major setback and shock" to the open societies which the Nordic countries have nurtured. Former Prime Minister Paavo Lipponen, accompanied only by his wife and children, was often seen pushing a baby stroller on Helsinki streets. Police, concerned about a lack of security, have called for more funds to provide guards for Finnish politicians. "For several years now, we have been closely reviewing the threats and dangers posed to our top leadership," National Police Commissioner Reijo Naulapaa said. "Generally, government ministers do not have body guards in their everyday life. Of course, in exceptional circumstances we provide them." In Denmark, there would be "a continuous evaluation of the security situation for politicians and others," Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen said. NATO Secretary-General Lord Robertson said, "Nobody can ever be a 100 percent safe from those who will use random violence. We have to let people know that in a dangerous world we can provide a certain degree of protection but we cannot pretend, by putting up barbed wire around individuals, around countries, to get that protection. CC