www.BoycottSweden.com

Sixty-five years ago, Sweden professed to owning the high moral ground by claiming “neutrality” during World War II, while secretly selling iron ore to the Nazis. Aiding and abetting the Nazi war machine cost countless British and American lives. Just how many is hard to determine. Sweden’s “neutrality” saw nothing improper with allowing Nazi troop reinforcements to travel from Germany across Sweden to Norway, to reinforce Adolph Hitler’s puppet in Oslo, Mr Vidkun Quisling

Its high mindedness allowed free reign to a eugenics program that authorised sterilisations of “undesirables”, which began in 1935 and continued long after the war, persisting until an agency that called itself chillingly the National Institute for Racial Hygiene was disbanded in 1976.

Breathtaking isn’t it? In post war decades when social democratic Sweden considered itself a citadel of enlightenment and a tower of tolerance, the country was silently pursuing principles of racial purity that would make Adolf blush. During those 41 years, at least 60,000 Swedes were sterilised as misfits who did not meet the ideal of the blond, blue-eyed, intelligent Aryan.

Svensk hypocrisy continued to march forward. Only two years ago, on February 10, 2006 the Swedish government shut down a website after it had published Mohammed cartoons. Has Stockholm ever shut down a website that offended Christians? I don’t think so. In fact, I know they haven’t.

And then in early March, Sweden’s Minister for Agriculture, Eskil Erlandsson sparked the latest outrage, urging European consumers to boycott Australian wool.

Given the looming economic catastrophe that a ban on Australian wool could have on our rural exports, is there anything we ordinary non-farming citizens can do?

As luck would have it, there are quite a few things we can do.

First, the New South Wales government should immediately cancel a $250 million order from Volvo for environmentally friendly EURO 5 buses. Mercedes makes similar buses and I’m sure that Berlin would be grateful for the added business.

Second, the Swedish Australian Chamber of Commerce has organised a weekend in Canberra, with Ambassador, Karin Ehnbom Palmquist in attendance. The aim of the weekend of (May 25-26) is to visit Parliament and to meet Members. Perhaps Prime Minister Kevin Rudd will lead by example and forbid any member of his government from meeting with the boycotters. Ditto Mr Nelson.

Third, every one of us can send Stockholm a message. Note the names of the following two firms that have won prestigious awards from the Swedish Trade Council / Swedish-Australian Chamber of Commerce, on 19 December 2007:

Assa Abloy was praised for long term success in Australia. You may not have heard of their name, but I bet you’ve heard of a lock maker called Lockwood. Guess who owns Lockwood?

Carpe Diem PR & Events, a public relations firm, won for best newcomer to the Australian market. (I wonder just how comfortable the Business Council of Australia and the ACT Government are, being or having been, clients of Carpe Diem?)