By Prof. Anders Romelsjö.
SWEDHR Vice Chairman, and member of The Indicter Editorial Board.
The Left Party Chairman Jonas Sjöstedt (at right, image above) according to the radio news, wants Sweden to protest against Turkey’s bombing of the Kurdish enclave in Afrin, Syria. It’s good, but at the same time he remains silent about the much significant warmongering presence of United States in Syria.
Sjöstedt said that the Kurdish forces defeated IS, which is not correct. It is primarily Syria’s Arab army and Russia who did so, while the United States had a rather late engagement. Added that the US concomitantly supported IS –according to BBC, Reuters, Süddeutsche Zeitung, the New York Times, etc.
DN and other Swedish newspapers remain silent about the above. I have, among other things, mailed to DN Erik Ohlsson (DN Middle East correspondent) on that matter, but he refuses to mention reports that the United States supports the terrorists. [Editor’s Note: See more on Erik Ohlsson in “Are Swedish newspapers for the free word, really?“]
But this is not the main focus of this brief column. Nor that the Kurdish forces in this area cooperate with Syria’s brutal and international law-abusers, the United States. See in Jinge.se, “Kurdish dubious (or pro-imperialist) role in Syria.”
The US is establishing an ethnic Kurdish mercenary army consisting of 30,000 people in Syria. “On Sunday, the US-led coalition said it was working with its Syrian militia allies, the mainly Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), two set up a new 30,000-strong border force. The force would operate along the borders with Turkey and Iraq, as well as within Syria along the Euphrates River, which separates most SDF territory from that held by the government” – Ron Paul.
The Left Party members I know, fortunately, do not share Jonas Sjöstedt’s view.
Jonas Sjöstedt has never really protested against the United States’s brutal transgression to international right which its intervention in Syria signifies, and or its support to terrorist forces.
Neither has Sjösted protested against the fact that some of Sweden’s aid to Syria is devised to end up with terrorists. See [Swedish] “Sveriges Syrien-bistånd går bl.a. till terrorister som orsakar flyktingvåg,”and “Så blev svenskt bistånd stöd till terror i Syrien.“
Quite at the contrary:
I heard the afternoon of 16/10 2016 Prime Minister Stefan Löfven, Minister for Education Gustav Fridolin, Left Party Jonas Sjöstedt, MEP Cecilia Wikström, Former Defense Minister Karin Enström and Jens Eriksson of the UN League, speaking at a meeting on Syria on Raoul Wallenberg Square.
Their message was almost identical, and could have been written by an official in the Obama administration or at the CIA.
* They put the blame of the brutal war in Syria on the Syrian government and Russia, and also expressed disapproval of Daesh.
* None of the speakers ever mentioned the United States; none criticism was raised on the US role in the Syrian conflict.
* Of course, the severe sanctions put in place against the people of Syria were not mentioned.
* No mention at all that Syria and Russia are fighting terrorists in Syria.
* The terrorist organization al-Nusra (Jabhat Fatah al-Sham) and its presence in Aleppo and shelling of civilians was not mentioned either.
Astonishingly, Jonas Sjöstedt was the only among the speakers who demanded a No-Fly zone in the area, which definitely would benefit IS and Al-Nusra. Furthermore, the spokesman of the association of UN supporters said that the UN should not accept the Syrian government. This, despite Syria is fighting terrorism and national independence completely in line with the UN Charter.
[Editor’s Note: The Left Party voted in the Swedish Parliament 29 March 2011 in favor of FM Carl Bildt’s bill for the military intervention of Sweden’s Air Force in the US-led Operation Unified Protector in Libya.]
And with regard to Jonas Sjöstedt warm support to warmonger Hillary Clinton’s initiative on the No-Fly Zone in Syria, we should remind that not even the Pentagon was willing to take that step for it could mean direct “war with Russia and Syria” –as declared by the Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff of U.S. military, General Joseph Dunford. See it this video uploaded by The Indicter Channel.
Of course, the Syrian war is terrible, and certainly civilians are affected – as in all wars. But the cause of the Syrian war is to be found in the planned intervention by the United States, UK, Saudi Arabia, etc. aimed to a regime change in Syria that would make possible their oil pipeline investment project.
In the picture at right, Sjöstedt talks with France’s old colonial flag flags in front of his eyes
Among the around 100 demonstrators assisting at the event, twenty-one of them were waving the old French colonial flag –from the former occupation by France– while calling for “Freedom” in Syria. What an appropriate company to Sjösted and the other Swedish speakers.
Comment: To protest against Turkey’s attack against the Kurdish is right, but easy. No one will protest about that stance. However, in that geopolitical context, it is much more important to protest against the main actors behind the cause of that war, which Jonas Sjöstedt does not. For that it could embarrass the government he supports.
And when will Jonas Sjöstedt apologize for the Left Party’s support for Sweden’s participation in NATO’s war against Libya 2011?
Talking about being opportunist.
A Swedish version of this article is found here.
See also (Swedish) Even Sweden’s leading politicians in practice support the terrorists in Eastern Aleppo
Other articles in Jinge.se on the war in Syria, here.
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On the author
Professor Emeritus, med dr Anders Romelsjö (Karolinska Institutet) is Vice Chairman of Swedish Doctors for Human Rights – SWEDHR, and Member of the Editorial Board of The Indicter Magazine.
Prof. Romelsjö is also the publisher of a top ranked Swedish political blog, Jinge.se, and also author of numerous debate articles in main Swedish media, such as DN debatt and other newspapers.
He is also in the editorial committee of FIB-Kulturfront.
Anders Romelsjö is co-author of the book (Swedish) USA som världspolis [“USA as World’s Police”].
