Although not a member of NATO, Sweden has participated in NATO’s mission in Libya, and with the extension of the mission by three months announced on June 1 by Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Sweden was also asked to continue and expand its military participation.
So far, Sweden has contributed about 130 people to the mission, along with eight Gripen airplanes and one Hercules airplane, for reconnaissance and aerial refueling. But now, NATO wants the Swedish force to also take on other tasks, such as attacking targets on the ground and sending troops for boarding ships.
Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt told Swedish Radio (SR) that attacking targets on the ground with Swedish planes is not on the table. He is also conducting talks with parties in the Swedish Parliament that supported the original mission in Libya. A new agreement must be reached before June 22, when the current mandate expires.
Since the conservative coalition government does not hold a majority of the seats in the Swedish Parliament, they must seek support from at least one other party. The second largest party, the Social Democrats, has recently stated that they do not support an extension of the Swedish participation in the mission, at least not in its current form.
Although all parties in the Swedish Parliament support the uprising in Libya, military collaboration with NATO is always a sensitive and controversial issue that normally sees the Swedish Parliament divided.
“We want to see a broader mission, involving humanitarian aid, involving the time after Moammar Gadhafi’s fall,” Social Democrat spokesperson Urban Ahlin told SR.
Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt, who is well known for speaking his mind on the Internet, wrote in a May 31 blog post, that Sweden needs to decide “if we are ready to continue our contribution, in one form or another, to the current efforts to support UN resolution no. 1973.”
So far, Sweden has contributed about 130 people to the mission, along with eight Gripen airplanes and one Hercules airplane, for reconnaissance and aerial refueling. But now, NATO wants the Swedish force to also take on other tasks, such as attacking targets on the ground and sending troops for boarding ships.
Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt told Swedish Radio (SR) that attacking targets on the ground with Swedish planes is not on the table. He is also conducting talks with parties in the Swedish Parliament that supported the original mission in Libya. A new agreement must be reached before June 22, when the current mandate expires.
Since the conservative coalition government does not hold a majority of the seats in the Swedish Parliament, they must seek support from at least one other party. The second largest party, the Social Democrats, has recently stated that they do not support an extension of the Swedish participation in the mission, at least not in its current form.
Although all parties in the Swedish Parliament support the uprising in Libya, military collaboration with NATO is always a sensitive and controversial issue that normally sees the Swedish Parliament divided.
“We want to see a broader mission, involving humanitarian aid, involving the time after Moammar Gadhafi’s fall,” Social Democrat spokesperson Urban Ahlin told SR.
Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt, who is well known for speaking his mind on the Internet, wrote in a May 31 blog post, that Sweden needs to decide “if we are ready to continue our contribution, in one form or another, to the current efforts to support UN resolution no. 1973.”
