Stuart Burch
www.stuartburch.com
  • 01 Home
  • 02 Articles
  • 03 Blog
  • 04 Big Ben
  • 05 Reviews
  • 06 Talks
  • 07 Contact
  • 08 Search
  • 09 Twitter
  • 10 Etisarap

17248: A Swedish weapon in Burma

11/12/2012

 
17248 - the serial number on the Saab weapon in Burma
“Swedish weapons with Burma’s army”. So reads a two-page article in today’s issue of the newspaper, Svenska Dagbladet.(1)

Alongside the text are photographs indicating that the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) has come under attack from Burmese soldiers armed with Saab AB’s Carl Gustav 84mm Recoilless Rifle (“The best multi-purpose weapon there is”). We know this because at least one such armament plus ammunition were left behind when the state’s forces were driven into a retreat by their KIA opponents.

A serial number – 17248 – is clearly visible on the weapon pictured in Svenska Dagbladet. This should make it simple for Saab AB to confirm whether it was exported directly to Burma (in contravention of the 1996 EU export embargo) or, as is far more likely, that the arms found their way to Myanmar via one of Saab AB’s official customers (probably India or Thailand).

This mishap should come as no surprise given the sheer quantity of Swedish-made arms that are being exported all over the world. However, what makes this particular incident noteworthy is the manner in which Svenska Dagbladet reported the news. At the very same time that it broke the story, the newspaper’s editors allowed a 32-page advertising feature to be inserted into that day’s paper. Entitled, Rikets säkerhet (The Nation’s Security), it is produced by MDG Magazines and edited by Christer Fälldin. In his introductory message Fälldin informs Svenska Dagbladet’s readers that this addition to their daily paper tackles what he considers to be one of the most significant political challenges facing Sweden, namely defence. Fälldin has therefore sought to use the inaugural issue of Rikets säkerhet to address “many of the security and defence issues” that are current today. Alas, one such issue that is missing from this “newspaper” (sic) is any discussion of the legal or moral dimensions of the arms industry and the responsibilities that Sweden has as a world-leading exporter of military equipment.

The fact that the first issue of Rikets säkerhet was allowed to subsume Svenska Dagbladet’s report into the inherent risks involved in exporting arms is highly revealing. It exposes the extensive lobbying campaigns undertaken by powerful groups and individuals with vested interests in normalising and enhancing Sweden’s weapons industry. Rikets säkerhet represents a sophisticated attempt to scare the Swedish people by confronting them with amorphous threats and worries about the future. These dire warnings appear alongside advertisements from all manner of military-related organisations. They are in turn interspersed with associated “news” stories. This pseudo journalism is a thinly veiled attempt to convince Sweden’s political elite to continue to invest ever increasing sums in defence procurement and development.

All this is a far cry from the Nobel-prize and IKEA-meatball image of Sweden so adored by the international media. Beneath an oh-so-sweet Nordic façade there festers a far from savoury side to Sweden. Just ask the people of northern Burma.

___
Note

(1) Bertil Lintner, “Svenska vapen hos Burmas armé”, Svenska Dagbladet, 11 December 2012, pp. 20-21.


Comments are closed.
    Author
    an extinct parasite
    of several hosts
    Why parasite?

    Try the best you can

    Para, jämsides med.
    En annan sort.
    Dénis Lindbohm,
    Bevingaren, 1980: 90

    Picture
    Even a parasite like me should be permitted to feed at the banquet of knowledge

    I once posted comments as Bevingaren at guardian.co.uk

    Guggenheim New York, parasitized

    Archives

    July 2019
    July 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    July 2017
    June 2017
    March 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    August 2015
    September 2014
    August 2014
    November 2013
    August 2013
    June 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011

    Categories

    All
    Architecture
    Archive
    Art
    Commemoration
    Dénis Lindbohm
    Dennis Potter
    Design
    Dylan Thomas
    Ethics
    Framing
    Freedom Of Speech
    Heritage
    Heroes And Villains
    History
    Illicit Trade
    Landscape
    Media
    Memorial
    Museum
    Music
    Nordic
    Para
    Politics
    Rupert Murdoch
    Science
    Science Fiction
    Shockmolt
    Statue
    Tourism
    Words

    Stuart Burch
    View my profile on LinkedIn
    _
    Note    All parasitoids are parasites, but not all parasites are parasitoids
    Parasitoid    "A parasite that always ultimately destroys its host" (Oxford English Dictionary)


        I live off you
        And you live off me
        And the whole world
        Lives off everybody

        See we gotta be exploited
        By somebody, by somebody,             by somebody
       
        X-Ray Spex
            <I live off you>
        Germ Free Adolescents
            1978  

    From symbiosis
    to parasitism
    is a short step.
    The word is
    now a virus.
    William Burroughs, The word is now a virus
    William Burroughs
    <operation rewrite>

    Do nothing
    that can
    harm
    your host!

    Hal Clement
    <
    Needle>
    1950
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.