Fredrik Reinfeldt, Norrmalmstorg, 15/08/2011
Norrmalmstorg is the name of a square in central Stockholm. In the early 1990s it was the site of popular gatherings in support of independence for the three Baltic States (then under Soviet rule). These demonstrations occurred every Monday at 12 o'clock. A total of 79 such events took place between 19 March 1990 and 16 September 1991.
Two decades later - at 12 o'clock on Monday 15 August 2011 - the Swedish Prime Minister plus his counterparts from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania returned to the square to mark the twentieth anniversary of these so-called "Monday meetings" (måndagsmöten). They, plus other dignitaries and a large crowd of onlookers were invited to "go back in time". Twenty-year-old recordings of Swedish radio reports were broadcast on loudspeakers before Fredrik Reinfeldt was invited to address the gathering. In his speech he rightly celebrated Sweden's role in bringing about and helping to sustain the two decades of freedom and independence enjoyed by the Baltic States. Yet Sweden's current Prime Minister also noted that popular support for Baltic independence was not always shared by the political establishment in Sweden. Reinfeldt illustrated this point by raising aloft a copy of the history book that he used as a schoolboy in the 1980s. He drew attention to the fact that the Baltic States were rarely mentioned and that their fate after the Second World War was completely absent from the text book.
The Swedish Prime Minister's speech and the anniversary gathering as a whole is therefore an excellent illustration of how events of the past are forgotten and remembered in school classrooms and in public squares. Similarly, the role of anniversaries and the importance of place are underscored by this return to Norrmalmstorg twenty years on.
Two decades later - at 12 o'clock on Monday 15 August 2011 - the Swedish Prime Minister plus his counterparts from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania returned to the square to mark the twentieth anniversary of these so-called "Monday meetings" (måndagsmöten). They, plus other dignitaries and a large crowd of onlookers were invited to "go back in time". Twenty-year-old recordings of Swedish radio reports were broadcast on loudspeakers before Fredrik Reinfeldt was invited to address the gathering. In his speech he rightly celebrated Sweden's role in bringing about and helping to sustain the two decades of freedom and independence enjoyed by the Baltic States. Yet Sweden's current Prime Minister also noted that popular support for Baltic independence was not always shared by the political establishment in Sweden. Reinfeldt illustrated this point by raising aloft a copy of the history book that he used as a schoolboy in the 1980s. He drew attention to the fact that the Baltic States were rarely mentioned and that their fate after the Second World War was completely absent from the text book.
The Swedish Prime Minister's speech and the anniversary gathering as a whole is therefore an excellent illustration of how events of the past are forgotten and remembered in school classrooms and in public squares. Similarly, the role of anniversaries and the importance of place are underscored by this return to Norrmalmstorg twenty years on.
The poet Arkadijus Vinokur (left) & pupils from Estniska skolan i Stockholm
Speech given by the Swedish Prime Minister, Fredrik Reinfeldt in Norrmalmstorg, Stockholm shortly after 12 o'clock on Monday 15th August 2011 (in Swedish, mp3, 09:18).
Speech given by the Latvian Prime Minister, Valdis Dombrovskis (in English, mp3, 03:54).
Speech given by the Lithuanian Prime Minister, Andrius Kubilius (in English, mp3, 03:12).
Speech given by the Estonian Prime Minister, Andrus Ansip (in Swedish, mp3, 03:45).
