AMBASSADOR'S SEPTEMBER 19 MEETING WITH JUSTICE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 STOCKHOLM 001209

SIPDIS

C O R R E C T E D C O P Y (PARA 4 CLASSIFICATION CORRECTED)

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EUR/NB, L/EUR, DS/IP/EUR

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/18/2017
TAGS: KJUS PREL ASEC SW
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR'S SEPTEMBER 19 MEETING WITH JUSTICE
MINISTER ASK: CT COOPERATION, IRAQI ASYLEES MOHAMMED
CARTOONS

REF: A. STOCKHOLM 1178

B. STOCKHOLM 1140

C. STOCKHOLM 1090

D. STOCKHOLM 1061

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Classified By: Ambassador Michael Wood, reason 1.4 (b) and (d).

Summary
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1. (C) The Ambassador, accompanied by RSO and Poloff, met
September 19 with Minister of Justice Beatrice Ask. Ask said
Sweden has increased its budget for counterterrorism
activities, noted there are good prospects for passing
pending legislation on wiretapping and bugging, underscored
Sweden's large influx of Iraqi asylum seekers, and said that
the "Mohammed as a dog" issue was far from over. With regard
to the MLAT, Minister Ask stressed that Sweden is interested
in having it implemented and in force as soon as possible.
End Summary

Increasing Counter-Terrorism Resources
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2. (C) Ask said that Swedish progress on counterterrorism
efforts were a major focus of her May 2007 trip to the U.S.
She noted that during the 2006-7 budgetary cycle, the MOJ had
increased CT assets, including personnel, by 30 percent, and
had increased police assets across the board by 6 percent.
In response to the Ambassador's query regarding the 2007-8
budget proposal, Ask said this would reflect a much more
modest increase.


3. (C) Ask emphasized that Sweden sought to ensure its CT
efforts were effective, consistent with rule of law
principles, and made with a view to long-term effects. The
global war on terror, she said, would last longer than two
years.

Wiretapping
--------------

4. (C) Ask said she was cautiously optimistic that
wiretapping and "bugging" legislation, currently pending,
would pass in the Parliament now that a "Security Integrity
Board" and a parallel process for public disclosure had been
established. She said that this arrangement, which would
provide accountability and oversight to governmental
fixed-line and remote monitoring device eavesdropping, was
the best approach to deal with potential public concerns and
parliamentary opposition. Ask noted, however, that it was
certain that vocal public and legislative minorities would
still make their opposition to governmental wiretapping known.

Iraqi Immigration and Asylum
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5. (C) Ask mentioned that her Ministry is confronting the
effects of the disproportionate number of displaced Iraqi
refugees in the country, saying that 60 percent of the Iraqi
asylum applicants who come to EU countries end up in Sweden
-- an estimated 20,000 in 2007, added to a total of
approximately 100,000 now resident in Sweden. Ask said that
this was Sweden's contribution to the situation in Iraq, and
said that immigration issues would feature prominently on the
EU agenda as Sweden assumes the EU presidency in the second
half of 2009.


6. (C) Ask noted that that Iraqi immigration had been a
primary focus of the September 1-2 visit of Foreign Minister
Carl Bildt and Minister of Immigration Tobias Billstrom to
Iraq. Ask thanked the U.S. for providing security and
transport support for the visit.

Mohammed Cartoons
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7. (C) Ask called the issue of the "Mohammed as Dog" cartoons
published in a Swedish regional paper a "slowly exploding
bomb," noting that the government also had a role of
protecting freedom of speech (refs a-d). Ask said that the
artist Lars Vilks, who is now under government protection in
response to the Al Qaeda in Iraq "fatwa", was not making
things easy for Swedish police in charge of his security by
making public appearances and describing his whereabouts to
the media.

MLAT
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8. (C) Justice Minister Ask asked the Ambassador about the
status of the U.S./Sweden Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty
(MLAT). We reviewed the Swedish MLAT relation to the EU
MLAT, and the later's ratification prospects. Ask stressed
that Sweden, which has already ratified, is keen on having

STOCKHOLM 00001209 002.3 OF 002


the treaty implemented and in force as soon as possible.

Trafficking in Persons
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9. (C) Ask emphasized her interest in combating trafficking
in persons. Ask said that she hoped that the Sweden EU
Presidency would afford a chance to effect positive changes
in the poor record of human trafficking produced by
multilateral peacekeeping missions. The Ambassador noted that
First Lady Laura Bush and Queen Sylvia had found common
ground on this issue during the Swedish King and Queen's
White House visit.
WOOD