Who should decide what is damaging to the Swedish relationship with other states or intergovernmental organisations? Should this be a court, or is it the government? Or researchers in related fields, like the social sciences, history or ethnology? Should it matter at all what someone considers damaging for it to be discussed publicly? Since 1,5 years, this is a very important question in Sweden.

Can something that might seem damaging now, like a theme that might upset a certain government, actually be good for the relationship in the long run?

In the end of 2022, shortly after the beginning of the Swedish NATO ratification process, the Swedish parliament decided upon a new law, prohibiting the release of information which might damage relationships between our country and other states or intergovernmental organisations. The outcry amongst journalists of mayor news outlets was enormous. The list of very important revelations by the media that could not have been made under this law is long – https://www.dn.se/…/har-ar-journalistiken-som-hotas-av…/

The parliament passed the law in spite of the outcry. We have thus become a clearly less democratic country. I now plan to write them a very serious, well researched letter concerning this law, including the questions above and voicing my sincere concerns about the ramifications of their decision.

In February I made an activist performance, on my own in the middle of the night, but I documented it and will attach it to my letter. I did it under a concept that I’m working with right now, Occupy the Present. I have coined this phrase, it is free to use it but you have to refer to me in a suitable manner. I have chosen to act like this, since the concept is much about rights in various forms. I plan to make several Occupy the Present performances, as well as other art projects, with humor but a very serious note.

Would you like to contribute with a thought or a question to the letter? Let me know through commenting below or send me a mail to susan@florries.net

Something that I will add a very stern and eloquent paragraf about, is what I wrote jokingly about during the performance in a note which I placed in front of the entrance to the parliament in Stockholm (see photos below, I removed it afterwards). This is that I believe that the whole thing is not only about the issues/questions mentioned above, but also about the image of our country, our logo so to say. Are we becoming something else than a country? If we stop being a democracy, which will happen without a vivid, reality based debate, that might be the case.