SUMMARY IN ENGLISH
CONTRA # 4 2009
When Sweden lost Finland
by Tommy Hansson
This year the 200th anniversary of Sweden’s loss of Finland is remembered. For 600 years Finland was an integrated part of the joint kingdom of Sweden and Finland, usually called the eastern half of the realm. After the war with Russia 1808–1809 Sweden was forced to accept the biggest loss in any peace treaty – to cede Finland to the Russian Czar. The most decisive event in the war was the loss of the fortress Sveaborg (Suomenlinna) just outside Helsingfors (Helsinki) in May 1808. After more than 100 years under Russian control Finland achieved independence in 1918.
Lithuania remembers Communism
– and its victims
by C G Holm
Countries that were liberated from the Communist yoke at the turn of the
1980s into the 1990s have now, twenty years later, established museums
and memorials commemorating the victims of communism and the liberation
movement. Contra has previously reported on Terror House in Budapest (Hungary)
and the Museum of Communism in Prague (Czechia). In this number we tell
about the KGB Museum in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, located in the
former KGB headquarters where approximately 700 people were shot during
the Communist years (the execution cell is preserved intact with bullet
holes in the wall). All janitors and guides are former inmates of the
KGB headquarters which included a major prison in the basement. We also
tell about ”Stalin World” (Grutas Parkas) close to the town
Druskininkai. Lithuanian canned mushroom millionaire Viliumas Malinauskas
bought all major Communist statues in Lithuania, moved them to ”Stalin
World” and also established an environment to show the new generation
what communism really was about. The guard tower on the cover photo is
from ”Stalin World”.
”Tea parties” – Americans protesting taxes
by Fredrik Runebert
During April Americans protested against high taxes, excessive government
expenditure, spendthrift and bail-outs. Activities were organized at more
than 300 places in all 50 states. The meetings were really a ”grass-root”
movement. Columnist Glenn Harlan Reynolds at The Wall Street Journal means
that you don’t need a large organization to organize large demonstrations,
modern communication technology is enough.
Saddam did have weapons of mass destruction
by Tommy Hansson
General Georges Sada was one of Saddam Hussein’s most highly ranked generals and one of the most influential military advisors of his regime. He was also frank and a Presbyterian Christian. In his book Saddam's Secrets general Sada gives an open pictuyre of the weapons of mass destruction that Saddam really possessed, on Saddams plöans for an attack on Israel and his plans to conquer the Arab world.
Converts from islam are threatened with capital punishment
by C G Holm
Muhammad met three other beliefs: Christianity, judaism and paganism.
He immediately condemned paganism, but initially showed respect both for
Christianity and Judaism. He called these two groups of belivers for the
”people of the book”. Contrary to the pagans they had holy
scriptures that interpreted the contents of their belief. Muhammad himself
absorbed important elements of Christianity and Judaism and thought that
he himself developed and even fulfilled these religions. Thus he accepted
Adam, Abraham, Moses and Jesus as prophets. But the last and greatest
prophet was Muhammad himself. Muhammad accepted people with Christian
and Jewish beliefs, but the never accepted that moslems converted to these
religions. The only answer was capital punishment and that is still the
sharia law, in principle still valid in many moslem courntries.
Patient movability in Europe
by Fredrik Runebert
The question where Swedish political parties had most difference in their views on politics in the June European Parliament election was the question of the rights of patients to get medical treatment abroad (at the expense of the public health insurance) if treatment is not available in the home country in a reasonable time.
