Religious Freedom in Sweden
Times were tough for catholics in Sweden for a long time after the reformation. Contra publisher Tommy Hansson has studied the archives and describes the background of the execution of the mayor of his home town Södertälje, Zacharias Anthelius, in 1624. The mayor was beheaded for Catholic inclinations.
What happens in Israel?
Contra correspondent Joakim Förars discusses the development towards the background that the Likud party on January 15th this year decided to give in on its previous efforts to create a strong Israel. In spite of all the violations of the agreement between PLO and Israel the Likud government decided – as opposed to traditional Israeli stubornness – to continue discussions with the Arafat government. This shows weakness, which definitely will be a new kind of threat to Israel.
The case Holm vs Sweden
Holm vs Sweden. On the case in the European Court of Human Rights where Contra editor C G Holm won a decisive victory in 1993. Since then, the Swedish government is asked by the European Council of Ministers of Justice every six months what they have done in order to change the legislation, so that the whereabouts of the Holm case will not be repeated in the future. The answer has this far been that the matter is considered by the government combined with a request for postponement of measures. If the Swedish Press Law (a part of the constitution) shall be changed this cannot take place until 1999 – or possibly 2003 if the government does not present a bill before February 1998.
Per Ahlmark attacks socialism and the late Olof Palme
Former deputy Prime Minster Per Ahlmark has written a most important book on democracy and socialism. It is a very eloquent attack against the late Prime Minister Olof Palme, stating that no decent democrat should keep quiet about the undemocratic leanings of Mr Palme. Mr Ahlmark also discusses two important facts from US political research: 1) Democratic governments have never started war against each other 2) Communist dicatorships have, during this century, caused more deaths in peacetime, than all wars (communist or non-communist) combined! Mr Ahlmarks refers to the research of Professor Rudolph J Rummel, now living in Hawaii.
Anatoly Sharansky – hero of the cold war
Heroes of the Cold War. This time Anatoly Sharansky, the Ukrainian Refusenik who was exchanged for Soviet spies, emigrated to Israel and now is Minister of Industry and Trade. Sharansky was one the leading Jewish dissidents, and one of the founders of the movement for emigration to Israel in the 1970s.
Will Idi Amin get back to power in Uganda?
Luis M. Antunes has visited Uganda. In Uganda four rebel movements wage military campaigns to topple the Museweni government. One of the best organized of these movements is the West Nile Bank Front, fighting to establish a fundamentalist moslem government in Uganda (which to a large extent is a Christian nation). In the background of this movement you find the former Ugandan dictator Idi Amin, now living in exile in Saudi Arabia (after having spent his first years in exile in Libya)
When KGB controlled the Estonian Lutheran Church
The editor of Eesti Päevaleht (the Estonian Daily, published in Estonian in Stockholm since 1945) Ülo Ignats reports on a new book based on KGB documents. The documents reveal that the Estonian Lutheran Church was completely controlled by Soviet agents for most of the time Estonia was occupied by the Soviet Union (1944-1991). At a conference arranged by the Estonian Lutheran Church in Tallinn in 1949 32 of 44 delegates were agents of the KGB! Unfortunately the documents, which are published in Estonian in a new book by Indrek Jürjo, does only cover the earlier part of the Soviet occupation. Most of the documents covering the last years of the occupation were destroyed by retreating communists or transported to the KGB in Russia before Estonian independence in 1991.
Olympic Games without taxpayers subsidies
Contra correspondent in Sydney, Ron Westin, reports on the preparations for the Olympic Games of the year 2000. These are the games that will cost the taxpayers nothing, as all the operations are financed and managed by private enterprise.