I et indlæg på Nordiska Afrikainstitutets debatforum kritiserer den fungerende svenske ambassadør i Angola, Sten Rylander, at den svenske regering har besluttet at nedlægge ambassaden. Vi bringer et resume af hans indlæg og under artiklen et link til hele indlægget.
Angola’s economy has developed enormously during the 10 years that have passed since peaceful conditions could be established after the ending of the civil war. Angola is endowed with vast natural resources, including oil, diamonds and other valuable minerals. Economic partners and foreign investors are streaming into the country. Angola and Luanda is today a dynamic Klondike for those who see possibilities and opportunities for the future. Even politically Angola is slowly but surely changing into a big power in Africa with a growing influence on all regional issues and contexts.
In this interesting situation the staggering blow is coming: the Swedish Embassy is to be closed down! I and so many with me cannot believe that it is true. The saving effect when it comes to Angola is the least among the five missions that are involved in the closing down decision; and for all practical purposes negligible in the perspective of the future gains that a continued active Swedish presence would bring about.
What is worrying in a broader Africa perspective is the fact that many of us who are working for Sweden on this continent are increasingly confronting critical questions – particularly from many Africans – about what happened with our strong engagement and our African solidarity. Angola is not an isolated case. Also other missions have been closed down including in Botswana and Namibia. We are many who would like to fight for a continued Swedish presence in Luanda and for a continued strong and active Swedish Africa policy.
