07/02/14 07/02/14 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] >> from visby, sweden, this is democracy now! this is like a democratic workshop for a week in sweden where every party is here and also in organizations and companies are here. we have the opportunity to discuss all the different topics on the political table. >> it is almedalen week here in sweden. over 25,000 people are gathering here on the island of gotland for a massive open-air democracy festival.

while sweden is the birthplace of for nobel, founder of the nobel peace prize, many don't realize sweden also is one of the world's largest arms exporters. we will speak with an activist jailed three times for breaking into arms plants. and we will speak to sweden's new archbishop. she has called for climate change, the biggest common challenge ever faced by humanity. she's also the first female archbishop. all of that and more coming up. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. we are broadcasting from visby, sweden. israel is threatening new attacks on the occupied territories following the israeli teenage settlers. thousands of israelis attended the victims funeral on tuesday, one day after their bodies were found of the west bank town of hebron. speaking after the service, the

israeli defense minister vowed to exact revenge on hamas. against hamason has not ended. it will continue. we will continue to act against hamas to strike its people at every opportunity and everyplace the organization will pay a heavy price for his actions. >> israel has blamed hamas for the teens murders without providing evidence. hamas has denied involvement. on tuesday, willdan group -- a little known group called supporters of the islamic state in responsibility and threatened to attack the palestinian authority. the israelis funeral came as palestinians held a funeral for a palestinian teenager killed in an israeli raid on the town of jenin. another palestinian teen was killed tuesday near jerusalem in an apparent revenge attack by israeli settlers. clashes erupt in east jerusalem earlier today with israeli forces firing rubber coated bullets on palestinians,

injuring up to 30 people. nearly 50 israelis were also detained tuesday at right wing protest with demonstrators chanting "death to the arabs." the israeli government meanwhile has revived the practice of punitive home demolitions, razing the homes of two suspects. this follows a massive raid on the west bank and airstrikes on gaza that have killed around 12 palestinians over the past two weeks. in a statement, amnesty international urged israel to halt its crackdown, saying -- next week will mark the 10th anniversary of the international court of justice advisory ruling that said israel's separation wall and settlements in the occupied west bank are illegal. iraq you lawmakers have broken off talks to form a new ofernment on the opening day

negotiations. sunnis, shiites, and kurds all of our pushing different candidates for the post of prime minister, speaker of the parliament, and president. this comes as new violence in iraq has killed dozens, including 25 today in clashes between shiite and police in the city of karbala. on tuesday, the united nations confirmed june was iraq's deadliest month since 2008 with over 20 400 killed. a spokesperson for the you and human rights office spoke in geneva. >> in june, total of at least 1531 civilians were killed. the last time such a high number was killed was in 2007, and a simple month. an additional 886 members of the iraqi security forces were killed. inther 1763 were injured june. her consistently receiving reports of civilians been targeted, kidnapped, harassed and killed by isil forces and

indiscriminate shelling of civilian areas. we've also received reports that isil forces have been going try to-door in mosul, forcibly recruit men to fight against isi has. >> at least eight people have been killed and 13 wounded in a suicide attack in the afghan capital of kabul. the attack targeted a bus carrying afghan military personnel. right-wing activists have blocked a caravan of buses caring undocumented immigrants to a detention center in california. been flown inad to san diego from an overcrowded detention center in texas. but the activists stood in the path of the buses as they tried to bring the migrants to the southern california border patrol station. >> to me, obama uses them as pawns for votes. i do not agree with that. he is doing this on

purpose. he wants to flood our country migrants, not just hispanics, but also letting muslims, across the border. they are finding korans on the ground. he is not closing our borders for reason, and is orders need to be closed. a the buses were rerouted to different federal facility. initial solidarity with the detained migrants, the mexican-american singer lupillo rivera took are in a counterrally against the anti-immigrant protest. badlosing the borders is because the latinos are not the only illegal people. the chinese, the americans from the africans, the canadians, europeans -- there are all sorts of illegal people. we are all illegal. the only legal people of the native americans because this is their country and foreigners came here to steal it from them. >> obama administration has asked congress for fast-track authority and additional funding to speed up the deportation of children fleeing violence and

poverty in central america. on tuesday, secretary of state john kerry that with leaders and honduras, el salvador, guatemala, the home countries for most of the children who have tried to enter the united states. john kerry said the u.s. will help tackle the causes of the immigration crisis member renewed vows to continue the deportations. process.is a there is false information that is being spread about benefits that might be available to these young people who are looking for that better life. we need to work together to indicate to our people, -- to communicate to our people, to try to apply the law and most importantly, to work with each of these countries to address the fundamental underlying causes of this particular challenge. >> a u.s. appeals court has ruled in favor of the family of

a fake 15 -- of a 15-year-old shot dead by u.s. border patrol agent. according to the families complaint, sergio adrian hernandez was playing with his friends on the mexican side of the border when an agent detained one of the friends, causing hernandez to retreat beneath a bridge. agent, jesus mesa, fired into mexico, hitting hernandez in the face and killing him. the obama administration argued u.s. constitution did not protect hernandez because the teen was outside the united states. but what was reportedly the first ruling of its kind, the fifth circuit court of appeals disagreed, allowing the family to move forward with their lawsuit against the agent. the ruling could impact at least some of the six other cases where u.s. agents have killed mexican citizens by shooting across the border. kentucky has become the latest date to see its same-sex marriage ban ruled illegal. on tuesday, federal judge ordered kentucky to adopt marriage equality and recognize

same-sex marriages performed out of state. the ruling has been put on hold pending appeals. president obama is urging congress to take action on a budget crisis facing the highway trust fund, which is used to finance transportation and infrastructure projects nationwide. the fund is expected to go broke by the end of the summer, threatening thousands of projects and over 700,000 jobs. obama urged lawmakers to make infrastructure a priority, and criticized republicans for threatening to sue him over his use of executive action. >> it's not crazy. it's not socialism. [laughter] it's not the imperial presidency. no laws are broken. we're just open roads and bridges like we been doing for the last, i don't know, 50, 100 years. middle-class families cannot wait for those in congress to do

stuff. so i'm a sue me. as long as they're doing nothing, i'm not going to apologize for trying to do something. it's a new york city police officer in prison for plotting to kidnap and cannibalize women has had his conviction overturned. gilberto valle became known as the cannibal cob after it emerged hit openly fantasized about eating women in online posts and hid searched recipes for cooking humane flesh and for making home decor from to subdue victims. on tuesday, a district judge ruled his post mounted a fantasy role-playing not an actual crime. he made a brief statement. >> i would like to make a very brief statement. i want to take this opportunity to apologize to everyone who has been hurt, shocked, and offended by my infantile actions. >> the judge in the case upheld the lessor charge of improperly accessing a police database to find potential victims, but he

carries a term shorter than the 18 months gilberto valle spent behind bars. 'sx los angeles sheriff' department officials have reportedly been found guilty of obstructing a federal probe into the abuse of prisoners and misconduct a county jails. more than a dozen officers were indicted last year following a multiyear investigation. the charges carry maximum into the 15 years. possiblyof thousands, hundreds of thousands, rallied in hong kong on tuesday in a fromfor democracy free chinese control. pro-democracy activists had been organizing for local elections, prompting china to declare it had ultimate authority over the city state. more than 500 people were arrested. it was hong kong's largest protest in a decade. and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. we are broadcasting from the swedish city of visby on the island of gotland, located about 60 miles off the southeastern

coast of sweden in the baltic sea. we are in the middle of an event called almedalen week. it is a week long political festival, perhaps unlike any other in the world. over 25,000 people are gathering here on sweden's largest island to hear political speeches and take part in seminars. political party is represented here from the social democrats to the greens to the initiative party. hundreds of political organizations are also here for this huge open-air democracy festival. atbegin today's show looking sweden's place in the world. we begin with ryan palmer. he teaches at sweden's oldest university founded in 1477. he is the co-author of a new book published in sweden titled, "101 historical heroes." brian, we welcome you to democracy now! explain what is happening. >> this is a unique festival.

28,000 people from all parts of the political spectrum here to debate the future of the society, to debate her national questions. there's no entrance fee. anyone can show up. a festival that other countries are trying to copy in various ways in norway and denmark, even in south korea. >> we don't have anything like it in the u.s. we have conventions, democrat and republican, maybe green, but they're usually warring with each other. >> we don't have gatherings that bring together people from left and right, but are open to everyone. >> the elections will be taking place in september. can you talk about the significance? are we going to see a change of party here? and for those who don't know the political landscape outside sweden? >> today we have a right of center coalition that we will probably see replaced by more progressive coalition.

in the european union, the european parliament elections in may, sweden was the first country in europe ever to send a militant feminist party to the parliament. and one question is, whether that party will come into the national parliament in september. we also see a very strong green movement. of the second-largest party in european election, which may prestige success for them in september. >> there was a rally here against immigrants, explain. >> with a very small number of hundredants, several anti-racists protested. one can say sweden, like every european country, has a right-wing populist party with an anti-immigrant focus. but sweden also has the strongest antiracist movements

in the world. a recent study in march by the european commission found that added -- attitude toward immigrants were more positive in sweden than any other european country. >> sweetness allowing anyone from syria to come here and get political asylum. >> that's right. but it is the only industrialized country to take that stance. even germany, which has been generous to syrian immigrants does not have such a broad welcome and it was recently that pope francis spoke of sweden's policy and said sweden was doing what every nation in the world ought to be doing, opening its doors to people fleeing war and carnage. >> people talk about sweden as a social democracy, but it is also become a laboratory of privatization. can you explain? >> the current right of center government has pushed privatization in areas like

railroads, where competing train companies use the same tracks. "train"he swedish word chaos in recent years as there have been collisions, d railings, massive disruptions in the training system partly due to that privatization. privatizationad or private alternatives in schools that have led to situations where schools have closed in the middle of the school year because the capitalists who own them have pulled out their money. what we have seen, in other words, is a failed experiment in privatization, in many ways, that has become a central issue for the election in september. talks brian palmer, and you explain sweden's relationship with nato? >> 60% of swedes and polls said

they do not want sweden to become a member of nato. nonetheless, the swedish military does exercises together with nato every year in the forests of northern sweden. sweden since troops to afghanistan and elsewhere. we are a de facto member of sweden against the wishes of most of the population. >> in your book, you name some heroes in sweden. can you tell the global audience who they are? >> people like the united nations secretary-general who dared to stand up to the united states, but also to the chinese, the russians, whose killed in the conflict in the congo. referencing the swedish tradition of diplomacy and peacemaking that today makes sweden the largest supplier of volunteers in the occupied territories of palestine where

young people go to the nonviolent witnesses, and thereby, try to lessen the level of violence from the israeli soldiers. >> we will leave it there. we have a lot of people to speak to. thank you so much to our guest, brian palmer, social anthropologist who teaches at uppsala university in sweden. author of a book on 101 people who have risked their lives for peace, justice, and human rights, which has an english version coming. when we come back, we will be speaking to the archbishop of sweden, the first female archbishop of sweden. her issue -- climate change. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

>> we are broadcasting from visby, sweden. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. the name visby comes from the old norse meaning place of sacrifices. we're in the middle of an event called almedalen week -- a week long political festival or haps like any other in the world. one of the major issues at this year's festival has been climate change and sweden's role in addressing the crisis. in may, the bishops of the church of sweden issued a joint statement saying --

sweden's new archbishop, antje jackelen, is among those calling for scientists, politicians, cultural icons, and religious leaders to work in concert to address the issue. for more, we're joined by archbishop antje jackelen. she made history last month, becoming sweden's first ever female archbishop. about 71% of sweden's population of 9 million belong to the church of sweden. archbishop antje jackelen, welcome to democracy now! congratulations on your new position. it has taken a very long time to get a woman in your position as archbishop. >> 850 years. >> what do you think accounts for you being chosen? >> well, it is a development. we have female priest in 1960 and female bishops in 1992.

it has accelerated. >> what does it mean to be a female archbishop? do you feel a special responsibility? >> in a sense, yes. it is still working the way women in leadership positions are expected to perform extremely well, but on the other hand, i feel huge support. there's so much joy in sweden and the church and even outside the church, on this development. >> why have you made climate change her number one issue? you're holding in your hand a bishop's letter about the climate. i was on swedish radio and they said, why do you think we in sweden care about climate change? we might be least affected by it. so why are you most concerned by it? >> as a church, we are part of a global movement. we have relationships with people -- christian people and

people of other faiths in other parts of the world who are already affected and ask the questions of justice. it is at the heart of the christian church. it is a question of climate justice as well. just one reason why we do this. the other reason is that, it is not just an issue you can solve with technology and science. of course we need that. it is not just an issue about economy, although we need a lot of development in the economy. it is also an issue of what do we believe? what can we hope for? what is the role of the human being in the world? we should address it as people of faith. we should ask the question, what really is realistic to hope for? >> i saw something amazing this morning. it was politicians here in visby questioning heads of business regulationsind of

they want to see around climate, around conservation. i mean, in the united states, mrs. haterians -- is lobby politicians. politicians are asking businesses how they want to be regulated. sweden has been ahead, compared to the united states, and try to mobilize all the good forces in society to work for this purpose. what we haven't done is we have taken into it the existential and religious questions and draw socialistcapitalist speak. >> what is being done in sweden? how are you addressing the issue of climate change? >> first, what do we really know? what are we not certain about? how to go about this uncertainty? we also ask the question, what got us into this? so as a church, we have 2000

years of history which allows us to look at the big changes and it tohat has contribute where we are today, and if you know your history, then you can also move into the future. we also asked -- address the question of existential anxiety, and how you speak to young people and children about this when they're anxious about climate. >> how do you? >> the first thing you do is talk about it. children who get to talk about this with their parents and other adults actually fare better. they're better informed and have to manage the anxiety and mobilize action to happen. we also address what it means for person of faith to address these questions. we end up with putting a number of challenges before ourselves,

before society at large, businesslike, corporate life, conventionyuan, member for global church and religious leaders and so on. >> and what do you say as a role model, if you see sweden as a role model, are the most important measures sweden has already taken around climate change? >> we're thinking about capping the emissions, of course, and divestment from the fossil fuel industry, and encouraging alternative ways of handling energy. and again and again, also addressing the questions of justice and also gender equality. because we know women are often those who contribute the least emissions but often are the ones who have to carry the heaviest burden. >> i want to ask you on another issue, the issue of

islamophobia. you have been very outspoken against islamophobia. you are a fan of twitter. those also a target of want or who express hate toward people of the muslim faith. >> well, again, what we can do is try to be as clear as possible and try to give the complexity -- i mean, what these people do, they have a black-and-white view of the world. energetic about saying no. there so much complexity. let us address the complexity of these issues and never compromise the issue of human dignity. >> finally, what do you say to u.s. politicians? there's a major debate in the u.s. whether climate change is induced by human beings. can you talk about how you

address this issue? >> well, yes. what we see is things are happening, and we know -- most people in the united states have insurance on their homes, don't they? the risk your home is burning is actually not very high, yet you get your insurance. so if you take this a measure of risk about the climate, it is much higher, and some people say, oh, i don't care. so that is not very consistent behavior. cautious, doless get going on addressing these issues. >> i want to thank you very much for being with us. the archbishop of sweden, antje us, the, has been with first female archbishop of the church. she was elected in 2013 as sweden's first female archbishop. this is democracy now! democracynow.org the war and

peace report. we are broadcasting from almedalen week, a major open-air democracy festival. in the u.s., it would be all the conventions together. we are going to take a break and when we come back, we will be joined by a young man who has been arrested in sweden a number of times protesting weapons manufacturers. in my surprise some to know sweden's is one of the largest arms exporters in the world. we will also be speaking with the head of one of the oldest these organizations in the world. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

>> this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. ,e're on the road in visby sweden. visby is on the island of gotland, the largest swedish island. more than 25,000 people have gathered here for highly in on-aire called an democracy festival. every party is represented here. each day, one party is sort of in control. today it is the green party. i want to talk about an issue that is not talked about very much outside of sweden. while sweden is the birthplace of offer nobel, founder of the prize, suite is also one of the world largest arms exporters. yes, sweden is actually the world's third largest arms exporter per capita after israel and russia. while the country often takes

neutral positions in international conflicts and offers assistance through peacekeeping missions and foreign aid, it has continued to send military clement to regimes accused of human rights abuses including clients like saudi arabia, arabia, thailand, bahrain, and egypt. for more we're joined by martin smedjeback, who has followed these develop and closely. you might say he is put his body on the line. peace activist, nonviolence trainer, served three prison sentences for breaking into weapons factories and hammering on weapons never export. earlier this year, he received the swedish marley 13 prize. martin smedjeback, we welcome you to democracy now! can you talk about the actions you participated in? >> we went to weapons factories in sweden, several, actually, during a couple of years. weapons.ed on we stay there when the police came and we offer them chocolate. we got arrested -- >> you offered the police chocolate? >> sure. you can hate the act, the

weapons export i really hate, but you can still treat people with the nitty and friendliness. >> explain the name of the plants you got into. you runs them? who are the weapons any fractures of sweden? >> the biggest one by far is saab. >> what people no further cars. now they separate the car from the military in the manufacturing. that more than 50% of all the experts in sweden today. >> what kind of support you get in swedish society for doing what you do? you say it is equivalent to the plowshares activist in the united states? >> we have the support against the weapons export. it is quite a strong minority for people who want to stop the weapons export. for civil disobedience actions comment is not the majority but when i go around and talk to schools etc., i see a lot of support. i do. >> most people do not think of

sweden in this way. it is the birthplace of alfred nobel. talk about who alfred nobel was and what this means for the country -- well, the nobel peace prizes given out in norway, but it starts here. >> it is complex. he invented the giant dynamite, right, but then i think in later years he came to the realization that we have to work for peace in a very concrete way and he wanted to support that work, even after he was dead. >> and your actions today? do you still going to plant and hammer on warheads? >> actually, i was at a weapons manufacturing plant a few weeks ago and got arrested again. that's what plant was that? >> [indiscernible] they have lots of different the one of the biggest in the world.

>> what will make you stop? >> i will stop if they stopped selling weapons to people and using them in wars. but then maybe i will go into other issues like the climate, like you about before. we are having a climate campaign on the taxation the have real political change. that is what i'm doing here. >> what does your shirt say? >> meat tech now. it is one of the biggest intruders to carbon disc country bidders to carbon. >> were speaking with martin smedjeback, peace activist, nonviolence trainer who served three prison sentences for breaking into weapons factories and hammering on weapons meant for export. he received the swedish martin luther king prize earlier this year. now we're joined by the president of the swedish peace and arbitration society, the

world's oldest peace organization. welcome to democracy now! talk about your group. >> we are actually the world's oldest peace organization. it is quite amazing to think we were funded or founded in 1883, so we celebrate 131 years of peace work, mainly in sweden. we also have programs on disarmament, peaceful conflict resolution, and support the democracy movement. we are one of sweden's biggest peace organizations, but we have quite a broad spectrum in sweden. we try to lobby politicians, have contact with the media on the arms trade because as we just heard from martin, we are one of the largest arms exporters in the world. we also cooperate with peace organizations in afghanistan and northern pakistan and myanmar. we have quite a broad approach to our work. we have over 8000 members here in sweden.

they are increasing, the numbers. it is fantastic to feel even though sweden is such a large arms exporter, there's a large, large percentage of the population that are actually on our side. >> can you talk about sweden signing onto the international arms trade treaty? >> that was fantastic. we struggled so many times to have sweden to sign up a different international disarmament treaties. the thing that happened with the arms trade treaty was that the government doesn't they it means anything for sweden -- think it means anything for sweden. >> why? >> the provisions in the treaty, they think the swedish laws even better so they don't have to do any corrections in the swedish system. at the fact is, the arms trade treaty has provisions of anticorruption, which sweden has done of -- none of it in its own legislation. there's been a lot of scandal in the arms industry in sweden. the arms industry is one of the

most corrupt businesses in the world. imports, butvers sweden does not have that in its internal law and they say they'll integrate -- they won't integrate that either. we try to push the government to integrate the arms trade treaty into the swedish export control system. >> can you talk about where sweden fits into the international community around pushing issues like these? >> let me say it like this. for a lot of years, i think swedes themselves in the international community have seen us a some sort of the moral conscience of peace issues of the world, but there is a growing awareness that this is actually not the case. from our feller -- fellow campaigners on this issue of sweden's voice in international discussions on disarmament is becoming more and more silent

and absent. >> where to sweden stand on iraq and where do you? >> on iraq? sweden did an amazingly stupid thing, sorry for my language. when the euros decided to invade iraq, the government condemned the invasion. but at the same time, the arms industry was signing up new arms deals. it is typical. like the school but description of how it works in sweden. >> what do the elections mean in september and do you think things will change? >> you asked me what i think about iraq. well, of course we were against against the invasion and i think the situation here it is happening now is heartbreaking in syria and so on, but minorities in the region and must the majority are really, really paying the price for our arms industry here in sweden. for the election, amnesty international did an opinion poll in sweden a couple of weeks ago. it is so clear.

80% of sweden's population does not want arms for dictatorships, or countries that are not democracies. around 78% did not want to harm countries that are in war. again and again.rm an >> the feminist party. can you talk about the possibility of it coming into the swedish parliament? >> there've never been so close to entering the parliament as today. they have grown in the numbers .f members it has exploded in the last half-year. i think that a good chance of entering the parliament. maybe if they get in, we can have a new discussion on how to actually listen to the people in sweden. the president of

the world's oldest peace organization. we turn now to per bolund. i met him earlier today rabbi this broadcast. he is the economic spokesperson for the green party. >> this is like a democratic workshop for a week in sweden where every party is here and also many organizations and companies are here. we have the possibility to discuss all different topics on the political table. it is really, really interesting. one of the problems is, there's too much happening so it is hard to choose where to go and what seminar to attend, actually. start?did almedalen >> in the 1970's when one of the prime minister's from -- who started speaking at the park nearby here. in other party leaders started to join in the coming years and then it has been a tradition that all the parties who are in

parliament come here and now we have one date each and we also have seminars and talk together. it is a very good langfield -- playing field for meeting and discussing the not so tense as in parliament, for example. >> can you show us with the latest polls show for the elections coming up? when are they? >> there in september, so just a couple of months ahead. it shows clearly that we are going to have a shift in power. the government now in place will probably lose the election, as it looks today i met and a great chance the green parties together with social democrats will have a possibility to form the next government. >> what does that mean, green-read alliance? >> in the latest polls we have around 13% of the voters in the green party, so that is a great increase for us, which is very

positive from our standpoint. there's a social democrats who are around 25% to 30% in different polls and then there are the left party, and a new party, actually, who perhaps will, to the parliament was a feminist party. there's a possibility there'll be nine parties in parliament after the election this fall. >> what is the main platform of the green party? basis environment is the for our whole society and our economy. right now, we're talking about an environment that is being destroyed rapidly both with the climate issue and i'm at instruction, but also with the biodiversity, which is decreasing rapidly. whate actually undermining is serving our society and giving us the basis for existence. that is not sustainable way to walk into the future. we have to solve our climate and environment problems, and we believe we can do that in a modernizing way so we also get

more businesses, or economic and more jobs. >> what you think of the role of the united states when it comes to the issue of climate change? >> to say positively, it is good the president obama has actually started to tackle the climate issue, but previously, i'm sorry to say that the united states has been a destructive force in the climate issue, which is very important. because i think the u.s. would also be able to benefit from the modernization of the transportation system toward renewable energy and efficiency. i'm very positive president obama at least has taken the initiative now, and i think that makes the promising that we can get an international deal in paris in 2015 to have international regulations that make stable for us to save the climate? >> i saw this unusual scene. you're standing in front of a copy truck with scores of people watching.

you are questioning business people about what kind of regulations they prefer. i mean, to csc like that in the united states, dutch to csc like that in the united states, politicians asking the business world what they would like to have regulated, we would not see that. explain what was happening. >> is a fun way to try to turn the table around. the media is asking us questions and we had the chance to ask them what they would like to see and what they see as the problems but also the .ossibility of a modernization it was interesting. they were very understanding. they had high knowledge about environmental issues, which is positive from our standpoint. >> what are you proud of in terms of the green party's accomplishments around the issue of climate? >> that sweden has taken the lead internationally, which is

due to the green party. we have been cooperating and government positions and increase the environmental taxes, and that has improved our economy. also made it possible for us to take the lead to increase -- decreased our emissions at the same time our growing as economy. >> how do you grow the economy and regulated more around the issue of climate? >> we make it that you have to pay the cost that you are imposing on the climate and the environment. you get a modern economy that indirect effects of your production, for example. that makes the economy more effective and profitable for companies to develop new that allies to develop the world will ask for. more and more people are starting to see modernizing the economy and decreasing resource use and increasing efficiency is

the recipe for modern, effective economy. >> per bolund, in my surprise ugh sweden totho the rest of the world is known where the nobel peace prize comes from, though awarded in oslo, that sweden is one of the major weapons exporters in the world. number two, i believe. can you talk about -- can you talk about that? >> of course. -- thata problem in the is a problem that we in the green party would like to tackle. have inledge that we the weapons manufacturing industry could be used for peaceful and environment friendly product. that is the green party policy. we are very critical about the size of the weapons industry, but also about the countries we export to.

and foresight, we export to countries that are not very democratic. that is acceptable. we have to change the system. we think we can do that by having regulation and eight tax system that makes more profitable to invest and what is more sustainable. >> the united states and much of the rest of the world has been rocked by the nsa spying on people in the u.s. and around the world. what about here in sweden? what are your thoughts? >> of course, we were very upset about that. both the american system and the swedish system that was involved ,n a very open about projects finding information about us swedes and other people in the world. we think a modern society has to be based on trust and that we are able to be private and have our integrity. that is much harder when you have this kind of system that

actually uses the information in an illegitimate way, in my view. >> do you think edward snowden is a hero? >> i think it is good that he exposed the system, which is very important, because there's well, not of talk -- very based discussion but now we're more information ago one. it is good for future discussants. >> and the person who facilitated and making it to russia. your thoughts on julian assange? >> wikileaks, which he founded, is a very good organization. been indicted has here in sweden because of earlier activities -- >> not indicted, but there are allegations. >> allegations. it would be good of the law system could have faith and work that out.

issue of julian assange, he said he is willing to be questioned by swedish authorities. he is concerned if you is extradited to sweden, he might then be extradited to the united charged withets be regard to the leaks. what do you think about that? should he be questioned in the embassy? >> that is a question for the legal system to answer, not the political system. i think i will pass on that one. >> that is per bolund, elected to the swedish parliament in 2006, representing the green party and represents -- serves as the greens books person for finance policy and is a member of the party's board of directors. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. i stayed on that line of questioning when i met the swedish foreign minister today. >> what are your thoughts about martin smedjebac almedalen? >> it is been getting bigger and

bigger, but quite fun. >> were looking at the case of julian assange. 59 legal and human rights groups have made its mission to the human rights council challenging the pre-charged detention which makes it a foreign-policy issue. as foreign minister, what are your thoughts on that? >> none, because it is a question for the legal authorities. it is not a question for me. >> because it is the human human rights commission -- >> it doesn't make any difference. it is a legal issue within the legal system. as you have in the u.s., i guess coming of the separation between the executive and judicial branch. -- constitutional democracy. if you're a representative of the executive branch, you should not have any say in what the judicial branch is doing, and that applies here as well. >> will away into the universal periodic review that the swedish government is up for? >> [indiscernible] >> can ask why sweden doesn't

just questioned him and the london embassy? >> you have to to ask the legal and judicial system on that. >> last question, is this an issue being raised to you more and more as you travel as foreign minister? , i think are the first one to bring it up with me for probably a year or something. >> are you concerned about it? is it a concern in sweden considering his been dealing with this for four years? >> go around here, and ask yourself. i think the answer is no. foreign minister karel built. i met him here the opener festival where the high ministers, foreign ministers from a representative in the parliament walk by everyday people as they discuss issues of democracy. we are ending the show with jen robinson, the legal advisor to the wikileaks founder julian assange who is just past the two

years holed up in the ecuadorian embassy in london. he was granted political asylum in ecuador. jen robinson, you just heard the foreign minister of sweden saying that this is not an issue for foreign affairs minister because this is just in the judiciary in sweden. talk about what is happened to julian assange. >> it is been almost four years now since these allegations have surfaced and we filed an appeal to challenge the arrest warrant. it is been four years he's been waiting for the purpose of being question on these allegations and it is available for the prosecutor to go to london and question him there. >> just that back and explain why he is being or britain has agreed to his extradition. what was he charged with in sweden? sexualacing a number of offense allegations. he has not been charged yet. the case before the british court was purely on the upload

double and validity of the arrest warrant -- applicability and validity of the arrest warrant. we have filed an appearance we to d question the detention. he does not need to be in custody to be questioned. >> you mean they could go to the ecuadorian embassy in london and question him? car issue of him not having in the u.s. term, indicted, might surprise many. >> it is been almost four years and he has not yet been charged. the swedish authorities that they need to question them one more time whether to decide -- before deciding whether or not to charge him. the ecuadoran ambassador has offered him to the western with the restrictions within the embassy. we say this is a reasonable measure for the swedish prosecutors to take. if it is possible for her to resolve this case, then she ought to take the means available to her to do so. >> what about the appeal that was just introduced this week by the swedish lawyers for julian

assange? >> this would's counsel has filed an appeal against the arrest warrant based on the is proportionate exercise expression of the prosecutor and the fact they could actually question him in the embassy. but also apply for evidence in the case, because we believe evidence exists which fundamentally undermines the prosecutor's case and what showgrounds to drop the case. we're waiting to get access to that evidence. that appeal should be heard any time in the next week. while this is a legal issue and for the prosecutor, a deadly has political ramifications. -- it undoubtedly has political ramifications around the world. >> you are also speaking about edward snowden. between edwards snowden with his political asylum and julian assange? >> of course. we're seeing a trend of whistleblowers from a publishers, journalists, having to seek refuge in countries

around the world because they're concerned about prosecution in the u.s. julian is inside the embassy because of his concern a prosecution for his publications associated with wikileaks. edward snowden in a silent in russia for releasing that information. the cases are similar and this is our main concern. we would like to resolve the swedish case. it is a matter of the united states -- >> why the u.s.? >> there's an ongoing grand jury and criminal investigation. >> how do you know this? >> became out of court filings just last month. we know there's an ongoing grand jury. the department of justice continues to say this is "unless and until the u.s. gives assurance that chilean will not be prosecuted, he will remain inside the ecuadorian embassy. >> jen robinson, thank you for being with us. jen robinson is the legal advisor for julian assange. she is here at almedalen, the political week, open-air

democracy festival in sweden. that does it for our show. i want to thank all the people who made this broadcast possible . the folks here in sweden. happy birthday in new york to nakai. democracy now! has two job openings. visit democracynow.org/jobs for more information. i will be speaking here in visby thursday at the church of sweden. go to our website for that information as well. i want to thank our local crew as well as our new york crew. democracy now! is looking for feedback from people who appreciate the closed captioning. e-mail your comments to outreach@democracynow.org or mail them to democracy now! p.o. box 693 new york, new york 10013. [captioning made possible by democracy now!]

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