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Swedish Peace and Arbitration Society

The Swedish Peace and Arbitration Society (SPAS) (Swedish: Svenska freds- och skiljedomsföreningen) is a non-governmental organization in Sweden, dedicated to peace, disarmament and democratization.[1] It operates by methods including publishing, lobbying, activism and participating in political debates. SPAS has published an array of books and reports. The name of the organization's member's magazine is Pax. SPAS' central office is situated in Stockholm, headed by current president Agnes Hellström. However, there are about 20 local branches throughout Sweden. The society has a total of about 8500 members.[2]

History

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The Swedish Peace and Arbitration Society is the world's oldest peace organization, and Scandinavia's largest today. It was founded in 1883[3] by 50 Swedish parliamentarians and headed by Klas Pontus Arnoldson, who was awarded the 1908 Nobel Peace Prize.[4]

Among SPAS' notable achievements are:

In 2015, after a Russian submarine was spotted off the coast of Sweden, in response to Russia’s ban of LGBT propaganda, the organization designed a subsurface sonar system with a depiction of a thrusting soldier and Morse code that translated to “This way if you are gay”.[5]

Criticism

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During Russian invasion of Ukraine, SPAS has been heavily criticised for its naive worldview and its position to not support Ukraine militarily.[6][7][8][9] In Sweden, organisation's members are frequently called "traitors" and "Putin's useful idiots".[10][11][12]

Surveillance by the Swedish Security Police

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Swedish government has published reports revealing that SPAS was surveilled by the Swedish security police because of suspected links to Russian intelligence services.[13][14]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "In English | Svenska Freds - För hållbar fred i världen".
  2. ^ "Swedish Peace and Arbitration Society". Oxford Reference. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  3. ^ "Swedish Peace and Arbitration Society | UIA Yearbook Profile | Union of International Associations". uia.org. Retrieved 2023-08-02.
  4. ^ "The Nobel Peace Prize 1908". NobelPrize.org. Retrieved 2023-08-02.
  5. ^ https://amp.theguardian.com/world/2015/may/13/swedish-peace-group-trolls-russian-submarines-with-gay-defence-system
  6. ^ Sjöberg, Hannes (2023-08-04). "Det är dags att mygga av Svenska Freds". Upsala Nya Tidning (in Swedish). Retrieved 2024-05-08. Organisationen Svenska Freds är dock undantaget som bekräftar regeln. Sedan 24 februari 2022 har deras naiva världsbild gång på gång lyfts. På debattsidor, i tv-studior och på demonstrationer har organisationen påpekat att det är problematiskt att Sverige och andra länder skickar vapen till Ukraina.
  7. ^ "Nu är inte läge att vara Putins nyttiga idiot". Altinget (in Swedish). 2023-08-08. Retrieved 2024-05-08. Den svenska fredsrörelsen har en lång historia av att gå vilse i pannkakan. Under kalla kriget blev den en ofrivillig – och ibland frivillig – "nyttig idiot".
  8. ^ "Svenska freds splittrade om vapen till Ukraina". Omni (in Swedish). 2023-04-08. Archived from the original on 2024-05-08. Retrieved 2024-05-08.
  9. ^ "Frågan om svenska vapen till Ukraina delar Svenska Freds". Sveriges Radio (in Swedish). 2023-04-08. Archived from the original on 2024-05-08. Retrieved 2024-05-08.
  10. ^ Karlsson, Pär (2022-03-23). "Pekas ut som naiva landsförrädare". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 2024-05-08.
  11. ^ Nyheter, SVT (2022-04-20). "Svenska Freds ordförande om det tuffa klimatet för pacifister: "Kallas för Putins nyttiga idioter"". SVT Nyheter (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 2024-05-08. Retrieved 2024-05-08.
  12. ^ "Svenska fredskommittén agerar som Putins nyttiga idioter". Ulricehamns Tidning (in Swedish). 2023-09-16. Archived from the original on 2024-05-08. Retrieved 2024-05-08.
  13. ^ "Den Farliga Fredsrörelsen - Del 1". regeringen.se. 2024-05-08. Archived from the original on 2024-05-08. Retrieved 2024-05-08.
  14. ^ "Den Farliga Fredsrörelsen - Del 2". regeringen.se. 2023-03-29. Archived from the original on 2023-03-29. Retrieved 2024-05-08.