dahunan
Lifer
Blackest day for shocked Swedes
Alex Duval Smith, Europe correspondent
Sunday January 2, 2005
The Observer
In a state of unprecedented collective shock, Swedes saw in the New Year yesterday with flags at half-mast and a national day of mourning as Prime Minister Göran Persson's embattled government admitted that 3,559 of the country's nationals were missing in Thailand in the wake of the tsunami.
His government has been accused of reacting too late and lacking compassion.
Persson said the feared final casualty figure - already certain to be the highest for any European country - was likely to make the tsunami disaster the most serious trauma in Swedish history. 'The disaster and all the missing people are going to be noticeable in every sphere of our society,' said Persson, adding that 59 Swedes had so far been confirmed dead.
Earlier, foreign minister Laila Freivalds, who has been severely criticised for going to the theatre last Sunday evening when she should have been setting up an emergency telephone hotline, admitted the government's reaction had been too slow.
Freivalds conceded that Swedish consular staff in Thailand acted inappropriately when they asked survivors to sign forms agreeing to pay for their emergency flights home. She said that the forms were no longer being handed out.
A week ago, based on early information, Freivalds told newspapers she didn't envisage any danger to Swedes in the region.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/tsun...,15671,1382074,00.html
Alex Duval Smith, Europe correspondent
Sunday January 2, 2005
The Observer
In a state of unprecedented collective shock, Swedes saw in the New Year yesterday with flags at half-mast and a national day of mourning as Prime Minister Göran Persson's embattled government admitted that 3,559 of the country's nationals were missing in Thailand in the wake of the tsunami.
His government has been accused of reacting too late and lacking compassion.
Persson said the feared final casualty figure - already certain to be the highest for any European country - was likely to make the tsunami disaster the most serious trauma in Swedish history. 'The disaster and all the missing people are going to be noticeable in every sphere of our society,' said Persson, adding that 59 Swedes had so far been confirmed dead.
Earlier, foreign minister Laila Freivalds, who has been severely criticised for going to the theatre last Sunday evening when she should have been setting up an emergency telephone hotline, admitted the government's reaction had been too slow.
Freivalds conceded that Swedish consular staff in Thailand acted inappropriately when they asked survivors to sign forms agreeing to pay for their emergency flights home. She said that the forms were no longer being handed out.
A week ago, based on early information, Freivalds told newspapers she didn't envisage any danger to Swedes in the region.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/tsun...,15671,1382074,00.html
