Medborgare ber om ursäkt

I gårdagens nummer av Diena, Lettlands största dagstidning, bad den moderate riksdagsledamoten Henrik von Sydow tillsammans med 49 andra svenskar om ursäkt för den svenska regeringens och fackföreningarnas agerande gentemot lettiska arbetare. I helsidesuppslaget förklarar skribenterna att många svenskar välkomnar dem till Europa och Sverige - och att de lovar att göra sitt bästa för att bekämpa denna nya typ av protektionism och främlingsfientlighet.



Nedan följer den svenska ursäkten;


Sorry.

Latvia and the Latvian people have come a long way. After being liberated from decades of Soviet oppression, Latvia has done remarkably well - economically, culturally and politically. And, much to our delight, these achivements were rewarded with membership in the European Union in 2004.

And now it's time for Latvian entrepreneurship and ingenuity to move abroad - to places like Sweden. But instead of being welcomed as fellow Europeans, Swedish unions and our populistic government have greeted Latvian business with great mistrust and resistance.

Recently L & P Baltic Bygg, a previous subsidiary of the Latvian Laval un Parneri, was forced into bankruptcy as a resault of protectionist union action. The fact is, Swedish unions are allocating enormous resources to prevent the establishment of foreign construction companies in Sweden. And they're not alone.
The Swedish government is right behind them.

We would like to extend our humble apologies to the people of Latvia. As Swedish citizens, we're truly ashamed and upset at the way our government and our unions are behaving. And we're utterly appaled at the undertones of xenophobia that have marred the debate in our country.

People of Latvia, please remember that not all Swedes are the same. There are a great many of us who applaud and welcome you in your attempts to conduct fair and legitimate business in Sweden. We wish you success in this endevour and hereby promise to do what is in our power to help you in this regard!


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