Swedish Eurovision contestant creates diplomatic crisis

Thursday, 24 May 2012
A diplomatic raw is reported to have broken out between Sweden and Azerbajdsjan after the Swedish Eurovision artist, Loreen met with leading human rights activists on Monday.

Before leaving for Azerbajdsjan Swedish Loreen, is said to have told reporters that she will meet local human rights activists when she arrived in the host country.
This meeting took place on Monday along with three representatives from Sing for Democracy and Human Rights Azerbajdsjan House, as well as local human rights activists.

This has not gone well with the country organizing the show. Radio Sweden reports that the authorities of Azerbaijan are annoyed that the Swedish singer Loreen earlier this week met with human rights activists in Baku, just days before the final of the Eurovision Song Contest.

Tabloid news paper, Expressen writes that it has led to an all out full diplomatic crisis between Sweden and Azerbajdsjan. This is reported to have happened after a newspaper in Azerbaijan wrote that Swedish ambassador to Baku, Mikael Eriksson, had urged Loreen to make political statements from the stage.

It led to strong reaction from Ali Hasanov, who is Minister and adviser to President Ilham Aliyev. Reports hold that this has led to a series of meetings between the Swedish ambassador and representatives of the government of Azerbajdsjan. Similar meetings are reported to have taken place with Swedish Foreign Ministry and the Azerbajdsjani authorities.

“The claim that the ambassador called Loreen to make political statements from the stage is unfounded,” says Theo Zetterman of the Swedish Foreign Ministry to Expressen news website.

Monday's meeting has also created a storm of social media. Human Rights House Foundation in Norway, who was active in bringing about the meeting with the Swedish artist, has received reports that there is an active campaign to get people not to vote for Loreen.

“I have received reports that there is a mobilization going on in the social media against Loreen because of the meeting she had,” says Maria Dahle, general manager of the Human Rights House Foundation in Norway to the paper Aftenposten.no.

They believe that based on the informed they have, a stronger force probably the authorities of Azerbajdsjan could be behind such an action. “We do not know, but it may indicate that the campaign was initiated by the government,” Maria Dahle said.

She praises the Swedish artists holding that she wanted to get something more out of his meeting with Azerbajdsjan than just experience of the Eurovision bubble.

On Thursday, about 30 demonstrators were arrested by police in Baku, on charges of unauthorized protests. Police officers, some in plain clothes, rushed into the crowd and dragged away protesters into waiting vans.
By Scancomark.se Team

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