Sweden Democrats reject apology to Sami people

The Sweden Democrats oppose a public apology to the Sami people for abuses by the Swedish state, SVT reports. Martin Kinnunen, the party’s representative, said its position was not to meet the demand.

The Truth Commission for the Sami People called this week for the state to issue a formal public apology. The commission presented the findings of five years of work gathering research, facts and accounts from Sami people. Around 300 people described forced relocations, children being separated from their parents, punishment for speaking Sami, threats, torture and discrimination.

The Left Party and the Green Party explicitly support the commission’s proposal. Other parties that responded to SVT either have no clear position or say they could support an apology under certain conditions.

Commission chair Lena Nyberg said positions taken by some parties on reindeer husbandry and mining appeared to conflict with the commission’s recommendations. During the election campaign, the Social Democrats, Centre Party and Liberals said they wanted to make it easier to open mines in places where reindeer husbandry is practised. The Moderates, Christian Democrats and Sweden Democrats also want to remove reindeer husbandry’s status as a matter of national interest, SVT reported.

The commission was appointed in 2022 by the government then in office. Its remit was to examine the historical and present-day effects of policies pursued by the state and church, and to propose measures for redress, reconciliation and a thriving Sami society. Its recommendations include strengthening Sami and reindeer owners’ influence over forestry and mining decisions, improving public and school education about abuses and Sami rights, and expanding Sami-language teaching in teacher-training programmes.