If Assange is ever extradited to Sweden, the danger is that the evidence against him will be held entirely in secret. ALthough published in Sweden, the evidence so far has not been published in the UK except for some extremely selective quotes designed to damage Assange as much as possible.
This is (in translation) the full Swedish police statement arising from Ardin’s interrogation and approved by Anna Ardin. I gave it here without comment. Some further analysis of Ardin will follow in a later post, along with Sofia Wilen’s full statement.
I will however note here the fact that, following this statement, Ardin did produce a condom split across the top to police as evidence. However forensic examination showed not only that there was none of Assange’s DNA on the condom, but that it had never been worn by anybody.
It is impossible to put on a condom and leave no microscopic traces of the fact.
That does not of itself make Ardin’s story untrue. This is her statement:
The chief interrogator rings claimant Anna Ardin (hereafter ‘Anna’) for the purpose of conducting an interrogation because of the event described above (‘rape or sexual molestation at Tjurbergsgatan 36 up to 2010-08-14 12:00’).
Anna says she’s worked as a press secretary and political secretary for Sweden’s christian social democrats – the brotherhood movement. Anna says she was involved in organising a seminar that was to take place on 14 August where Julian Assange had been invited in as a lecturer.
Because Anna would be out of town 11 – 14 August she lent her flat to Assange. But Anna returned to Stockholm already Friday 13 August because she had a lot of work to do for the seminar. Anna and Assange have never before met personally but only had contact via mail and the telephone.
The Friday in question Assange and Anna went out and ate dinner together. They’d agreed that Assange would go on living in Anna’s flat despite her coming home a day early. After their dinner on the town they went back to Anna’s flat and drank tea.
In answer to a question Anna says that neither she nor Assange drank alcohol that evening. When they sat and drank tea Assange began caressing her leg. In answer to a question Anna says Assange earlier in the evening had not made any physical approaches save now which Anna initially welcomed. But it felt ‘uncomfortable from the get-go’ as Assange was rough and impatient. According to Anna, ‘everything happened so fast’. He ripped off her clothes and in conjunction with this pulled at and broke her necklace. Anna tried to put some clothes back on again because things were going too fast and it felt uncomfortable but Assange immediately took her clothes off again. Anna says that she thought she actually didn’t want to go any further but it was too late to say ‘stop’ to Assange when she’d ‘gone along with it this far’. She thought she ‘could blame herself’. So she let Assange fully undress her.
Then they lay in the bed. Anna was on her back and Assange was on top of her. Anna thought Assange wanted to immediately put his penis in her vagina which she didn’t want as he didn’t have a condom on. So she tried to twist her hips to the side and squeeze her legs together to prevent a penetration. Anna tried several times to reach for a condom which Assange stopped her from doing by holding her arms and prying open her legs and trying nevertheless to penetrate her with his penis without a condom. Anna says that in the end she was ready to cry because she was pinned and couldn’t reach a condom and thought ‘this might not end well’. In answer to a question Anna says Assange must have known she was trying to reach for a condom and he was holding her arms to stop her.
Assange asked after a while what Anna was doing and why she was squeezing her legs together. Anna then told him she wanted him to put on a condom before he entered her. Assange released her arms and put on the condom Anna got for him. Anna felt a huge unexpressed reluctance from Assange to using a condom which led to her getting the feeling he didn’t put on the condom she’d given him. She therefore reached down with her hand to Assange’s penis to check if he’d really put the condom on. She could feel that the edge of the condom was where it should be at the root of Assange’s penis. Anna and Assange resumed having sex and Anna says she thought ‘hope it’s over soon’.
Anna notices after a while that Assange withdraws from her to fix the condom. Judging from the sound, it sounded to Anna like Assange took the condom off. He entered her again and continued the act. Anna again checked his penis with her hand and again felt the edge of the condom where it should be and so let the sex continue.
After a while Assange ejaculates inside her and thereafter withdraws. Anna saw that the condom didn’t have semen in it when Assange took it off. When Anna began moving her body she noticed how things were running out of her vagina. Anna understood rather quickly that it must be Assange’s semen. She pointed this out for Assange but he denied this and told her it was she who was wet with her own juices. Anna is convinced that Assange, when he withdrew from her the first time, deliberately broken the condom at the tip and thereafter continued the sex with the resulting ejaculation. In answer to a question Anna says she didn’t look closer at the condom, if it was broken as she thought, but she says she thinks she still has the condom at home and will look at it. She says that even the bed sheets used on that occasion are most likely still in her hamper.
After the above mentioned incident Anna says she and Assange didn’t have any more sex. Yet Assange went on living with her up to and including Friday 20 August. According to Anna Assange made sexual overtures every day after that evening when they’d had sex. For example by touching her breasts. Anna rebuffed Assange on all these occasions and Assange accepted it. On one occasion, Wednesday 18 August, he’d suddenly removed all his clothing on his lower body and thereafter rubbed his lower body and his erect penis against Anna. Anna says she thought this was strange behaviour and uncomfortable and had therefore moved down to a mattress on the floor and slept there instead of up in the bed with Assange. The next night Anna stayed with a friend because she didn’t want to be around Assange because of his strange behaviour. She even pointed out after Wednesday 18 August that she didn’t want Assange staying any longer in her flat which he didn’t respond to until Friday when he took his things and returned her flat key.
In answer to a question Anna says Assange lived with her but they hardly slept together because Assange was up at night working with his computer. She mostly got up in the morning about 07:00 when he went to sleep.
In answer to a question Anna says she knew of Sofia when she’d been in contact with Anna before the above mentioned seminar and been part of the audience. According to Anna Sofia had purchased electrical cables for Assange and been with Anna and Assange at the lunch after the seminar. Anna noticed Assange flirted with Sofia during the lunch and understood that they’d afterwards begun some sort of relationship when Assange rang Sofia later in the evening when he was at Anna’s at the crayfish party.
She received an email message from Sofia Friday 20 August where she wonders if she can reach Assange as she had something important to tell him. Anna understood immediately what it was about and contacted Sofia who then told her what had happened to her, that she and Assange had had sex and that he didn’t want to use a condom etc. Sofia wanted to follow this up with the police and Anna decided to follow along, foremost as support.
Anna says she already heard from several sources that Assange ‘chases all women who cross his path’. Considering Assange’s reputation Anna felt it very important that they used a condom the time they had sex, that is the day before the seminar.
Anna says she’s felt terrible after the occasion when she and Assange had sex. Foremost because of the worry she’d been infected by HIV or some other STD. Anna says she freely consented to have sex with Assange but she couldn’t have let it happen if she’d known he didn’t have a condom. Anna has been in contact with the health centre and been given a time for tests next week. Anna approves of the police having the results of these tests.
Anna does not want any help from the crime victims unit but will get back to us if she feels it’s necessary.
Interrogation read back and approved.
Is this the lady that’s the known CIA asset? If so, they are highly trained professional liars.
@Jives – I don’t know why you think it such a deeply disturbed world view that I’m pointing out that men are committing rape and not being charged with it, due to the attitude of; “well he’s a nice bloke; he wouldn’t do anything like that’. Are you deliberately being obtuse ? Or are you paranoid enough to think that all claims of rape against men are just some feminist conspiracy ?
What is depressing is the misogyny surrounding this case and the subject of rape in general. Not only in the way the two alleged victims are being discussed here, but also the dismissive way women are spoken to in the comments section.
But hey, let’s not let such a minor subject of respect for half the planet’s population get in the way of the Julian Assange Roadshow, eh ?
@Craig
Craig, I think you need to publish a correction to your blog post.
The original police report states that there were in fact TWO condoms analysed from the homes of two different people (see above for link to pdf in swedish, and my posts above for google translation).
a) There was a complete condom from the home of someone referred to as “MA2” which had (as you say) no DNA, and
b) There was a condom tip from the home of SOMEONE ELSE who is referred to as “MA1”. This condom tip DID have male DNA on it, and it matched the male DNA from a vaginal swab taken from the same MA1. This condom tip was stated to have been found under the part of the bed where Assange had been adjusting the condom, and had been cut off with a knife or scissors.
(So, presumably, MA1 is Anna Ardin, and MA2 is Sofia Wilen.)
This raises a contradiction between Anna Ardin’s statement that she had heard him (Assange) tearing the condom, and the lab analysis which states that it’d been cut with something sharp (knife or scissors) – which would presumably have sounded quite different to tearing.
Not to mention, how do you exactly “tear” a condom? They are phenomenally strong. Not to mention the snap-back if you succeeded… ouch!!!
And is she (Ardin) saying Assange carried with him a set of condom-snipping scissors to his love-making activities, “just in case”? Or did there just happen to be one handy in the bedroom???
The length of time between the complaint being made and this condom tip being “found” (12 days I believe) would have given plenty of time to fabricate and plant evidence, if this were the case.
Plus, Anna Ardin is known to be a liar, as she lied to eg Donald Bostrom about not having slept with Assange, when she in fact already had. And her testimony changes over time, which makes her doubly-suspect.
See http://samtycke.nu/eng/2011/07/sex-lies-no-videotape-and-more-lies-false-accusations-in-the-assange-case/ for a great summary of the evidence.
We also have to wonder why MA2 (Sofia Wilen) provided an unused condom to the police for analysis… the article above states that she was an unwilling complainant and didn’t want to press charges, she just wanted Assange to take an HIV test. This would back this assertion up.
Little does she know that I know that she knows
that I know she’s cheating on me.
@David Landy MA1 is Sofia Wilén and MA2 is Anna Ardin. I think it has been pointed out already, but it’s not easy to find among all the comments.
@Rudling When I asked about what time Boström got the phone call from Ardin I was referring to the comment preceding it, about Ardin calling Boström telling him that they had been to the police station. The details of her phone calls during that day could tell quite a lot, I imagine.
I see no reason to call Craig a “liar”. Nobody knows all the facts and people sketch the events based on what they know. The picture may need som tweaking, but that’s just normal. Trying to piece together the exact details of what happened during that day is a work in progress and will be for some time. It’s more constructive to help with additional sources and pieces of information than to call someone liar when there’s no intent to mislead. Besides, it’s the big picture that matters and I think he got that right.
I think Ardin made her interview on the 21st, not 22nd as Craig suggests, but that doesn’t matter for his argument, so there’s no point wasting space calling anyone names. Ardin may not have been present during Krans’s interview with Wilén, but Ardin and Wilén had been in touch before they went to the police station so she probably knew the story anyway. In fact her support of Wilén was based on her having experienced something similar (or so she says) so she must have known the general story, at least parts relevant for the rape accusations, whether she was present during that particular interview or not. Even without her presence there are enough strange circumstances, like the date it was registered (26th), that a friend of Ardin conducted it, later additions, that it doesn’t appear to have been signed, and so on.
In the evening of the 20th Ardin went to a party. I wonder what Wilén did …
The @Rudling part of the previous post was posted here by mistake. It was meant for the Why-I-am-Convinced-that-Anna-Ardin-is-a-Liar page. Sorry for any confusion.
AA was still happy to be photographed smiling with JA, Rick Falkvinge and ? Troberg on the Sunday 2010-08-15 following the above events, according to reports on the following photo which was recently published:
http://rixstep.com/1/1/20120828,00,01
Article:
http://rixstep.com/1/1/20120828,00.shtml
For date reference (assuming photo not disproved) see:
Swedish Pirate Party to Host New WikiLeaks Servers (2010-08-15)
http://rixstep.com/1/20100914,00.shtml
http://rixstep.com/1/20100817,00.shtml
http://press.piratpartiet.se/2010/08/17/swedish-pirate-party-to-host-new-wikileaks-servers/
In the run-up to the 2010 Swedish election, how great were the perceived political ramifications of the Pirate Party aligning itself with the popularity of WikiLeaks?
Also in the following days AA acted as a project leader and media spokesperson to launch a new magazine on 2010-08-18, in
connection with a different political group.
This was reported on Swedish Radio (like BBC) and elsewhere; there was a web article and audio clip of an interview with her at: http://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=3993&artikel=3931979
Article text was:
2010-08-18 17:13:00
Ny tidning för muslimer i Sverige
Tidningen Islam & Politik
Igår, den 18 augusti, släpptes pilotexemplaret av tidningen Islam & Politik, en tidning om tro och politik som ges ut av nätverket för troende socialdemokrater.
Anna Ardin från Broderskapsrörelsen har varit projektledare för tidningen, och hon säger att det huvudsakliga syftet är att visa att man kan vara troende och vänster, och att man kan vara progressiv och muslim.
“Man kan vara progressiv och muslim”
Det finns ju väldigt mycket fördomar om muslimer, att de tycker det ena eller det andra, eller att de är väldigt konservativa eller fundamentalistiska. Vilket ju inte stämmer, eftersom den absoluta majoriteten av muslimerna i förra valet röstade röd-grönt. Och det förknippar vi ju oftast inte med konservatism, säger Anna Ardin.
Islam & Politik är en projekttidning som ges ut av Broderskapsrörelsen – en organisation för Sveriges Kristna Socialdemokrater. Det är ett så kallat pilotprojekt, och det är ännu inte klart om det blir en fortsättning eller inte. Men det första numret kommer i alla fall ut i 50 000 exemplar, som i stort sett alla redan är förbeställda, och den kommer distribueras bland annat via Socialdemokraternas valstugor och i en del moskéer och föreningar.
Tidningen innehåller både debatt-artiklar och mer nyhetsinriktat material. Bland annat en artikel om hur det kan vara svårt för muslimer att köpa bostadsrätt, eftersom räntan vid pengalån av många anses vara haram, det vill säga orent.
Men varför ger en kristen organisation ut en tidning om Islam?
Broderskapsrörelsen är en kristen organisation som bildades på 1920-talet, när kristna hade svårt att hitta en plats i Socialdemokraterna, berättar Anna Ardin.
Då bildades Broderskapsrörelsen för att de skulle kunna hitta en plats att driva sitt politiska engagemang i kombination med sin tro. Och det är just det som har varit drivkraften för många muslimer som har sökt sig till oss. Vi har ju arbetat tillsammans med muslimska organisationer sedan 1994, och sedan 2007 har vi ett formellt nätverk för muslimer.
Men att koppla ihop politik och religion är inte en självklarhet. Anna Ardin menar att det främst handlar om att man även som troende ska kunna ha en plats i politiken. Men poängterar också att Broderskapsrörelsen tycker att det är viktigt att staten är sekulär och att det råder religionsfrihet i samhället.
Tro är för många av oss i Broderskapsrörelsen en viktig del i motivationen till att man engagerar sig, och man drivs av en syn på fred och rättvisa som i hög utsträckning är inspirerad av religionen.
Anna Ardin berättar att tidningen kom till efter att man tillsammans med nätverket för muslimska socialdemokrater diskuterat att det saknas en bra medie-kanal för svenska muslimer. Att jämföra med exempelvis alla tidningar som finns för kristna grupper.
När projektgruppen sedan diskuterade vad tidningen skulle heta så ratades först förslaget Islam & Politik, för att det skulle låta för extremistiskt. Men efter lite diskussion säger Anna Ardin att de kom fram till att inte acceptera detta, utan istället försöka neutralisera begreppet.
Varför ska vi egentligen acceptera att Islam & Politik låter extremistiskt, när islam för de allra allra flesta muslimer är en religion som står för fred och rättvisa. Islam och politik är ju egentligen mycket mer neutralt än vad det ofta uppfattas som, säger Anna Ardin, projektledare för tidningen Islam & Politik.
Reporter Ingrid Forsberg, publicerat 18/8
The Daily Mail article reporting the 2010-08-15 photograph is at:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2193641/Julian-Assange-rape-claim-Is-photo-clear-him.html
(Note earlier post’s first link is an image, as is the next:)
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/08/25/article-0-14B189E2000005DC-786_634x412.jpg
Caption:
“Is this the photo that could clear Assange? Grinning for the camera, WikiLeaks boss and ‘Woman A’ who says he sexually assaulted her 48 hours earlier”
The article is based on statements by Rick Falkvinge, and alludes to further such social occasions after these events.
How reputable are The Daily Mail for checking facts, or indeed what AA actually says or claims he did, as opposed to the prosecutor? Was it published also in a paper edition?
The article is certainly worth reading in addition to the Rixstep one.
Looking a little more widely at her role in the Brotherhood, she appears to be certainly no timid “office girl” writing press releases; rather she was more of a political player (strategist?) used to engaging with mainstream media.
A few months earlier she was in the media spotlight for the Swedish contingent which took part in the Ship to Gaza protest convoy.
She was the point contact for all communication with the ship by means of Satellite phone.
Acting as political secretary for the Christian Social Democrats Brotherhood movement, she spoke to their international secretary Ulf Carmesund who was on the ship with other notable figures including the author Henning Mankell.
Various articles and interviews appeared, especially on 2010-05-31, as well as some later when they were all deported
back to Sweden. E.g.:
http://www.svd.se/nyheter/utrikes/kontakten-med-svenskarna-helt-bruten_4791879.svd
http://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=95&artikel=3740559
There are further earlier interviews on Swedish Radio with pictures and sound clips of AA dating around 2006-2007, which may relate more to student activism at Uppsala University than the Brotherhood.
For example this one dated 2006-08-07 concerns her time with a democracy project in Fidel Castro’s Cuba:
http://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=1291&artikel=911842
The following one dated 2007-07-10 concerns her starting a disco “Klubb Feber, Visbys first Queerclub” together with Petra Ornstein on the island of Gotland (where she has family – search on the site for Ardin for some mentions).
http://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=260&artikel=1473279
Her connection to the Social Democrats goes back to at least 2002 according to Swedish Radio.
Some SR reports from 2002 mention AA as a Social Democrat in Gotland. (- is this regardng cultivating H e m p?)
2002-03-25: Vill tillåta hampaodling – Gotlandsnytt
http://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=94&artikel=52814
2002-04-08: Vill inte ha hampaodling på ön – Gotlandsnytt
http://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=94&artikel=56246
Then are some reports at Uppsala University engaged in equality/feminist issues.
2004-10-30: Betty först bland männen – Upplandsnytt
http://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=114&artikel=495808
2007-03-08: Dålig jämställdhet på Universitetet – Upplandsnytt
http://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=114&artikel=1243413
By 2007 she has an official position for Gender Equality there.
At around that time Claes Borgström was making his name as Gender Equality Minister in goverment.
Does anyone know what direct or indirect party connections they have had?
Did Claes Borgström ever give a seminar at Uppsala Uni, or at the Brotherhood, which holds an annual convention at Uppsala?
Continuing these biographical explorations, we now turn to press releases made by AA for The Brotherhood in August 2010. They help to confirm details, and give some indications about what AA was working on that took her out of town for 11 – 14 August (see also above for SR item).
These can be stil found in their archive at:
http://kristenvanster.wordpress.com/2010/08/
2010-08-11: Seminar announcement for Wikileaks founder JA, to be held in Stockholm on 14 Aug. 11.00 – 12.30.
http://kristenvanster.wordpress.com/2010/08/11/krigets-forsta-offer-ar-sanningen-seminarium-med-julian-assange/
2010-08-13: Seminar with JA booked out (mention of SVT fokus on 27 Aug. – is that TV?).
http://kristenvanster.wordpress.com/2010/08/13/seminarium-med-julian-assange-sands-pa-natet/
2010-08-17: Editorial on Wikileaks by Brotherhood’s leader Peter Weiderud.
http://kristenvanster.wordpress.com/2010/08/17/krigets-forsta-offer-ar-sanningen/
2010-08-12: New Magazine editor announcement on 13 Aug at 15.15 in P1s Människor & tro.
This refers to a radio program about religion on SR’s P1 channel.
http://kristenvanster.wordpress.com/2010/08/12/redaktoren-for-nya-tidningen-islam-politik-i-p1/
2010-08-16: New Magazine launch party? 18 Aug at 18. (?for ca 2.5 h).
http://kristenvanster.wordpress.com/2010/08/16/release-iftar-for-islam-politik-pa-onsdag/
2010-08-18: Changed time for Magazine launch, 18 Aug at 19.00, at Sveavägen 41, ABF-huset i Stockholm.
http://kristenvanster.wordpress.com/2010/08/18/andrad-tid-for-releasefest-av-islam-politik-imorgon/
Looking more at the Christian Social Democrats Brotherhood movement.
Some press pages for the Brotherhood on the SD’s web site were edited to remove mention of AA in August 2010 after the story went public. So perhaps these were more prominent and easily found, or perhaps the SD party itself which controlled the site had more interest in protecting her name and their association. See for example:
http://www.socialdemokraterna.se/Webben-for-alla/Arbetarrorelsen/Sveriges-Kristna-Socialdemokrater—Broderskapsrorelsen/Media/
Related web sites include:
http://kristenvanster.wordpress.com
http://www.broderskap.se
http://bildbank.broderskap.se
http://blogg.kristenvanster.se
The Brotherhood’s leader Peter Weiderud and secretary Lars G Linder may be worth exploring.
Ulf Carmesund, international secretary of the Christian Social Democrats Brotherhood movement, also is connected to Uppsala University.
Department of Theology Employees (faculty, staff and other members):
– Carmesund, Ulf: doctoral student, [email protected]
http://www.teol.uu.se/Kontakt/Personal/
Publications:
– Carmesund, Ulf: Refugees or Returnees: European Jews, Palestinian Arabs and the Swedish Theological Institute in Jerusalem around 1948, doctoral thesis, monograph, 2010
http://www.teol.uu.se/Forskning/Publikationer/
http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-129819
The Christian Social Democrats Brotherhood were also campaigning for a total ban on all Swedish weapons exports.
There may well be articles in English, here for instance is one in Swedish that mentions AA:
2009-08-04 03:08: Broderskapsrörelsen kräver totalstopp för svensk vapenexport.
http://www.dagen.se/dagen/article.aspx?id=174603
Totalförbjud svensk vapenexport. Det kravet enades Sveriges kristna Socialdemokrater, Broderskapsrörelsen, kring under helgens kongress i Malmö.
Enligt fredsforskningsinstitutet Sipri hamnar Sverige på nionde plats på en lista över världens största exportörer av större vapensystem under perioden 2000-2004.
– Sverige är i särklass det mest vapenexporterande landet per capita. Vi hoppas att folk ska få upp ögonen för att det inte fungerar, vapnen används i krig och de som importerar vapen från Sverige gör det för att använda dem, säger Anna Ardin.
…
On AA’s activities in Cuba, see for example:
Professors blogg: CIA connections of Swedish radical feminists in the Assange-plot
http://ferrada-noli.blogspot.com/2010/12/new-reported-cia-connection-in-sweden.html
There is one report in Swedish on Swedish Radio.
2006-08-07 Anna satt i förhör i flera timmar
http://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=1291&artikel=911842
There are a few original references on Uppsala Uni sites such as:
MFS-rapporter
Minor Field Studies at the Department of Government, Uppsala University
154. # Anna Ardin, The Cuban multi-party system. Is the democratic alternative really democratic and an alternative after the Castro regime?, 2007.
http://student.statsvet.uu.se/modules/public/page.aspx?id=64&lvl=2
Socialist Forum seminar:
http://home.student.uu.se/p/pany7991/sf/Program.html
10-12 Kuba efter Castro
Hur bör vi förhålla oss till Kuba? Anna Ardin och Eva Björklund håller varsin inledning om Kubas situation och möjligher idag, innan vi öppnar för en diskussion.
16-18 Brian Palmer
Brian Palmer, antropolog och tidigare utsedd till Harvards bästa lärare, drar paralleller till George Bush när han pratar om den borgerliga regeringen och hur moderaterna fick väljarframgångar i den svenska arbetarklassen.
http://home.student.uu.se/p/pany7991/sf/Medverkande.html
Anna Ardin
Student vid Uppsala Universitet och aktiv i den socialdemokratiska studentföreningen Laboremus.
Eva Björklund
Tidigare ordförande för Svensk-Kubanska Föreningen, sitter som ersättare i Vänsterpartiets partistyrelse.
Brian Palmer
Tidigare lektor vid Harvard University, numera vid Uppsala Universitet. Har bland annat skrivit boken George W. Reinfeldt, om skapandet av de “Nya Moderaterna”.
[wikipedia]
Eva Birgitta Björklund (born November 12, 1942 in Lycksele, Västerbotten County) is a Swedish Left Party politician. She is currently a substitute to the board of the Left Party, and editor of the periodical Kuba (“Cuba”) which is published by the Swedish-Cuban Association. She is a former chairman of the Swedish-Cuban Association. She has also translated many texts by Che Guevara into Swedish.
annaardin.files.wordpress.com/2007/07/anna-ardin-thesis_final.pdf
Perhaps this line from the Abstract gives the flavour of it:
“This study is an actor-centered investigation of the preconditions of a multi-party system in Cuba; if the opposition parties have internal democracy and if their members are tied to each other ideologically.”
from the Forward:
“In June 2006 I traveled to Cuba with the intention of staying for at least two months interviewing leaders, members and supporters of various Cuban political parties. ”
“… two uniformed men in a police Lada came to take me in for interrogation.”
“It had become too difficult to continue, and I did not want to put my informants at risk, so I decided to leave Cuba. Instead I went to Miami in December 2006 and continued interviewing Cubans there.” (So did she presumably return to Sweden in the intervening months?)
“Thank you to SIDA and the MFS-committee for giving me this opportunity, thank you Armando and Zaida who opened their home in Miami to me, to Ruben and Marisol who gave me a home in Havana, to Mattias for support and for getting me out of Cuba very fast and to Matthew for proofreading. I would also like to thank my Swedish supervisor Li Bennich-Björkman for all her devoted help. ” (also credits: Photos: Mattias Wiggberg, and others in Cuba).
The term MFS above refers to the Minor Field Studies at Uppsula Uni:
MFS-rapporter, statsvetenskap
Anna Ardin, The Cuban multi-party system
http://www.statsvet.uu.se/Student/MinorFieldStudiesMFS/MFSrapporterstatsvetenska
p/tabid/5098/language/sv-SE/Default.aspx
The term SIDA (Sida) refers to “Styrelsen för internationellt utvecklingssamarbet”, which is “Swedish International Development Cooperation” [sic.] It is described as comparable to USAID. http://www.sida.se
This is part of the Utrikesdepartementet (UD), the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of the Swedish Government. http://www.ud.se They even have a blog:
On the Julian Assange case | UDbloggen
18 aug 2012 … To our readers: This blog portal blogg.ud.se is the Ministry for Foreign Affairs blog portal. Most of the content you find here is in Swedish.
http://blogg.ud.se/blog/2012/08/18/on-the-julian-assange-case/
One also comes across other development organisations that are connected to the UD or SIDA, such as the Umbrella organisation “Forum Syd”, Diakonia in Asia, Democracy.se and so on.
http://www.forumsyd.org
Forum Syd was established in 1995 as a coalition between SVS (Svensk Volontärsamverkan) and. BIFO (Bistånd och Information för Enskilda Organisationer).
http://www.globalstudies.gu.se/digitalAssets/1339/1339124_perspectives20.pdf
http://www.diakonia.se
http://www.democracy.se/general/about
Evaluation of Forum Syd and Diakonia’s Democracy and Human …
The Swedish Embassy has been supporting civil society organisatons in Cambodia through two Swedish NGOs; Forum Syd (FS) and Diakonia (DK), focused on …
http://www.indevelop.se/resultsframework/evaluation-of-forum-syd-and-diakonias-democracy-and-human-rights-prog rammes-in-cambodia/
One also comes across references to MR which refers to “Mänskliga rättigheter” which is Human Rights http://www.manskligarattigheter.se
correction to above:
SIDA is actually called in English the “Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency”.
The Brotherhood movement of the Christian Social Democrats decided around 2007 to include other faiths and open its doors to Muslims and others. Among the reported reasons were to help the Social Democrats better influence Swedish society. Hence they are also called the religious Social Democrats of Sweden.
Given that The Brotherhood are an arm of the Social Democrat Party, one wonders what internal conflicts were provoked by the announcement of the support of Wikileaks by the Pirate Party, a new rival of great concern at the time in the context of the September election. Was this a sudden surprise?
In stark contrast to today, at the time many groups were seeking to associate themselves with Wikileaks to garner popularity.
See refs given earlier for – Swedish Pirate Party to Host New WikiLeaks Servers (2010-08-15)
Peter Weiderud, the head of The Brotherhood of the religious Social Democrats of Sweden, has held various influential positions depending on the changing political landscape and the progression of his career. As well as various directorships on council of churches bodies, especially concerning international affairs and reducing armed conflicts, there are places on the board of the party, as well as in the government ministry when they were in power.
One finds sporadic references on the web back to 1997 that give titles such as: “Peter Weiderud (Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs)”, or “Peter Weiderud Assistant to Foreign Minister of Sweden”. The best reference is his 2010 Curriculum Vitae, found (in English) at:
http://parliamentaryforum.org/sites/default/files/weiderud_cv.pdf
Selected highlights on the more political connections:
Peter Weiderud, appears in 2012 as “chair of the religious Social Democrats of Sweden”, commenting on the divisions in the party following the resignation of the leader Håkan Juholt in January.
2012-01-24: Forces colliding within the Social Democratic party – Radio Sweden
http://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=2054&artikel=49
27112
Rixstep has commented on the antics of computer companies, US and Swedish politicians since around 2006, which includes the end of the Social Democrats in power under Göran Persson.
These are to be found under “Red Hat Diaries Archive”:
http://rixstep.com/2/1/archive.shtml
One article there sets out the extent of the government and the salaries of all the ministers, staff and advisors and the golden handshake arrangements in September 2006.
http://rixstep.com/2/1/20060920,00.shtml
The total numbers of persons are:
ong the multitudes of Political Experts, one finds there the aforementioned Peter Weiderud ranked the third highest in pay with 55.000 SEK pcm, being in the Dept. of Foreign Affairs (UD), topped by two other Political Experts for the Dept. of Finance. Only the Cabinet Ministers and Undersecretaries were paid more.
Anna Ardin spent a third of a year on an internship at the Swedish Embassy in Buenos Aires from 2 May to 16 September 2005. This was organised as pat of the course at the Department of Government, Uppsala University. This Embassy covers Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay. It seems to have mostly involved writing reports on Human Rights. A 3 page write up (in Swedish) is in the following collected student evaluations:
http://resources.statsvet.uu.se/repository/1/polmag/PraktikutvVT05_del2.PDF
~
2010 Election candidates:
http://www.val.se/val/val2010/valsedlar/K/kommun/01/80/valsedlar.html
CV « ardin.se
{annaardin.wordpress.com/about/} (from 2010)
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CV
AKADEMISK UTBILDNING
Magisterexamen Uppsala universitet vt 2008.
Statskunskap 120p
Magisteruppsats 15 p om Kubansk opposition
Kandidatuppsats 15p om avhopp från kommunala nämnder
Uppsats 7,5p om politiklöshet som ideologi
Etnologi 75p
Uppsats 7,5p om motivation för engagemang och icke-engagemang – en studie av MUF (Högskolan på Gotland.)
Samhällsvetenskap 30p
Uppsats 15p om queerfeminism och lesbisk feminism
Övrigt
Spanska (30p), franska (30p), praktik (30p, se nedan), Core curriculum (15p), mansforskning (9p), skriftlig framställning (7,5p), språk och kön (7,5p), Sommar med Shakespeare (7,5p)
Click here to see my credits and grades at Uppsala University
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ÖVRIG UTBILDNING
UD-Praktik 20 v
Praktik vid Sveriges Amb. till Argentina Bolivia, Paraguay och Uruguay i Buenos Aires. Tog fram material och skrev grunden till UD:s MR-rapporter om Uruguay och Paraguay. Mediebevakning, jämställdhetsfrågor, turism, brevsvar mm.
Demokrati och MR-utbildning
Deltog i Forum Syds organisationsutbyte där 16 personer från Sverige och Zimbabwe tillsammans studerade demokrati & MR, inte minst HBT-rättigheter, i båda länderna under 8 veckor.
Gymnasium, naturvetenskap
Utökat program, inriktning språk vid Säveskolan, Visby.
Utbytesår
Instituto DAE i San José, Uruguay (biologi & litteratur).
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ARBETSLIVSERFARENHET
Anställningar
09 – Politisk sekreterare och pressansvarig, Sveriges Kristna Socialdemokraters förbund – Broderskapsrörelsen.
07 – 08 Utredare, Sveriges förenade studentkårer, 50 %. Tjänsteman med ansvar för studentinflytande, studenters ekonomi och mångfaldsfrågor.
07 – 08 Forskningsassistent, Uppsala universitet, 50 %. Arbetar med ett projekt om etniska föreningar och politisk integration i Botkyrka kommun för statsvetenskapliga institutionen och inst. för bostads- och urbanforskning.
06 – 07 Jämlikhetsansvarig, Uppsala studentkår. Ansvarig för förebyggande och reaktivt arbete mot diskriminering och trakasserier. Ansvarig för egna projekt samt att samordna och underlätta studenters och studentorganisationers arbete inom genus inkl. könsidentitet, funktionshinder, sexuell läggning, etnicitet, religion och social bakgrund.
2001 Informatör, Operation Dagsverke Honduras. Elevorganisationen i Sverige. Klassrums- och aulapresentationer på skolor samt omfattande pressarbete.
2000 Pressekreterare (“press and PR manager”). ZERI Foundation på världsutställningen (EXPO2000) Hannover. Presstalesman, arrangör för presskonferenser och PR-arrangemang, uppsökande och reaktivt pressarbete, mediebevakning samt ansvarig för VIP-gästbesök.
1999 Projektledare (för ZERI Foundation) UNDP, United Nations Development program, Genève, Schweiz. Administrativt ansvarig för huvudkontoret, projektsamordning, informationsarbete, webbredaktör m.m.
Sommarjobb
03 – 04 Hamnkapten Visby gästhamn. Receptionist och bryggvakt för inkommande fritidsbåtar, MC- och biluthyrare, ansvar för kassa, öppning, stängning av reception, fortlöpande kontroll av anläggningens faciliteter.
2001 Kampanjledare för Rättviseakademins (Kooperation utan Gränser) festivalturné. Chaufför, informatör och volontärsamordnare i ett informationstält om rättvis handel vid tre musikfestivaler.
97 – 02 Flerspråkig guide. Lummelundagrottan. Guidade i turistgrottan och i “äventyrsdelen” på svenska, engelska, tyska och spanska.
Extrajobb
08 Projektledare för Doktorand -08, bl.a. en konferens och utbildningsdag om karriärmöjligheter, trakasserier och kön, Doktorandnämnden vid Uppsala studentkår
07 – 08 Styrelseledamot, Uppsala prod. vård och bildning (budget 5,5 mdr kr)
01 – 03 Gästskribent/krönikör på ledarsidan Gotlands tidningar.
00 – 01 Lärarvikare. Gotlands kommun.
Frilansuppdrag för bl.a. SVT, SR P3 och flera tidningar.
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SPRÅK
Svenska Modersmål.
Engelska Flytande i tal och skrift.
Spanska Flytande i tal och skrift.
Tyska Goda kunskaper.
Franska Grundläggande kunskaper.
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IDEELLT ARBETE/FÖRENINGSLIV
Socialdemokraterna
02 – Ersättare i riksdagen för Gotland, ledamot i Uppsalas produktionsnämnd för vård och bildning, ordförande för unga kristna Socialdemokrater, förbundsstyrelseledamot Broderskapsrörelsen, styrelseledamot i studentklubben Laboremus mm.
Uppsala universitet
03 – 06 Grundutbildningsrepresentant i jämställdhetskommittén och dess beredande utskott, mångfaldskommittén, arbetsgruppen för UU:s mångfaldsplan 07/09, referensgrupp för UU:s likabehandlingsplan 07/09 och akademiska senaten.
Uppsala studentkår/Sveriges Förenade Studentkårer
03 – 06 Ordförande för SFS valberedning, ledamot i Uppsala kårfullmäktige samt SFS-fullmäktige, kårstyrelsens sekreterare.
Uppsala Studentradio
02 – 04 Styrelseledamot, rekryteringsansvarig, representant i Uppsala. Närradioförenings styrelse, utbildad tekniker och programledare.
Elevorganisationen
94 – 99 Distriktsordförande, förbundsstyrelseledamot, Operation Dagsverkesamordnare för Gotland, elevkår- och rådsordförande mm.
Övrigt
08 – 09 Ordförande Broderskapsrörelsens ungdomsnätverk
07 – 08 Förbundsstyrelseledamot Broderskapsrörelsen
05 – Köksvolontär på Metodistkyrkans Norrlandaläger 1 vecka/år
05 – 07 Frivillig inom Röda Korsets flyktingverksamhet. Aktiv i svenskträning på träffpunkten i Uppsala, kontaktperson i psykosociala stödgruppen.
04 – 07 Projektledare och vice projektledare för SIDA-finansierat demokratiprojekt med Kubansk opposition
04 Klubbmästare Gotlands Nation i Uppsala. Utskänkare och köksansvarig ca 25 timmar i veckan under en termin.
02 – Aktiv i Amnestys nätbaserade aktivistgrupp för fackliga rättigheter
01 – 02 Redaktionsmedlem för studenttidningen Hédera hélix.
00 Volontär på högstadieskola i Thailand, 1 månad.
97 – Ledare på Metodistkyrkan på Gotlands ungdomsläger en vecka varje sommar.
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Referenser på begäran.
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Link in above CV:
Click here to see my credits and grades at Uppsala University
http://annaardin.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/record010108.pdf
Position as research assistant at IBF, 1 Oct 2007 to 31 Dec 2008, “Institutet for bostads- och urbanforskning”, Uppsala Uni.
{http://www.ibf.uu.se/PERSON/anna/anna.html}
http://www.ibf.uu.se/ALLMANT/Nybrev3-07/nb3-07.pdf
http://www.ibf.uu.se/ALLMANT/nybrev1-08/Nr1-08.pdf
Projects were looking at ethnic organisation and political integration in certain towns in Sweden, and then looking at contol over public space in Stockholm.
http://www.ibf.uu.se/ALLMANT/nybrev3_08/nybrev3_08.pdf
There is a quite comprehensive biography on Anna Ardin which includes details from some of the above lesser known or since removed references, and others unknown, and goes into some detail of the questionable details of the whole scandal in Sweden with Assange and “die Extrememanze, Anna Ardin”. It is presently updated to mid 2012. It is, however, written in German.
http://www.schwedisch-translator.de/personen/anna-ardin.html