STOCKHOLM - Swedish Prime Minister Goran Persson and other top government officials were criticised by an independent commission on Thursday for a poor and late response to last Decemberâs tsunami disaster in Asia. âThe lack of a functioning crisis unit in the cabinet office was a main cause of the problem,â said Johan Hirschfeldt, who chaired the five-member panel.
| Not having a blue-water navy was another. |
Persson had eight years in office and held the overall responsibility, Hirschfeldt said. During question time in parliament, Persson expressed âhis and the whole governmentâs apologies for the mistakes made during these dramatic days.â
In remarks to parliamentarians and at a news conference later, Persson said that he had no intention of dismissing any officials criticised in the report, and had not considered tendering his own resignation.
In the 500-page report, Foreign Minister Laila Freivalds and several other top officials in the foreign ministry were criticised for insufficient âcrisis managementâ and for not immediately sending extra personnel to affected tourist locations in Thailand to assist Swedish nationals. Health Minister Ylva Johansson was blamed for not acting quickly enough in sending emergency health teams to Thailand.
| Criminy. They helped. Okay, it wasn't as fast as they'd like. They still got some aid in there. It was, after all, half-way around the world. |
The effects of the governmentâs delayed action and response generated âmore physical and psychological pain for those affected,â Hirschfeldt said.
| How typically Y'urp-peon. |
| I am so sure the Achenese were lined up on the shore anxiously scanning the horizon. "Where, o where are the Swedes?" |
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