Seraphim
09-11-2003, 04:20 AM
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20030911/ap_on_re_eu/sweden_politician_stabbed&cid=518&ncid=716
By MATT MOORE, Associated Press Writer
STOCKHOLM, Sweden - Popular Foreign Minister Anna Lindh, who was stabbed repeatedly while shopping in an exclusive department store, died Thursday morning, casting a pall over the egalitarian nation. She was 46.
Prime Minister Goeran Persson said Lindh died after more than 10 hours of surgery.
"It's with great sadness that I have the information that Anna Lindh died," Persson said. "It feels strange and it's difficult to understand."
Choking on his words, he said the Scandinavian country's tradition of openness was damaged by the killing.
"The attack against her also hurt the society we've built up and in which we want to live in," he said.
Lindh, who was attacked Wednesday, had spent most of the night undergoing surgery at Karolinska Hospital. She suffered severe internal bleeding and liver and stomach injuries.
Lindh was stabbed in the stomach, chest and arm, and police were searching for a man wearing a camouflage jacket who fled the store.
The death shocked a nation that has long prided itself on the accessibility of its politicians. Like many officials, she didn't use a bodyguard.
Police said they didn't believe the attack was politically motivated, but it stirred memories of the unsolved murder of Prime Minister Olof Palme, who was killed while walking home from a downtown movie theater with his wife in 1986.
Lindh died just before 5:30 a.m., Persson told reporters.
Campaigning on the country's upcoming referendum to decide whether to adopt the euro was postponed for at least a day. It wasn't known if Sunday's referendum vote would be delayed.
Jan Larssen, a government spokesman, said the "issue had been raised" but added it would be a "very big, complicated project to move an election day."
Lindh, who was No. 3 in the government and a leading supporter of the European Union (news - web sites)'s common currency, was often touted as a possible successor to Persson.
Lindh was head of the Foreign Ministry since 1998, serving as environmental minister before that. She was a member of the Riksdag, or parliament, from 1982-1985. She is married and has two children.
"For some people, this may bring back all the terrible memories of years back when Prime Minister Olof Palme was killed," said Green Party leader Per Eriksson. "This may very well lead to Swedish politicians having to have bodyguards from now on."
Only Persson and Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf have personal security details, said Lars Danielsson, a senior government aide.
He said the government was reassessing security, but didn't say if ministers would be provided with bodyguards.
Politicians throughout Scandinavia are often seen walking along the street or riding subways without police protection. In neighboring Denmark, Foreign Minister Per Stig Moeller can be spotted grocery shopping on Saturdays without police protection.
Sweden and other Scandinavian countries are relatively immune to political violence, unlike other parts of Europe. Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic was assassinated in March by allies of Slobodan Milosevic (news - web sites) seeking to topple his pro-Western government. In the Netherlands, anti-immigration politician Pim Fortuyn was shot to death by an animal rights activist in May 2002.
Lindh was shopping at the upscale Nordiska Kompaniet department store, blocks away from the parliament building, when she was stabbed just before 4 p.m. Wednesday, shopper Hanna Sundberg told The Associated Press.
Sundberg said she saw a man chase Lindh up an escalator.
"She fell on the floor and the man was stabbing her in the stomach," she said. "When he ran away, he threw the knife away."
Sundberg ran to Lindh and the politician told her: "God, he has stabbed me in the stomach!" Then, Sundberg said she saw blood.
Police were analyzing the store's security videotapes to learn more about the assault.
___
Associated Press reporters Karl Ritter and Tommy Grandell contributed to this report.
By MATT MOORE, Associated Press Writer
STOCKHOLM, Sweden - Popular Foreign Minister Anna Lindh, who was stabbed repeatedly while shopping in an exclusive department store, died Thursday morning, casting a pall over the egalitarian nation. She was 46.
Prime Minister Goeran Persson said Lindh died after more than 10 hours of surgery.
"It's with great sadness that I have the information that Anna Lindh died," Persson said. "It feels strange and it's difficult to understand."
Choking on his words, he said the Scandinavian country's tradition of openness was damaged by the killing.
"The attack against her also hurt the society we've built up and in which we want to live in," he said.
Lindh, who was attacked Wednesday, had spent most of the night undergoing surgery at Karolinska Hospital. She suffered severe internal bleeding and liver and stomach injuries.
Lindh was stabbed in the stomach, chest and arm, and police were searching for a man wearing a camouflage jacket who fled the store.
The death shocked a nation that has long prided itself on the accessibility of its politicians. Like many officials, she didn't use a bodyguard.
Police said they didn't believe the attack was politically motivated, but it stirred memories of the unsolved murder of Prime Minister Olof Palme, who was killed while walking home from a downtown movie theater with his wife in 1986.
Lindh died just before 5:30 a.m., Persson told reporters.
Campaigning on the country's upcoming referendum to decide whether to adopt the euro was postponed for at least a day. It wasn't known if Sunday's referendum vote would be delayed.
Jan Larssen, a government spokesman, said the "issue had been raised" but added it would be a "very big, complicated project to move an election day."
Lindh, who was No. 3 in the government and a leading supporter of the European Union (news - web sites)'s common currency, was often touted as a possible successor to Persson.
Lindh was head of the Foreign Ministry since 1998, serving as environmental minister before that. She was a member of the Riksdag, or parliament, from 1982-1985. She is married and has two children.
"For some people, this may bring back all the terrible memories of years back when Prime Minister Olof Palme was killed," said Green Party leader Per Eriksson. "This may very well lead to Swedish politicians having to have bodyguards from now on."
Only Persson and Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf have personal security details, said Lars Danielsson, a senior government aide.
He said the government was reassessing security, but didn't say if ministers would be provided with bodyguards.
Politicians throughout Scandinavia are often seen walking along the street or riding subways without police protection. In neighboring Denmark, Foreign Minister Per Stig Moeller can be spotted grocery shopping on Saturdays without police protection.
Sweden and other Scandinavian countries are relatively immune to political violence, unlike other parts of Europe. Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic was assassinated in March by allies of Slobodan Milosevic (news - web sites) seeking to topple his pro-Western government. In the Netherlands, anti-immigration politician Pim Fortuyn was shot to death by an animal rights activist in May 2002.
Lindh was shopping at the upscale Nordiska Kompaniet department store, blocks away from the parliament building, when she was stabbed just before 4 p.m. Wednesday, shopper Hanna Sundberg told The Associated Press.
Sundberg said she saw a man chase Lindh up an escalator.
"She fell on the floor and the man was stabbing her in the stomach," she said. "When he ran away, he threw the knife away."
Sundberg ran to Lindh and the politician told her: "God, he has stabbed me in the stomach!" Then, Sundberg said she saw blood.
Police were analyzing the store's security videotapes to learn more about the assault.
___
Associated Press reporters Karl Ritter and Tommy Grandell contributed to this report.