AN UPDATE FROM AN ANTI-FRA ACT ADVOCACY GROUP

Amanda Brihed, founder and president of the anti-FRA Act group Svart Mandag [Black Monday] is giving an update of the latest developments on the group's website. It is an important update, since Brihed is in the frontline of the opposition to the FRA Act.

Over the past month I have worked very hard to build the movement that goes by the name Svart Mandag. We are thousands of people who are working today to reclaim Sweden's position internationally as a democratic, free nation with great respect for individual integrity. It has gone better than expected and more and more media outlets are siding with us, which will lead to further scrutiny [of the FRA Act and its consequences]. More and more influential politicians and other public figures have of late come out against the wiretapping law.

Amanda Brihed is encouraged in particular by the fact that the Green Party and the Social Democrats have been so openly critical of the law. While her optimism is well founded when it comes to the Green Party it is important to remember that the Social Democrats started this whole process already in 1995. The first draft of the law was written by the Social Democrat minister of justice years before the center-right coalition took over.

This does not take away anything from what Brihed is writing - on the contrary, her optimism can potentially inspire a great deal of pressure on the Social Democrats if they win the 2010 election. Their intent is to make marginal adjustments of the law; what Brihed is hinting is that they might be persuaded to abolish it altogether. That will take a great deal of patience, determination and effort on behalf of groups like Svart Mandag. It is possible, but no one should underestimate the slickness and tactical skills of the Social Democrats. They could easily bury the issue in a parliamentary commission or make nominal changes while keeping the content.

Brihed is doing a formidable job in rallying opposition against the FRA Act. Hopefully, she will not be dissuaded by political game playing.