Stockholm 'ideal for terror cell' - expert
Stockholm is the one Scandinavian city large and diverse enough to house a secret terrorist cell, an international security expert said today.
Peter Lawler, senior lecturer at Manchester University, said it was “entirely possible” for a terror group to conceal itself in the city, near the airport where a 29-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of trying to hijack a plane bound for Britain.
In neighbouring Norway and Denmark laws have been tightened since September 11, and these countries’ smaller cities would cause such groups to stand out, said Dr Lawler, who specialises in Scandinavian foreign policy.
But Sweden’s more liberal attitude and history of neutrality in international conflicts, combined with fairly relaxed border controls, would make it more attractive to terror groups looking for a potential base.
“Stockholm is a big city with a diverse population. It’s entirely conceivable that a group could be nurtured there,” Dr Lawler said.
“The populations of cities in Norway and Denmark are very small and groups would stand out more but Stockholm is a bit bigger and very small groups might be able to merge into the background a bit more.”
Dr Lawler said he was not aware of a history of terrorist groups being based in Stockholm, stressing that the city was a long way from anywhere that might be a realistic target for Osama bin Laden’s al Qaida network.
But he added: “If you’re a terrorist trying to stay hidden, that kind of innocuous quality could be used to your advantage - most Swedes would not expect to find terrorists in their midst.”
Dr Lawler said if yesterday’s incident proved to be an attempted hijacking the crude bid to smuggle a handgun through security would show the terrorist to be “extremely naive”.
In complete contrast to the meticulously planned attacks of September 11, the attempt to use a handgun could indicate that the man was acting alone or as part of a fringe group and not on bin Laden’s direct instructions, he said.
Greater Stockholm has a growing population of currently about 1.6 million people.
The culturally diverse capital of Sweden contains more than 75,000 foreigners from about 80 different nationalities, many of whom have taken Swedish citizenship, according to the Lonely Planet travel guide to the city.
“Around 1.6 million people live in Greater Stockholm and over 15% of them are immigrants, including many people from the Middle East,” the guide says.
“This lively, international city has suburban schools where over 100 different languages are spoken.
“Many of the Swedish people living in Stockholm have actually come from other parts of the country, creating a remarkably cosmopolitan place.”
