"We repeat our previous warning: if you travel to Lebanon despite the Ministry for Foreign Affairs' clear advice against it, you cannot expect to receive help from Sweden in an emergency situation," says Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson (The Moderate Party) in a written comment to TT.
8,000-10,000 Swedes are estimated to be in Lebanon. The situation in the already troubled region has escalated further in recent days, with an Israeli attack on a Hezbollah commander in Beirut and the killing of Hamas' top leader Ismail Haniya in Iran's capital Tehran.
It shows that they should have left already and should leave when there is a chance to get out of the country, says former Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Carl Bildt.
Warning since October
The Ministry for Foreign Affairs has been advising against all travel to Lebanon since October last year and has urged Swedes to leave the country. That up to 10,000 Swedes are still in such a country is unusual and something Bildt has not experienced during his time in government.
If a crisis were to occur now, one has no right to demand evacuation by the Swedish state, according to international law expert Pål Wrange. One may have the right to economic assistance to get to Sweden, but it is a loan that must be repaid.
It must also be reasonable that assistance is provided, since the Ministry for Foreign Affairs has been advising against visiting Lebanon for a longer period, it may affect the assessment of reasonableness, says Wrange.
Costly and troublesome
The government's repeated reminders about the travel warning are about two different things, believes Pål Wrange.
Both concern for the Swedes who travel there, but also that it is costly and troublesome to get people home from war and crisis situations. It is not directly risk-free to land at Beirut airport during an ongoing war.
In a catastrophic situation that would affect, for example, larger parts of Beirut, it is normal for the Nordic and European countries to cooperate to evacuate diplomatic personnel and aid workers, according to Carl Bildt. For other Swedes in Lebanon, he believes that EU countries will make an assessment based on the prevailing situation.
In a situation where air traffic to and from Beirut ceases, there may be great pressure on the ferries to Cyprus, according to Bildt.
Evacuation 2006
Over 8,400 Swedes were evacuated from Lebanon in 2006 after war broke out between Israel and Hezbollah. Today, the possibilities for evacuation are completely different.
Partly, there is a warning today, and partly, there is an even sharper appeal to leave the country, so it changes the situation, says Bildt.
