The government's national coordinator for the work with voluntary repatriation, Teresa Zetterblad, sent a letter to Jokkmokk municipality for a cooperation on repatriation. A meeting on the matter will not take place, however.
"Thank you, but no thank you", writes Roland Boman from the local party Future in Jokkmokk municipality (FJK) in a letter that has now gone viral.
"Jokkmokk will not assist the forces that today drive the government's policy towards our fellow human beings who work and contribute. The policy pursued is not Swedish. It is based on an un-Swedish way of looking at people and their value", he continues.
Jokkmokk has only just over 4,700 inhabitants and according to Boman, every single one is needed.
"Therefore, Jokkmokk municipality declines to participate in the government's grants and threats against the fellow human beings who work and contribute to development and welfare in Jokkmokk municipality", he concludes his letter.
Minister for Migration Johan Forssell writes in a response to NSD that the repatriation grant is voluntary – not a threat – and that he has no comments on how municipalities work with the coordinator.
"We do know, however, that the information work and the offer of cooperation on this has received a positive reception in many municipalities around Sweden".
