[Sweden]: Call to South Africa

[Connor]

Government of Sweden
Löfven Administration

Security Classification: TOP SECRET
Document Classification and Security Act 1995
Encrypted by the Swedish Security Service​

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A secure telephone call is put in to the South African Department of Environment and Cultural Affairs by Ibrahim Baylan, Secretary of Education.
All subsequent telephone communication to follow is encrypted by the Swedish Security Service.

@Owen

 

[Owen]

The Minister for the Environment, Culture and Tourism, Gert Kotze would pick up the phone, the line would be encrypted and secured by the Bureau for State Security.

In a thick Afrikaner accent he would proceed.

"Ya 'Allo, whose am talkings to?."

@Connor

 

[Connor]

"Hello sir, my name is Ibrahim from the Swedish Department of Education - to whom an I speaking?"

The phone is held delicately against his head as his feet rest ontop of his desk, ready to run through his extensive agenda on polar research.

 

[Owen]

"Mr. Gert Kotze, Minister for the Environments, Cultures and Tourisms.

Ibrahim? The fuck would I want to speaks to some fucking Muslim for? Are you black? Please tell me you're not black. You better be here with something important or else I am hangings up this calls."

@Connor

 

[Connor]

"Mr Kotze... I call from the Swedish Government, I'm not black... not that this matters? I want to discuss Antarctica as a matter of urgency"

 

[Owen]

"Hmm. Coloured then. I will proceed to talk with you, but may I remind you that my Government doesn't look too kindly on the........ blacks. What's wrong with Antarctica? Has something gone wrong? It seems fine on my end."

@Connor

 

[Connor]

"Sweden has made a very clear claim within Antarctica which will remain undisputed, the discussions orientate around the very clear future of Antarctica which will undoubtedly involve global interest. As the only nations with an established claim within Antarctica I think we should discuss an appropriate split of the land available"

 

[Owen]

"Well, we have claimed the Queen Maud Land, it's directly south of South Africa so it makes sense that we maintain it. It'll only be a claim for now, we have no plans to capture the territory and we're open to overlapping claims by other countries. We currently have one research station there."

 

[Connor]

"We also intent to claim Queen Maud Land, so we will have to cooperate on this piece in particular... we have claimed a fair chunk of Antarctica with the intention of developing numerous research stations throughout. Do you have any intention of extending your claim throughout the rest of Antarctica prior to other foreign states landing? It would be at the detriment of our research to have other nations, perhaps with less morals than our own, polluting the land."

 

[Owen]

"South Africa? Morals? I'm not sure if you've been paying attention but we literally stripped black people of their citizenship and created new countries for them.

Anyway, we don't have plans to extend the claim, we can only administer so much we're not a massive country. We have limited antarctic resources. We have one research station and to be fair, we can't really expand much beyond that."

 

[Connor]

"Hm... yes...
Sweden will be administrating the use of Queen Maud Land and we will, for now, permit your use for ease of access and in the interest of research development. Our claim at the moment extends from Coats Land on the western side round to Kemp Land in the east however we intend to cover territory round to Ellsworth Land which will allow our research to expand to the Antarctic Peninsula."

 

[Owen]

"I see... how exactly do you plan on enforcing your administration?"

 

[Connor]

The Secretary of Education presses and holds a small orange button on the telephone line allowing the conversation to now be recorded directly to the Swedish Security Service servers - this of course with no notification to the South Africans.

"Mr Kotze, Queen Maud, as I am sure you know, is a figurehead for Scandinavia as a former Queen of Norway - I am struggling to see your links. Sweden will remain the administrative authority for Antarctica in lieu of any formal global arrangement... As I explained previously, you will be permitted to use Queen Maud Land for your research activities for the foreseeable. I will have my office arrange for contractual agreements to be forwarded to you at the earliest convenience."

 

[Owen]

"Geography, rather than... a name, is our link. As long as our research continues and you have no qualms with our claim, we can come to a settlement on this matter and agree to a simple 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' policy. If you don't bring it up, we won't bring it up and we will keep the Antarctic at peace."

 

[Connor]

"I think you've misunderstood me sir... you are using our claim for your research, the alternative is that you find elsewhere to station yourself?
On the basis that you're happy to remain how would you like to pay your tariff for the use of the land and the pollution that you will undoubtedly pump into our virgin land?

Threats won't get you far with me unfortunately."

 

[Owen]

"We have been conducting research in that area long before your claim. We pump no pollution into the land and we keep the area pristine, it would be immoral of us as an Environment Department to do such a thing and no, I am not threatening anything I don't know where you got that idea from. I am simply saying instead of escalating this matter we keep it peaceful, okay?"

 

[Connor]

"I really don't think you have. I'm glad to hear our opinions are somewhat similar, my focus is absolutely on the stability of Antarctica to allow fundamentally important research to be conducted without issue. Currently the tariff stands at $250,000,000.00 per financial year, is this something you'd like to pay in instalments over a period?"

 

[Owen]

"No."

 

[Connor]

"Well I sincerely hope your time in Queen Maud Land was useful however it appears to have come to a very quick end."

 

[Owen]

"SANAE IV will be remaining there."