Beatrice Ask defended the controversial proposal to forbid organized begging.
She acknowledges that it is difficult to establish the evidence available on how much of begging is organized.
– There is no proper mapping how the big picture looks like, says she told Expressen.
Expressen hits Beatrice Ask, President of the Justice Committee of the Swedish Radio’s house in Östermalm, where she interviewed in P1. Dagens Nyheter today unveiled Tomas Tobé (M) party secretary, and Ask a draft law against begging.
How will it go to?
– What we are proposing is to ban the organization of begging. That is, the actors who plans, organizes and operates on the type of activity. So it’s not the organizations we are looking for without these players, says Beatrice Ask and continues:
– The reason is: We do not accept that someone exploits vulnerable people.
How will the police be able to find out what that is organized begging and not?
– It is with another crime. One must assume that it will enrollments or to have suspicions.
What evidence is there that there is an organized begging?
– The’ve driven one and another case where one has tried this against human trafficking. It has not always been sufficient. Then there are, go out and look how it looks. We have large settlements, we have the organization out of this. It looks a little different. There is no proper mapping how the big picture looks like. But I think it is important that Sweden decides what is right and proper. Then this is to exploit people is something that we have to speak up.
After the M-MP Cecilia Magnusson’s gambit at DN Debate during the campaign, where she wanted to ban begging, you said that the ban does not solve the problem, and called her proposal for the unfortunate.
Why have you changed your mind?
– I have not changed my mind. I’m still excited to ban begging. We can not forbid people who are poor and vulnerable to ask for help. It would be fundamentally wrong, says Beatrice Ask.
Beatrice Ask will see a big difference with the M-proposal today and Magnus’s gambit.
– namely to try to access them using these people’s situation and there’s a difference, says Ash and continues:
– But then, is it so: Begging as it has become in Sweden and very quickly changed constitutes a societal concern. And for the people vulnerable, partly because it does not solve their problems. The solution probably lies more in their homeland.
Beatrice Ask considers that the Swedish authorities have to become better at dealing with issues relating to organized begging. What’s the situation?
– You have the illegal settlements. I saw recently last people who washed clothes in Clear Lake (a canal in central Stockholm). It might not be the most happy.
She also takes Enforcement evictions of settlements as an example:
– This is a misery that we do not want to see. Then we must give local authorities an opportunity to act and try to ensure that we do not get settlements based persistent. Then the slums or another, there are things we do not want.
According to Ash, the Swedish society is not prepared to handle the increase in begging.
– We abolished the rules we had to begging for a number of years ago, we felt that we no longer had the problem and that you could get help in other ways. Now the world has changed. Then you need to review the Public Order Act, order the Charter and the legislation we propose to criminalize the organization of begging.
Should I get begging on their own initiative?
– We can not ban begging. However, it so, if I may take a concrete example: In some municipalities, it is for the Red Cross or Save the children should have a collection to get notify and state police, which the police tell you where to get collect money and in what way. Regarding begging are not the rules. But perhaps it is such that if we see that there are some who are trying to decide where to stand, maybe even charge for the use of certain places, then maybe we need to think about whether municipalities should have the right to require notification or authorization for that kind of business too.
Martin Valfridsson, your former secretary of state is now national coordinator for work with vulnerable EEA nationals. He sees begging as an alternative to the supply of beggars home countries.
– So it is. In Romania and Bulgaria, especially Roma a very vulnerable situation. No jobs, difficulties in housing. Some have not even social security number or identity documents. They obviously need income to support themselves and their families. Then, some have found that this is a possibility. But it is not the long term solution. They need education, parent living conditions and social protection and jobs. This government has a responsibility to work within the EU and bilaterally, and an opportunity to make a difference.
The proposal has already received criticism both from representatives of the Moderate Youth League as the Liberal Party and the Christian Democrats today.
How do you see the reactions?
– There are many opinions on this, but the answer is: how do they see the situation that people in distress? That the number of beggars is increasing, and the problems it can create in the future? What we have done is to try to thrash out a number of measures that we believe makes us better able to handle the difficulties people face. It is clear that there are different views on this. Otherwise it would not be an interesting question. But I think it’s good if there will be other proposals. Interest not do anything not solve a single problem.
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