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TIME: Almanac 1993
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TIME Almanac 1993.iso
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022789
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02278900.023
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1992-09-23
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WORLD, Page 46World NotesSCANDINAVIAA Sovereign Plea for Seals
Sweden's dapper King Carl XVI Gustaf has never had trouble
ruling his own temper. But the characteristically circumspect
monarch displayed a rare flash of royal wrath last week as he
lashed out at Norway's Prime Minister for failing to stop the
slaughter of baby seals in her country. Said the King: "If Gro
Harlem Brundtland can't take care of the seal problem, how is
she supposed to take care of the Norwegian people?"
King Carl Gustaf's outburst, which came during a state visit
to New Zealand, was prompted by a hard-hitting documentary on
Norwegian sealing that had aired the previous week on North
European television. The footage showed hunters stabbing baby
and adult seals with ice picks and in some instances dragging
the animals, only half dead, back to Norwegian flaying vessels.
The King's comments were strong stuff, considering Norway's
sensitivity to criticism from Sweden, its onetime colonial
master and its archrival. Said Swedish Foreign Minister Sten
Andersson of the King, before rushing off to Norway on a
fence-mending mission: "He must have been very angry."