To Nordic Leaders
TO LEADERS IN FINLAND AND SWEDEN,
TREAT U.S. CITIZENS PROFESSIONALLY AND FAIRLY OR GET OUT OF THE
UNITED STATES
We did the right thing. We invested Sonera’s money with the
right partners, at the right time and the right price. We
quickly added great value for everyone. We trusted you. We
worked smart, hard and fast. We carved out gains of $1.5 billion
for Sonera in the United States. That is a massive result. That
is more income than 14,000 TeliaSonera employees produce in an
entire year. Sonera earned 97%, $1.455 billion. We earned 3%,
$45 million.
The $45 million, we earned is less than one percent of the $6.0
billion it costs TeliaSonera to produce gains of $1.5 billion.
Yet you refuse to pay us the far smaller amount we honestly and
fairly earned.
You chose to steal our small stake. Ninety-seven percent of our
great success is not enough for you; you want 100%. You stole
our small share of a great result. You want all of the benefits
of our knowledge and smart, hard work. You do not want to pay a
fair U.S price for our services and great results. You want to
slip-slide out of long-standing treaties and agreements.
Sonera lost billions on poor decisions and poor investments.
Read Where
did Sonera’s Money Go. We had no role in any of those
decisions. Your side screwed up. That does not justify screwing
our side. That does not justify stealing hard-earned financial
security, education, medical care and other benefits from our
families.
We found ways to add value for all. You look only for ways to
serve yourselves. You talk of professional, moral, ethical, and
fair treatment. Yet, when money is on the table, you greedily
steal from your partners. We protected your interests. You stole
ours.
It is hard to admit mistakes. It is hard to clean up a mess. It
is hard and risky to support politically unpopular but fair
settlements. Yet you must do so if your commitment to
professional and fair treatment is more than empty words. You
must do so to comply with long-standing treaties and agreements.
We again ask that you respect our team, our families, and all
Americans. We ask that you play by long agreed rules. We ask for
our families exactly what we gave yours; great respect as well
as professional and fair treatment. We ask for full compliance
with the form and substance of all relevant treaties and
agreements.
We demand the same professional and fair treatment TeliaSonera
claims to provide all of its business partners. We fairly earned
3% of a great result. We will accept the same half-a loaf
settlement Sonera offered to the leaders of Sonera Zed, Plaza
and SmartTrust. Sonera decided that was a fair outcome for its
most favored executives. We claim that same most-favored nation
treatment. We also claim a full return on our forced investment
in TeliaSonera.
If you cannot find a way to treat us professionally and fairly,
then please get out of the United States. Take your self-serving
Nordic-centric, ways and your goods and services elsewhere. We
will help you do so. We will ramp up our boycott of Nordic goods
and services to help cut your exports to the United States. We
will use social and other media to broadcast our point of view.
Sincerely,
Murray Swanson
Nordic Ethics
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