STOCKHOLM (AP) - Swedish peace activists who argue that military hardware isn't the best way to deter Russian submarines have launched their own underwater defense installation: a gay-themed sonar system.
In a publicity stunt dubbed "Operation The Singing Sailor," the Swedish Peace and Arbitration Society placed a sonar device in the Stockholm archipelago sending out a Morse code message saying "This way if you are gay."
The device also features a neon sign with a sailor waving a white flag and the words "Welcome to Sweden - Gay since 1944" - the year Sweden legalized homosexuality.
The group is urging the Swedish government to resist calls for re-armament after a weeklong hunt in October for a suspected Russian submarine, saying "love and peace across boundaries is more important than ever."