Threatening to force Tampa to leave
(Dagsavisen)
The Australian government will
probably force the
Tampa to leave its territorial waters, despite the fact
that parliament last night refused to pass an emergency bill that
would legalize such a move. 438 refugees have become hostages in a
power struggle in which Australia and Norway blame each other.
"Australia is responsible," said Prime Minister Jens
Stoltenberg.
Australian seafarers protest (Klassekampen)
The Maritime Union of Australia
(MUA), which represents 10 000 Australian seafarers and dock
workers, disagrees totally with the way the Australian government
is handling the situation, and has requested the government to
provide immediate assistance to the crew of the
Tampa. "The Federal Government has demonstrated
breathtaking hypocrisy on the matter," said the union’s National
Secretary, Paddy Crumlin. "Here we have a government that actively
solicits foreign shipping and third world labour to carry
Australian cargo between Australian ports in our domestic transport
chain, now saying that to protect our national sovereignty we
cannot support the seafarers aboard the
Tampa," said Mr. Crumlin.
Tampa refuses to leave Australian territorial
waters (Aftenposten)
In the view of Captain Arne Rinnan,
the
Tampa is not seaworthy enough to go back out to sea. The
ship is outfitted to accommodate only 30 crew members. Now there
are over 500 people on board. According to the Wilh. Wilhelmsen
shipping line, 12 people have lost consciousness, many of the
children are suffering from diarrhoea, and two pregnant women have
had problems. "Negotiations are under way, but we see no change in
Australia’s position," said Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
spokesman Karsten Klepsvik. In Aftenposten’s view, the disgraceful
actions of the Australian Government during these dramatic days are
the cause of the current desperate humanitarian situation.
Stoltenberg going strong (Dagbladet)
A week and a half before the
election, the Conservatives seem to be losing some of their
momentum. Jan Petersen’s party has dropped most in today’s poll,
carried out by MMI for Dagbladet and the Norwegian Broadcasting
Corporation. Labour has pushed ahead by 1.1 percentage points and
now stands at 27.3 per cent. The Conservatives dropped 4.0 points
to 23.4 per cent. The Christian Democrats fell 2.0 points to 11.8
per cent, while the Socialist Left gained 2.7 points and is now
supported by 10.3 per cent of the electorate. It is surprising that
both Labour and the Conservatives are having problems gaining voter
support, when such a large part of the election campaign has
revolved around the battle between these two parties.
Labour down, Socialist Left up (Aftenposten)
According to the poll conducted by
Opinion today, Labour has dropped by 3.4 percentage points to 24.1
per cent voter support. "The Labour Party will experience its
weakest election ever, and the voters will elect the most divided
and least effective Storting that has existed since long before
World War II," said Aftenposten’s commentator. The Conservatives
are losing support, too, while the Socialist Left is rising. The
poll was taken after last weekend’s royal wedding.
Wants to revive Centre Party (Nationen)
Anne Enger Lahnstein went from
being the queen of the anti-EU movement to a position as Secretary
General of the Norwegian Society for Sea Rescue. Ms. Lahnstein was
responsible for leading the Centre Party and the anti-EU movement
to victory in 1994. At that time she was both loved and hated, but
today she says that it was a privilege to have been able to
accomplish her goal. And even if she will soon be leaving the
party, she is very involved in the current election campaign. She
will visit 16 counties in the course of a few very hectic
weeks.
Røkke dumped his Orkla shares (Dagens
Næringsliv)
Yesterday Kjell Inge Røkke dumped
all of his shares in Orkla. What’s more, he was in a hurry to do
so. The deadline for Orkla Enskilda Securities to sell Mr. Røkke’s
20 million shares was today, but it managed to sell them all
yesterday. The final selling price was around NOK 155 per share,
which was NOK 12.50 under the closing price the day before. The
theory that Mr. Røkke will use the profits to raid Kværner sent
Kværner’s shares soaring by five per cent yesterday. But Mr. Røkke
and his associates are keeping close about their plans. "We are a
private company, and it is a matter of principle that we do not
comment on any speculations as to positions, buying or selling,"
said Aker RGI spokesperson Kaci Kullmann Five.
WORTH NOTING
- Minister of Children and Family Affairs Karita Bekkemellom
Orheim’s life has been threatened. For the past few days she has
been accompanied by two bodyguards around the clock. The Norwegian
Police Security Service regards the death threats against the
minister as extremely serious. It is not known who is behind the
threats. (Dagsavisen)
- Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg declines to speculate as to
whether the success of the royal wedding last weekend led to
Labour’s welcome upswing in the opinion polls. "But I am pleased
with the latest figures," he said. (Dagbladet)
- Yesterday Statoil and the Polish national oil company POGC
entered into an agreement on the sale of Norwegian gas to Poland.
The agreement may have a value of nearly NOK 100 billion based on
current gas prices. (Aftenposten)
- Kjell Inge Røkke, the billionaire from Molde, may have lost NOK
380 million on his control of around ten per cent of Orkla’s shares
in the course of the past year. (Dagens Næringsliv)
- Norsk Hydro was preparing to start exploratory drilling for oil
in the middle of one of Norway’s richest fishing areas, Røstbanken,
off Lofoten. But the government gave in to pressure, and
exploration activities were halted immediately. (Dagbladet)
- Jens Ulltveit-Moe has lost NOK 230 million on his shipbuilding
activities in Kristiansund, and yesterday he finally gave up. 160
workers will lose their jobs when the Umoe Sterkoder shipyard shuts
down. (Dagens Næringsliv)
- Norwegian organizations for children and young people are
worried about their future. Involvement and enthusiasm are being
drowned in an ever-deeper ocean of government bureaucracy. (Vårt
Land)
- Norway’s Banking, Insurance and Securities Commission has
flatly rejected the offer made by the Finnish financial services
company Sampo, but this has made little impression on the EU
Commission. Now the Commission is waiting for the results of the
general election and the Government’s decision on the matter.
(Aftenposten)
TODAY’S COMMENT from Aftenposten:
We’re sorry to say that in the last
24 hours Australia has gained a reputation as an international
bully for its handling of the freighter
Tampa, which has 438 refugees and asylum-seekers on board.
This role is entirely unfitting for a country like Australia, and
is of course very harmful to the country’s international standing.
There is no doubt whatsoever that the Australian authorities have
acted in defiance of international custom and regulations covering
emergencies at sea. Norway was drawn into the situation because it
was a Norwegian ship that responded most promptly when the
Australian Coast Guard requested assistance for the shipwrecked
boat full of refugees. We salute the crew of the
Tampa, who carried out a top-notch rescue operation. The
crew members acted on their obvious duty to assist people in danger
at sea. It is just as obvious that the shipwrecked people should be
brought to the nearest port and be given the necessary medical and
humanitarian assistance, regardless of what becomes of them later.
First and foremost the refugees, but also the crew of the
Tampa, are victims of an Australian domestic policy in
which the fear of immigrants plays a major role. The country’s
political leaders cannot use this fear as an excuse to violate
international law regarding the treatment of people in need.
