PM lauds proposals that could prevent war (Aftenposten)

Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik is worried about the divisions currently plaguing Nato and the UN, but he has praised countries which have come up with ideas that could provide an alternative to war. “I do not want to comment on individual countries’ proposals. But I am always in favour of good ideas that can resolve the conflict without recourse to war. I strongly recommend the Security Council to unite behind other solutions than war and look very closely at such proposals,” said the PM. Mr Bondevik underlined that the UN weapons inspectors should be given all the time they ask for. He has also promised humanitarian aid to Iraq and defensive military assistance to Turkey in the event of war in the region.

Use of Norwegian fighter planes in Iraq ruled out (Dagsavisen)

It would be unthinkable for Norway to provide air support for a war against Iraq in the same way as the F-16 fighters that are currently on active duty in Afghanistan, according to a senior source at the Headquarters Defence Command Norway. Labour’s Marit Nybakk, who chairs the Storting’s Defence Committee, shares this view. “Even if we were prepared to follow the UN in the event of a resolution sanctioning war, we would decide whether to contribute militarily on a totally independent basis. We are nowhere near making such a decision yet, and as of this moment I cannot see that we would have anything at all to contribute to a military offensive,” she said.

Aid organizations attack Foreign Ministry decision (Vårt Land)

Norwegian aid organizations have attacked the Foreign Ministry’s decision not to allocate additional funds to Iraq. They fear that lives will be lost unnecessarily in the event of a war. Jan Egeland, General Secretary of the Norwegian Red Cross, describes the lack of funding for emergency relief supplies as “absurd”. Eva Bjøreng of the Norwegian People’s Relief Association, has warned that a lack of action now will leave us with blood on our hands. Atle Sommerfeldt of Norwegian Church Aid has called on the Foreign Ministry to immediately reverse its decision not to grant an extra-ordinary allocation for disaster relief operations in Iraq.

Power crisis over (Verdens Gang)

While the Norwegian authorities are loudly demanding consumers save electricity, Norwegian power industry analysts are fairly certain that the crisis is over. “The market has called off the power crisis. We can see that clearly from the price Norwegian electricity is being sold for today,” said Svein Thompson, spokesman for the Federation of Norwegian Process Industries (PIL), whose members include foundries, the aluminium industry and the wood processing industry which together account for almost a third of Norwegian electricity consumption.

Solberg to decide soon (Aftenposten)

A month after Mullah Krekar returned to Norway, Local Government and Regional Affairs Minister Erna Solberg has made it clear that she is getting closer to making a decision. “I do not expect it will be long before the Local Government and Regional Affairs Ministry has finished its deliberations. But all aspects of the case have to be reviewed before a final decision is made. That is why the process has taken some time,” she said. However, in the Storting yesterday, Carl I. Hagen, chairman of the Progress Party, complained that the Government’s handling of the Mullah Krekar affair was making Norway an international laughing stock.

Immigrants owe NOK 20 million (Nationen)

Since 1996, one in three immigrants who has received financial assistance from the Norwegian state to return home, has subsequently come back to Norway. But only a small minority of them have repaid the NOK 15,000 grant they received. As a result, NOK 23 million has wrongly been paid out, while only NOK 2.4 million has been repaid. Last year 87 people received a total of NOK 1.3 million to return to their homelands. In that same year, 72 people came back to Norway, according to figures released by the Immigration Directorate. Since 1996, a total of 1,525 people have come back to settle permanently in Norway.

Banks dragging their feet to lower interest rates (Dagbladet)

The high-street banks are dragging their feet when it comes to lowering interest rates. The worst offenders are operating with an eight week delay before following up the Norwegian Central Bank’s cut in interest rates. But according to Central Bank Governor Svein Gjedrem, it would probably have been expensive for customers if the banks had cut interest rates any quicker. “The alternative is for the banks to maintain a generally higher interest rate margin to be in a position to react more swiftly to changes. That would probably be a bigger disadvantage for customers,” he said.

Statoil refuses to wait for inquiry (Aftenposten)

Statoil is refusing to postpone granting the Snow White contract to the Spanish yard Dragados. The Government is planning to spend NOK 750,000 to check if the Spanish are cheating. “We have carried out our own investigation and have not found any hidden subsidies being paid to the Spanish yard,” said Statoil spokesperson Wenche Skorge. “So we are sticking to our timetable, which means the partners in the Snow White alliance will make their decision by the end of the week. Our recommendation is to give the contract to Dragados.”

Snow White owners back Statoil (Dagens Næringsliv)

The owners of the Snow White gas field are backing Statoil’s decision to award the important development contract to the Spanish yard Dragados. “Statoil has done a good job, and it looks as though they have brought to light everything we need to know in order to make a good decision. We see no reason to go against Statoil’s recommendation, but we still have until Wednesday to make our final decision,” said Petoro spokesman Sveinung Sletten. It therefore seems as though the end of the line has been reached for the Kværner Rosenberg yard in Stavanger.

Worth Noting

• Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik is happy that the Labour Party is now united in its policy on Iraq. “It is reassuring that the Government and the country’s largest opposition party agree on the main policy lines with regard to this issue,” said Mr Bondevik.
  (Dagsavisen)
• Senior Christian Democratic Party politicians are furious with Bishop Gunnar Stålsett, and say that he is taking on a political role when he criticizes the Government’s position on Iraq. The fact that both Bishop Stålsett and Bishop Rosemarie Köhn have come out against a war on Iraq, regardless of what the UN Security Council might say, has prompted angry reactions from Christian Democrats right up to the party leadership.
  (Aftenposten)
• The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg ruled against Norway yesterday in the case of the defendant in the Brigitte Tengs murder case, who had been ordered to pay damages to the murdered girl’s parents despite being acquitted of murder in the preceding criminal trial. Steinar Trovåg, who was presiding judge during the defendant’s Norwegian appeal hearing has admitted he made a mistake and expressed himself too strongly in relation to the defendant. “I should have expressed myself differently,” he said. The European Court of Human Rights also ruled in favour of Ulf Hammeren, who had been acquitted in connection with the controversial Bjung child abuse case, but who received a smaller compensation payment than others involved in the same case on the grounds that he had not sufficiently proved his innocence.
  (Aftenposten)
• Justice Minister Odd-Einar Dørum wants to get foreign prostitutes to testify against their pimps and the criminal masterminds behind them. But the women do not trust the police to protect them.
  (Dagsavisen)
• The international hunt for Trond Kristoffersen’s offshore assets has turned up NOK 10 million in an Isle of Man bank account. Kristoffersen, one of the founders of the now bankrupt Finance Credit group of companies, has categorically denied the existence of funds deposited in the world’s tax havens.
  (Dagens Næringsliv)
• Eldar Myhre, senior union representative at Aker Kværner, fears that the development of the Snow White gas field could represent a watershed for Norwegian industry. While the vast majority of contracts from the oil industry used to go to Norwegian companies, Statoil now aims to channel half of the Snow White investment budget abroad.
  (Nationen)
• Kjell Bjørndalen, leader of the Norwegian United Federation of Trade Unions, is surprised that Kjell Inge Røkke, who owns the Aker Kværner yard that failed to win the vast Snow White development contract, has not made more of an effort to find out whether the company’s Spanish rivals, Dragados, are receiving state subsidies.
  (Aftenposten)
• No new large oil platforms are planned for the Norwegian continental shelf. The 19 planned development projects currently on the Petroleum Directorate’s list will largely be linked to existing fields and will involve subsea solutions.
  (Aftenposten)
• Carl I. Hagen celebrated an impressive political career yesterday, but at local level things are not going so well. 200,000 voters have turned their backs on the Progress Party, which now has the support of just 20 per cent of the voters, according to a poll carried out on behalf of TV2. The poll puts Labour at 26.5 per cent and the Conservatives at 21.5 per cent, making them the country’s second most popular party.
  (Aftenposten)

Today’s comment from Dagsavisen

The European Court of Human Rights ruled yesterday that Norway had violated the assumption of innocence principle in the cases of Ulf Hammeren and the defendant in the Brigitte Tengs murder case. The principle declares that an individual is presumed innocent until his or her guilt has been proved. The ruling in Strasbourg means that the Norwegian legal system has suffered a major defeat, and should be interpreted as a real wake-up call for the judiciary. It is good to be reminded that we are not as good at law and justice as we like to claim on formal occasions. Norwegian judicial history includes some nasty miscarriages of justice. On several occasions, the European Court of Human Rights has intervened to halt Norwegian courts’ curtailment of the freedom of speech. On key issues, developments in legal practice have come farther internationally than they have in Norway. The Strasbourg rulings will have an impact at home. Legal practice must be changed. It is true that the Storting has already amended the legislation to ensure that a defendant who has been acquitted does not have to prove his or her innocence. Nevertheless, it is reassuring and of great importance for the rule of law that the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg – which stands above the Norwegian Supreme Court – clearly underlines this principle.