Police chief’s comments could make matters worse (Aftenposten)

Local Government and Regional Affairs Minister Erna Solberg has said she agrees with Arne Huuse, head of the National Bureau of Crime Investigation, who has called for stronger measures against immigrant offenders. But she feels that the timing of Mr Huuse’s remarks was less than perfect. "In the long term Mr Huuse could achieve the opposite of what he wants. His comments could in fact result in an increase in tension between Norwegians and immigrants, and thereby an increase in the crime rate," said Ms Solberg. She feels that it is unfortunate for the head of the National Bureau of Crime Investigation to criticize the country’s immigration and integration policies so soon after the tragic killings in Moss at the weekend.

Police chief reprimanded by Ministry of Justice (Vårt Land)

Jørn Holme, State Secretary at the Ministry of Justice, has said the Ministry is "not particularly happy" about the comments made by Arne Huuse, head of the National Bureau of Crime Investigation, in the aftermath of the recent double killing in Moss, in which he criticized Norway’s immigration policies. According to Mr Holme, Mr Huuse should be more careful about what he says on such a sensitive issue. "In the past six months we have seen how easy it is to add fuel to the flames," he said. Mr Holme is concerned that Mr Huuse’s remarks will help to increase Norwegians’ fear of foreigners.

Labour calls for aid fund for Palestinian refugees (Dagsavisen)

The Labour Party has called for the creation of a fund based on public donations to aid Palestinian refugees. "Norway should be at the forefront of efforts to solve the refugee problem," said Labour chairman Thorbjørn Jagland, who also chairs the Storting’s Foreign Affairs Committee. The Labour Party and Mr Jagland want negotiations on a final agreement to start as soon as a cease-fire has been achieved in Israel. The most important issues will be the establishment of agreed borders, as well as the status of Jerusalem and the plight of the Palestinian refugees.

LO fears phobia about state ownership (Aftenposten)

According to the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO), the state must remain a major shareholder in Norwegian businesses. But if state ownership is to continue the political parties must come to a conclusion about how the state should exercise its power as a shareholder. The LO is warming up for a tough battle over state ownership. On Friday the Government will present its report to the Storting on the issue. The LO believes that both public and private shareholders need to improve the way they exercise their ownership rights. The unions would prefer the state to take the lead and restore industry’s social responsibility in a range of areas stretching from executive pay and quotas to ensure a minimum number of women on company boards, through environmental and marketing issues to participation in local community activities.

Employers’ chief in fierce attack on union boss (Dagens Næringsliv)

Finn Bergesen Jr, head of the Confederation of Norwegian Business and Industry (NHO), has made a fierce attack on Gerd-Liv Valla, president of the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO), for her support of the current hotel workers’ strike. Mr Bergesen claims that Ms Valla is supporting demands which would lead to more illegal activity in the hotel industry. "The hotel workers rejected a wage deal which was better than anything they had been offered before. I am extremely surprised by Ms Valla’s whole-hearted support for the strike," he said. Ms Valla was quick to voice her support for the striking hotel and restaurant workers on Sunday. Her comments provoked strong reactions at NHO headquarters in Oslo.

Minister proposes WTO exemption for developing countries (Nationen)

For the first time ever a government minister has announced that Norway will grant developing countries certain exemptions from the World Trade Organization’s investment regulations. The Bondevik government has also called on developing countries to liberalize their trade regulations. Development Minister Hilde Frafjord Johnson (C.Dem) has stated that Norway’s desire for an investment agreement within the framework of the WTO should not apply in all sectors in developing countries. In so doing, Ms Frafjord Johnson has lent support to last week’s call by in-coming WTO Director General Supachai Panitchpakdi to give developing countries special terms in future trade agreements.

Bar Association calls for Government pressure on Israel (Klassekampen)

The Norwegian Bar Association has called on the Government to put immediate pressure on Israel to allow Palestinian medical workers to carry out their work unhindered. In a sharply-worded letter to Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik the Bar Association points out that Israel is violating several points of international law. The letter states that people whose lives could have been saved, are dying because medical aid and ambulances are forced to wait for hours at Israeli checkpoints. According to the Bar Association this means that Israel is in gross violation of the Geneva Convention regarding the provision of medical assistance in occupied territories.

Fewer children live with dad (Aftenposten)

In the past ten years the number of children who are living permanently with their father has fallen. In 1989 one in 15 pre-school children lived with their father after their parents had split up. In 2000 that figure had dropped to one in 20. The figures have surprised Children and Family Affairs Minister Laila Dåvøy. She is now calling for the scheme which obliges divorcing parents to undergo compulsory mediation to be extended to cohabiting couples who are planning to go their separate ways.

Worth Noting

• Forty years ago the ordination of women went against the teachings of the Church and the bible itself. Today almost half of the capital’s theology students are women. If the trend we have seen over the past 20 years continues, women will make up a majority of the clergy in 50 years, according to Tormod Engelsviken, professor of theology at the Free Faculty of Theology (MF). (Aftenposten)
• The Oslo City Council is planning to sell off the popular Frognerseteren restaurant, with its panoramic views of the capital, and along with it the Sporten conference centre. The council has sold a number of properties to raise cash to pay for such things as school building renovations. (NTB)
• The Norwegian National Lottery had a record year in 2001. The state-owned lottery company made NOK 7.8 million in profits every single day. This means Norwegian sporting, cultural and research bodies can look forward to record payouts, totalling NOK 2.57 billion. (Dagens Næringsliv)
• Norway’s surplus on its balance of trade in March was NOK 5.1 billion higher than at the same time last year, according to figures released by Statistics Norway. Exports of goods provided a surplus of NOK 22.8 billion. We exported goods worth NOK 44 billion, while imports amounted to NOK 21.2 billion. (NTB)
• Income tax in Norway fell for the third consecutive year in 2001. Among the OECD countries, Norway ranked in tenth place when it comes to income tax levels, according to a recent report on income tax among the 30 OECD countries. (Nationen)

Today’s comment from Dagsavisen, Verdens Gang and Dagbladet

The day after a tragic double killing – which we neither know the motive for, nor background to – Arne Huuse, head of the National Bureau of Crime Investigation chose to make a sweeping attack on Norway’s immigration policies, which he feels are too loose. Our integration policies can be criticized for many things, but Mr Huuse’s timing could not have been worse. Stigmatization is a poor starting point for integration. (Dagsavisen) Based on his ice-cold crime figures, Mr Huuse concludes that the price we pay for letting foreigners come to Norway is too high. It is a gross over-simplification of a complex problem. On the contrary, the problem has rather been that we have been unwilling to pay the price, in terms of support and follow-up of a vulnerable group of young people. The result is that certain minority groups have never been integrated into Norwegian society. In stark contrast to Mr Huuse’s conclusion, the father of one of the doormen killed in Moss said: It is not the boys’ fault. It is society’s fault. (Verdens Gang) Crime has a more complex set of causes than the fact that foreigners have arrived in the country. Linking the double killing committed by youths with Norwegian citizenship to people who are seeking asylum can only serve to create hostility and prejudice. Bearing in mind that one of the factors leading to criminal behaviour is exclusion from mainstream society, it is clear that Mr Huuse’s remarks do not exactly contribute to a reduction in lawbreaking. The world is experiencing a displacement of individuals from their homes which can best be described as a mass migration of peoples. Norway cannot shut itself off from this reality. Adapting our society to the world in which we are in fact living is a task for us all, regardless of where our ethnic roots lie, in the same way as it is up to us all to punish perpetrators and prevent crime – regardless of who has committed it. (Dagbladet)