40,000 said no to racism (Aftenposten)

40,000 people answered a call to demonstrate their abhorrence for racism and violence in Oslo last night. The capital has not seen such a mobilization of popular feeling since nazism was defeated in 1945. The Prime Minister and the Bishop of Oslo spoke to a chaotic gathering, which was also attended by the youngest members of the royal family. Henrik Lunde, a researcher at the Anti-racist Centre, says that the Progress Party has helped to legitimize ordinary people’s workaday racism. Among other things, he points to the party’s proposal to set up an immigration balance sheet whose underlying motive is to "prove" how much immigrants are costing society. Aftenposten’s political editor writes in a leader article that yesterday’s demonstration was democracy flexing its muscles.

Statoil gets permission to drill (Dagbladet)

It was announced yesterday that Statoil has discovered new oil and gas deposits in the Barents Sea, and today the company will get an emissions license to carry out further exploratory drilling in the same area. Environmental organizations have fought a long and bitter battle to prevent oil and gas exploration in the Barents Sea, but without success.

Norsk Hydro invests more abroad than in Norway (Aftenposten)

This year Norsk Hydro will invest more in oil exploration abroad than in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea. Angola, Canada and Iran are key areas. The company’s internationalization has been going on for several years, but this is the first time investment levels abroad will exceed those in Norway. Statoil’s exploration activities outside Norway are almost as large as those at home, but the company has declined to publish exact figures.

Salmon prices hit bottom (Dagens Næringsliv/Thursday)

The price of salmon has hit rock bottom. In January prices have fallen by around seven per cent to NOK 26 per kilo, and are approaching the minimum level set by the EU for the imposition of punitive customs tariffs. Fisheries Minister Otto Gregussen has called on Norwegian salmon exporters to show restraint and keep on the right side of the EU’s minimum prices. The recent drop in salmon prices has come as no surprise to the Fisheries Ministry.

Jagland among first to meet Powell (Aftenposten/Thursday)

Norway’s Foreign Minister, Thorbjørn Jagland, has been invited to meet the new US Secretary of State, Colin Powell, in Washington next week. Mr Jagland will therefore be one of the first European foreign ministers to have talks with the former general, who is now head of the State Department in Washington. According to diplomatic sources, no one can remember when a Norwegian foreign minister has ever been invited for talks by the US State Department so soon after a new president has taken office.

Norway to get professional army (Dagens Næringsliv)

For the first time Norway may establish a professional army to participate in international military operations. Defence Minister Bjørn Tore Godal has proposed the creation of a rapid deployment force within the army numbering some 700 men, 350 of which will be on three-year professional contracts. The Government has said it will present its long-term plan for the Armed Forces on 16 February.

Growing confidence in Norwegian food (Nationen)

The vast majority of people believe Norwegian food is safe to eat, according to an opinion poll carried out by the Norwegian Centre for Rural Research. In fact, despite the recent scare over mad cow disease, confidence in Norwegian food has increased and the positive impression people have of Norwegian farming has been reinforced. Consumers differentiate sharply between Norwegian and foreign food products, says Oddveig Storstad, who was responsible for the survey.

Safety threatened by environmental considerations (Dagsavisen)

Norway’s Civil Aviation Accident Commission is concerned that safety at Oslo Gardermoen Airport is being threatened by environmental considerations. Icy runways could lead to a disaster. The Commission has called on politicians to decide what should have priority: the environment, passenger safety, or airline punctuality. The question of balancing environmental concerns with safety issues has again been brought to the fore following yesterday’s decision by the Norwegian Pollution Authority (SFT) to recommend that Gardermoen’s current emissions license be renewed.

Worth Noting

• Last year the Directorate of Immigration (UDI) paid NOK 650 million to the operators of the country’s refugee reception centres. None of the contracts was sent out to tender, and price differences are enormous. (Verdens Gang/Thursday)
• Compared to two years ago 7,000 fewer people are currently employed in the private sector, despite the high level of activity in the Norwegian economy. At the same time the number of people working in the public sector has risen by 25,000. (Dagens Næringsliv)
• The growth in salmon exports so far this year is already almost equal to the figure for the whole of 2000, and prices are plummeting. Prices are normally lower at this time of year, but certain markets are reporting record low levels. Salmon has become the biggest single product of the growing seafood export business. (Aftenposten)
• Kjell Magne Bondevik, parliamentary leader of the Christian Democratic Party, says that Norway should switch to a more long-term method for determining the national budget. He believes the Government should present a rolling four-year budget. (Dagens Næringsliv)
• While a tiny majority of Norwegian men are in favour of Norwegian membership of the EU, 60 per cent of Norwegian women categorically reject EU membership, according to Nationen’s January opinion poll. (Nationen/Thursday)
• Finance Minister Karl Eirik Schjøtt-Pedersen says that he needs more time before the country’s pension system can be changed. However, he promises that a reform proposal will be laid before the Storting before the general elections in 2005. (Dagens Næringsliv/Thursday)
• Coop Norge, the Norwegian retail cooperative, has started a campaign to attract more bank customers. From 1 March you will be able to make deposits and withdrawals during shop opening hours at more than 1,000 retail outlets. This means that 1,000 new "banks" will be open on Saturday in Norway. (Dagens Næringsliv)

Today’s comment from Dagsavisen

The brutal murder of 15 year-old Benjamin Hermansen has provoked a wave of anger and despair among the Norwegian people. Yesterday this feeling was given expression in anti-nazi demonstrations up and down the country. In Oslo the demonstration was larger than almost any we have previously seen. Along with Crown Prince Haakon and Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg, thousands of Oslo citizens from differing ethnic backgrounds and nationalities filled the streets in a powerful and dignified demonstration of support for a nazi-free society. This must be a new eye-opener for the authorities and all the others who have refused to acknowledge nazism and racism in Norway. Far too few have taken this diabolical wickedness seriously. Far too many have underestimated the explosive criminal force concealed in nazi and racist groupings. The police have been too weak, the politicians have shut their eyes, local communities have not made their voices heard strongly enough. It has taken a murder and popular protests to wake a sleeping society. But even after the racist murder at Holmlia, there are some who warn against pushing the nazis and the racists too hard. We are shocked when we hear lawyers and professors warn against using legislation against nazi activities in the name of free speech. Though they are probably well-meant, such comments by the academic elite are dangerous. They strengthen the impression that democracy is a stupid system. Lawyers and historians should know that Norwegian neo-nazism is not political – it is organized crime. Murderers in uniform are not protected by the rules governing free speech in any democratic country in the world. In a democracy it is the police’s duty to protect its citizens from that kind of scum.