ISSN 0804-709X
www.norwaves.com
ATTN: PRESSE- OG KULTURKONTORET
THE ROYAL MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Press Division, Oslo
NORWAY DAILY NO. 133/94 OeW/KJ
DATE: 14 July 1994
GREENPEACE HARASSMENT OF WHALERS (Aftenposten)
The Norwegian Coast Guard seized another of Greenpeace's high-
speed inflatable boats. The Coast Guard and the police have now
seized four of the eight inflatables used by Greenpeace to
obstruct whaling operations on the Egersund Bank. Greenpeace is
pursuing aggressive tactics against the whalers in order to hamper
operations as much as possible without being caught by the Coast
Guard. The Greenpeace helicopter hovered right above the "Senet",
creating so much noise that the whaler crew had difficulty
communicating by normal means. The latest inflatable to be seized
had been passing back and forth in front of the bow of the
"Senet". The whalers sighted several whales in the area, but they
could not take up the chase because of the disturbances.
LEGISLATION AGAINST ANTI-WHALING ACTIONS (Verdens Gang)
The Norwegian authorities are working at full speed on legislative
measures that would enable them to stop the Greenpeace activists.
State Secretary Otto Gregussen of the Ministry of Fisheries has
confirmed to Verdens Gang that new legislation is under
consideration to update the Act relating to Saltwater Fishing. The
text of the present legislation, which is from 1983, contains no
provisions which make it illegal to disturb ongoing whaling
operations. The relevant provisions of this law deal only with
relations between fishing vessels out on the fishing grounds and
their rights and obligations in respect of each other. The
Ministry of Fisheries wishes to amend the law to make it apply to
all types of vessels. Due to the deficiencies in the existing
legislation, there is very little the Coast Guard can do with
anti-whaling activists, even when provided with police authority.
State Secretary Ingeborg Moen Borgerud of the Ministry of Justice
declined to comment on whether there is frustration in the
Ministry over the current situation.
RETTEDAL CAUTIONS AGAINST DETAILED PARLIAMENTARY CONTROL
(Aftenposten)
Arne Rettedal (Cons.), chairman of the board of the Norwegian
State Railway, rejects accusations of inadequate financial
control. "If the Storting steps in now and asks us to delay our
economy measures, it will be a step backwards to the policies of
the old days, when the State Railway was on the verge of total
collapse. The former county council chairman and minister of Local
Government reacted in no uncertain terms when he heard that the
transport and communications politicians in the Storting are
prepared to do something to prevent scheduling cuts and the
closing of certain stations. He accepts Minister of Transport and
Communications Kjell Opseth's refusal on Tuesday to approve a
couple of the economy measures proposed by the board. "The
Ministry acted promptly and its instructions will be forthcoming
in plenty of time to take them into account. It is an entirely
different proposition if the Storting expects us to wait while it
discusses the matter before doing anything," said Mr. Rettedal.
RENA KARTON FINED BY EUROPEAN COMMISSION (Dagens Naeringsliv)
Rena Kartonfabrik must reach deep into its coffers to pay a NOK
1.6 million fine for unlawful cartelization. Altogether, the
Commission has fined 23 paper manufacturers over NOK 1.1 billion
for illegal cartelization. This is the highest fine ever levied by
the Commission in a case of this sort.
UNEMPLOYMENT STILL GOING UP (Dagbladet)
More without work, fewer on labour market measures, according to
the latest July statistics from the Directorate of Labour.
Unemployment is now 7.16 per cent of the labour pool. In
comparison with the same period last year, these figures are
encouraging. There are 9,255 fewer persons without any work at all.
ONLY TWO MINISTERS ON THE JOB (Aftenposten)
Next week only Minister of Health Werner Christie and Minister of
Development Cooperation Kari Nordheim-Larsen will be at the helm.
The rest of the Government, including the Prime Minister, will be
on holiday.
WORTH NOTING:
- The three Iranians involved in the hijacking drama at Gardermoen
Airport last autumn may be extradited to Russia.
- Norway's four biggest manufacturers of corrugated cardboard have
been sentenced by the Oslo City Court to pay a total of NOK 2.65
million in fines for illegal price-fixing.
- Norwegian tourists still going to Rhodes despite Tuesday's
bombing incidents.
TODAY'S COMMENT:
The reluctance of the public administration to comply with the
Freedom of Information Act has once again been demonstrated. The
Press Association study demonstrated that there is no agreement
between the intentions of the Act and the Foreign Ministry's
performance in complying with its provisions. Foreign Ministry
officials obviously have a deep aversion to practising freedom of
information in their administrative duties. It is a political
dilemma for the Government that the Foreign Ministry is so
reluctant to permit access by journalists and other interested
parties to documents dealing with Norway's relations with the EU.
It leaves the impression that the pro-accession Foreign Ministry
leadership has something to conceal, or that Norway is in the
process of adjusting its freedom of information practices to those
of the EU, which are much tighter than what has traditionally been
the case in Norway. But the compliance of other ministries, too,
is both grudging and restrictive. It looks as if the politicians
who step from the Storting into positions of responsibility for
ministries and state corporations forget the principles of
transparency by which they are bound, and become entrapped by the
bureaucracy's inherent compulsion to be left to its own devices. (Dagbladet)
DATE: 15 July 1994
BERG'S UNFINISHED BUSINESS (Dagbladet)
Work on the boundaries defining the southern limits for northern
agriculture was not concluded according to plans yesterday. "We
will meet again on 25 or 26 July, together with Minister of
Agriculture Gunhild Oeyangen, at which time we expect to submit
our calculations on what we feel is a necessary level of support
for agriculture in Norway. And we aim to finish mapping northern
agriculture," said Norway's EU ambassador, Eivinn Berg, after his
meeting with the EU's commissioner in charge of agriculture, Rene
Steichen, yesterday morning.
NORWEGIAN ECONOMY SURGES (Aftenposten)
The Norwegian economy has taken an upswing, according to the half-
yearly foreign trade statistics, and demand for goods in Norway is
rising substantially. Total imports of traditional goods for the
first six months are 16 per cent over the same period last year,
while exports of traditional goods have gone up 9 per cent. These
figures show that the Norwegian economy is in a phase of growth,
confirming the economic trend indicated in Statistics Norway's
latest quarterly report. Statistics Norway anticipates a 4.3 per
cent growth in private spending for the year and 4.2 per cent
overall economic growth.
ZIMBABWE BUYS JET PLANE FOR PRESIDENT (NTB)
The government of Zimbabwe is contemplating purchase of a jet
plane for President Robert Mugabe at a cost of NOK 200 million.
Minister of Development Cooperation Kari Nordheim-Larsen will not
necessarily halt Norwegian assistance to Zimbabwe if the country
does purchase the aircraft. Norway provides NOK 120 million worth
of assistance to Zimbabwe each year. When Namibia bought a jet two
years ago, Norway reduced its contributions to the country. "We
always face the dilemma that long-term development assistance is
an effort to help the poorest people in these countries. Reduction
or termination of long-term development activities targeting the
poor does not necessarily affect the president," said Ms.
Nordheim-Larsen.
WATSON WILL RETURN TO NORWAY (NTB)
Anti-whaling activist Paul Watson will return to Norway to stop
whaling operations. Repairs on Sea Shepherd's ship "Whales
Forever" will be completed on Monday, and Mr. Watson will set sail
from the Shetland Islands to Norway. "Our intention is to come
back and save the whales. 'Whales Forever' embodies an idea that
is not so easy to stop," according to a press release.
NEW GUARDS IN NATIONAL GALLERY (Aftenposten)
The theft of the Munch painting, "The Scream", from the National
Gallery in February, and the latest scandal involving a skylight
that was left open at night, will have consequences for
Verdisikring, the company in charge of security at the National
Gallery. The Gallery's executive board decided yesterday that
their contract with the security company will not be renewed when
it expires at the end of this year. According to the director of
the Gallery, the board made no critical comments about Verdisikring.
WORTH NOTING:
- 3,260,000 Norwegian citizens will be eligible to vote in the
referendum on EU membership on 28 November. Nearly 47 per cent of
these voters were not eligible in 1972.
- With funding provided by Minister of Finance Sigbjoern Johnsen,
Social Democrats against the EU will have 21 people on its payroll
for three months, from the beginning of September to the end of November.
- Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland will attend the EU summit
in Brussels today.
- No Norwegian locomotives are being considered in the Norwegian
State Railway's purchase of 20 new universal locomotives.
TODAY'S COMMENT:
There is a pressing need to take a critical look at the use of
resources in Norwegian transport and communications policy. This
has been made clear by the controversy of the past few days
surrounding the Norwegian State Railway's budget overruns. Society
spends such enormous sums each year on transport and
communications infrastructure that the Norwegian taxpayer is
entitled to know that funds are being used in the best possible
way. It doesn't look very good when huge budget overruns on a road
construction project of dubious value hardly attract any critical
attention, yet the first signs of overruns in the health and
social sector provoke demands for firm budgetary discipline
against people in need of care. Our country being what it is,
there is no getting round the fact that some investments in the
transport and communications sector cost more than they pay - and
that's putting it mildly. And since the amounts of money involved
here are enormous, it is even more important to consider the
potential for savings in every project. There is a single,
overriding goal in transport and communications policy endorsed by
all political parties: development of safe, speedy and efficient
transport in all parts of the country. It does not go without
saying that a project that will never pay off should maintain the
same standards as projects whose value is indisputable. One gets
the impression, though, that it is difficult to get our transport
and communications politicians to realize this. (Aftenposten)
DATE: 18 JULY 1994
CUT IN SUBSIDIES A BOOST FOR SHIPYARDS (Aftenposten)
The Nordic countries, the EU, the USA, Japan and Korea have
agreed to stop subsidising and supporting their shipbuilding
industries. The agreement, concluded in Paris yesterday, must
be approved by each signatory country to enter into force from
1 January 1996. It is expected to strengthen Norwegian
competitiveness. "The agreement is an important advance for
Norway, but even better for us, because we are already
competitive despite being one of the shipbuilders that get the
least support. The question is to what extent the agreement will
be complied with, and how effective the control and penalty
systems will be. The agreement points up the need for Norway to
become a member of the EU in order to follow up the agreement
there and demand a level playing field" says Didrik Schnitler,
in charge of Kvaerner's shipbuilding operations. Minister of
Industry and Energy Jens Stoltenberg is equally pleased: "I feel
sure that Norway's shipbuilding industry stands to gain in
competition to build the best and cheapest ships," he says.
FAREMO BREAKS A HUSH-HUSH TABOO (Klassekampen/Saturday)
Minister of Justice Grete Faremo has finally broken an old hush-
hush taboo, by confirming that Norwegian authorities used to keep
a list of persons it might be necessary to intern or take into
custody in case of war, the danger of war, or similar situations.
She was not willing to say, however, in which year such lists
were discontinued. Never before has a Norwegian Minister of
Justice confirmed that lists had been kept of persons whom the
authorities believed to be a danger to the security of the realm.
BACKS TO THE WHEEL, GRO (Dagbladet)
Inge Loenning, leader of the European Movement in Norway,
criticises Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland and the
Government for not having marketed the results of Norway's
membership negotiations with the EU forcefully enough. "I would
have expected the Government to do more to give a broader
presentation of the EU agreement and to explain why it is a good
result," Lnning says. The head of the European Movement is
ready and eager for battle in the "election campaign" of the century.
ERRORS TO BE REMOVED FROM DATA REGISTERS (Aftenposten)
According to the Data Inspectorate, Norway has at least 850,000
public and private data registers, but no laws or rules laying
down minimum standards for them. In view of the increasing use
of data registers and exchanges of information between them, it
is both inefficient and costly if they contain numerous errors.
The confidentiality rules in the Personal Data Register Act do
indirectly impose certain quality requirements, but only in the
case of registers to which the Act applies. The Ministry of
Government Administration is considering the possibility of
establishing a special body to carry out quality control of
public data registers.
WORTH NOTING:
- On Friday the Government approved an amendment giving the Coast
Guard better opportunities to stop action by Greenpeace against
Norwegian whaling. Minister of Fisheries Mr. Jan Henry T. Olsen
says the amendment was made because the provisions of the Penal
Code had proved inadequate.
- Paul Watson will have to set sail for Norway without his
Norwegian first mate, who was arrested in the Shetlands on
Thursday. The Ministry of Justice is sending the British police
a formal request for his extradition.
- In December, three Norwegian MTBs are to be presented as a gift
to a common naval defence force for the three Baltic countries.
This Norwegian contribution follows an agreement with Finland,
Sweden and Denmark to support a build-up of a Baltic defence force.
TODAY'S COMMENT:
Finn Erik Thoresen, deputy chairman of SME (Social Democrats
against EU), argues that Ministers who have been deeply committed
in favour of EU membership should resign if the plebiscite goes
against them. He has Minister of Fisheries Jan Henry T. Olsen
and Minister of Agriculture Gunhild Oeyangen especially in mind,
and expects the Labour Party Conference in February to mark a
break with the party's policy of recent years - always assuming
a majority No-vote, of course. We have seldom heard such rubbish
from the SME. But Thoresen is talking more than rubbish: he is
expressing a fundamentally undemocratic attitude, which is worse.
What the deputy chairman of SME actually seems to believe is that
the plebiscite on EU membership is something more, a kind of new
parliamentary election. Naturally we are all, whether wise or
foolish, entitled to say whom we would like to see seated around
the King's table. But the rules of the game are there to be
followed. In Norway, those rules state that the members of a
party elect their representatives, who then meet at a conference
to plot the party's political course and elect its leaders.
Under that leadership, and on that political platform, the party
fights an election. The platitude is that Norway can not join
the EU against the wishes of a popular majority. The mistaken
conclusion is that by voting No, the people will have elected a
new government. (Verdens Gang)
DATE: 19 JULY 1994
GODAL EMPHASISES GROWTH FOR PEACE (Arbeiderbladet)
At the meeting of EU Foreign Ministers yesterday, Norway's
Bjoern Tore Godal made his maiden speech, in the debate
following the presentation of the German presidency's
priorities for the autumn period. Godal opened by calling
attention to employment in the EU, and the dangers that high
unemployment entailed. In general terms, Godal drew the
attention of the EU Foreign Ministers to the need for binding
agreements between the EU and Russia in the north. He said
Norway was in favour of Germany's plans for early integration
of Eastern Europe in EU cooperation and supported the main
points of EU policy in relation to Eastern and Central Europe.
SUPPORT DOWN, RATES UP (Dagens Nringsliv)
Shipowners expect to pay considerably more for new ships if
the ban on government support for shipbuilding is adopted. In
the view of the shipowning industry, the customers will have
to foot the bill. The logic is plain: the shipyards must
make up for the loss of billions in subsidies by charging more
for ships. Owners will in turn cover their additional capital
costs by raising their freight charges to customers. The
timing and extent of the increases in rates will vary
according to the type of freight.
REWARDS FOR GOOD SHIPYARDS (Aftenposten)
"The good shipyards will now be rewarded. They will no longer
have to lose out to other countries' treasuries," according to
Didrik Schnitler, Executive Vice President in charge of the
Kvaerner Group's shipbuilding business area. For Norway
alone, the agreement will mean savings of the order of NOK 1
to 1.5 billion if state subsidies to Norwegian yards are halted.
MINISTER OF THE ENVIRONMENT SUED FOR MILLIONS (Dagbladet)
On behalf of some thirty-odd farmers, from Maalselv in the
north to Odal in the south, five sheep-raising cooperatives
are suing the state, represented by the Ministry of the
Environment, for millions of kroner, in compensation for the
loss of several hundred sheep killed by beasts of prey last
year while grazing in rough pasture. "The lawsuit is aimed at
a historical settlement of compensation claims against central
government. The authorities will have to choose. They either
provide better protection for sheep, or pay higher
compensation for lost animals," says lawyer Bjoern Eriksen,
representing the sheep farmers.
NEW PROMISES (Dagens Nringsliv)
"The FO has been too rigid in its application of the Freedom
of Information Act. Documents have been withheld which need
not have been treated as confidential," Foreign Minister
Bjoern Tore Godal stated yesterday.
WHALING SEASON NEARLY OVER (NTB)
This year's hunt for minke whales is nearly over. So far, the
28 vessels involved have taken 143 of their total quota of 192
whales. In addition to the commercial whaling, four vessels
are engaged in whaling for research purposes.
COD AND ICELANDERS BACK IN THE "LOOPHOLE" (NTB)
In the high seas "Loophole" in the Barents Sea, the cod are
back, and with them the Icelandic trawlers, three of which are
flying flags of convenience. Some of the trawlers are those
which created serious political problems between Norway and
Iceland a few weeks ago by fishing in the fisheries protection
zone around Svalbard. Should the Icelanders catch large
quantities of cod in the "Loophole" in the time ahead, the
conflict may be stepped up again.
WORTH NOTING:
- No to the EU is funding the activities of SME (Social
Democrats against the EU). Indirectly, then, Hallvard Bakke's
SME henchmen are being paid for by agricultural organizations.
- The Conservative Party will put forward proposals aimed at
stopping the present practice with regard to the early release
of prison inmates. There is information to show that
prisoners sentenced to 150 days have been released after 49 days.
TODAY'S COMMENT:
The Norwegian authorities have forged a new weapon with which
to combat questionable action taken against Norwegian whalers.
It was the Greenpeace attack on the whaler "Senet" off
Egersund which prompted the Government to amend the Act
relating to Sea-water Fisheries so that it now also applies to
whaling and sealing. The Act lays down that it is a
punishable offence to disrupt fishing - and now also hunting.
Although the penal provisions in the Act permit both fines and
imprisonment, fines are the likely form of penalty where both
Greenpeace and the even more extreme Paul Watson are
concerned. Prison sentences can not be passed on foreign
vessels which break the law in an area between 4 and 200
nautical miles of the base line. When the regulations
pursuant to the new legal provisions are issued in the near
future, the duties of the Coast Guard on the whaling grounds
will be more clear-cut. With the new provisions only adopted
towards the end of the year's commercial whaling season, the
Coast Guard's praise of the Government for prompt and
effective action rings a bit hollow. (Aftenposten)
DATE: 20 July 1994
USA WROTE LABOUR PARTY PROPAGANDA (Dagbladet)
Former General Secretary of the Labour Party Haakon Lie
confirms that the American Embassy in Oslo drafted information
material for the party in the 1950s. It was the Embassy's
press officer, Theodore B. Olson, who wrote the pamphlet
"Atomic energy for war or peace?", an unqualified defence of
US policy on international control of nuclear power. Not
surprisingly, the Soviet Union came in for heavy criticism.
The pamphlet was printed by the Labour Party and published in
its name. At least 100,000 copies of another pamphlet, on the
Korean War, were also distributed with the party's help.
NORWAY SAVES NOK 10 BILLION (Arbeiderbladet)
There will be a lower Fiscal Budget deficit this year than
Minister of Finance Sigbjoern Johnsen had expected. Central
government tax revenues will be NOK 10 billion higher than
budgeted, and there has also been some reduction in
expenditure. Whereas the Fiscal Budget adopted in December
last year showed a deficit of NOK 46.4 billion, the final
figure now seems likely to be 35 billion.
TRAINING TO FIGHT OVERSEAS (Verdens Gang)
They can be sent anywhere in the world. They have to be
prepared for regular combat duty at a few hours' notice. They
are the members of Norway's new 900-strong elite unit, under
NATO command. The unit consists mainly of infantry:
volunteer national servicemen and officers. This Immediate
Reaction Force (IRF) will be established on 1 January 1995,
and will be operational on 1 August. The battalion will be
stationed at Heistadmoen, near Kongsberg.
TENFOLD INCREASE IN PARENTAL LIABILITY (Arbeiderbladet)
The Ministry of Justice is bringing out the big guns in its
fight against tagging, theft and vandalism, proposing to raise
parents' liability for compensation from NOK 1,000 to a
maximum of NOK 10,000. "We believe that an increase in the
compensation payable by parents of children under 18 will have
some preventive effect on typical juvenile delinquency," says
Ingeborg Moen Borgerud, State Secretary at the Ministry. The
compensation liability which the Ministry intends to increase
applies to parents who are not to blame for the damage done by
their children.
WHALING SEASON DRAWS TO A CLOSE (Aftenposten)
The first-hand value of this year's whale catch will amount to
about NOK 12.5 million, as against a fish catch worth all of
NOK 6 billion. If the good weather holds up, commercial minke
whale hunting may be over this week. The fear of violent
protests abroad against Norwegian whaling has proved
groundless. According to Director General Kjell-Martin
Frederiksen of the Norwegian Export Council, reactions against
Norwegian whaling were serious enough at the time. "But today
things have generally quieted down. Warnings to Norwegian
exporters that their goods will be boycotted are few and far
between," Frederiksen says.
WATSON HEADED FOR NORWAY LAST NIGHT (Verdens Gang)
Paul Watson was headed for Norwegian waters last night on the
anti-whaling vessel "Whales Forever". The Coast Guard is
already on full alert, ready to meet the controversial whale
activist. No Norwegian Coast Guard vessels reported any
contact with Watson last night.
WORTH NOTING:
- In cooperation with Latvian and Scandinavian authorities,
SAS is launching an international airline with a full schedule
in Baltic and Russian markets.
- The Ministry of Culture is proposing stricter rules against
violence in video films. The amendment will make the rules as
restrictive as those which apply to cinema showings.
- So far, 55 Norwegian municipalities have refused to let
Bosnian refugees take up residence. This adds to the
difficulties of the Directorate of Immigration, which has
plans to settle 12,000 Bosnian refugees in municipalities in
the course of the year.
- Every third Norwegian has still to decide on the question of
EU membership. The "don't know" figure has remained stable
since January 1991. Compared to 1972, the "Yes" side is less
well placed today to win a popular majority on 28 November.
TODAY'S COMMENT:
The yes side in the EU debate keeps conjuring up a vision of
final victory thanks to a great final spurt. We are afraid
the conjurations are fit only for internal consumption by the
leaders, if that. Polls are showing quite clearly that the
yes side is losing ground all the time, and that it is by no
means certain that a positive outcome in Sweden will in the
event be enough to convince Norwegian voters. Simple
psychology also suggests that as long as the no side is left
to dominate the stage alone, it will strengthen its grip.
Unlike their friends over here, Swedish EU supporters are
aware of this problem, and plan to campaign in the holidays -
a time when the Norwegian movement feels people are best left
in peace. Let us once again remind them that in 1972 it was
argued that those in favour would have won a majority if their
campaign had got off the ground sooner. This time, we have
experience from 1972 to build on, and a larger majority to
overcome: both call for a much more vigorous campaign by the
yes movement. (Verdens Gang)