Posted on 09/02/2011 8:33:00 PM PDT by rmlew
Our Norwegian correspondent The Observer offers the second part of his series of essays on the Left in Norway. In this installment, he examines the left-wing community in Norway and its sympathy for various terrorist organizations.
Part 1 is available here.
The terrorist attacks in Oslo on July 22, 2011, were the biggest assault on Norwegian society since WW2. Needless to say, they had a huge impact on the national psyche. The left-wing community in Norway immediately demanded that conservative forces in Norway, and the Progress Party in particular, re-evaluate their political views on immigration and multi-culture, and distance themselves from what the Left labelled Muslim-hatred, once it was established that the perpetrator was a Norwegian non-Muslim ethnic male.
The Left claimed that these groups had paved the way for the atrocity. This massive broadside attack on the conservative community in Norway was wholeheartedly supported by the MSM, and it even had a distinct effect on political opinion polls that were carried out in the aftermath of the attacks. One of the consequences of this massive smear campaign was a significant drop in the support for the Progress Party which saw its support plummet to a mere 12 percent. At the same time the support for the Labour Party soared to well over 40 percent. This of course has political implications, as 2011 is an election year in Norway, and the political campaigning has started.
One thing that wasn’t debated at all in the MSM after the attacks was the widespread support within various political organizations on the Left, including the AUF (Arbeidernes Ungdomsfylking, Workers’ Youth League), for organizations which engage in terrorist activities. One is tempted to use a cliché to describe this total media silence on this issue in the days following the attacks and say that it was almost deafening. The subject was however raised by the media in Israel and it was raised on various conservative news sites in America, and in my personal opinion it was highly legitimate.
I can understand why Israelis who have had to endure terrorist attacks from their Arab neighbours for decades and who have lost significant numbers of their compatriots in this terror were eager to point out that the Norwegian Left have gone a very long way in condoning the behaviour of militant Palestinian terrorist organizations. In an interview with the Israeli newspaper Maariv, on July 25, 2011, the Norwegian ambassador to Israel, Svein Sevje attempted to draw distinctions between the terrorist attack in Norway and the numerous terrorist attacks that have plagued Israel. In the interview Mr Sevje says that it is easier to understand that militant Palestinians resort to terror because of Israel’s ‘occupation’ of Palestinian land. Mr Sevje also claimed that peace can only be achieved if the Israelis engage in direct talks with the terrorist organization Hamas:
Norway’s ambassador to Israel drew distinctions between the Oslo and Utoya massacres and Palestinian terrorism.
Svein Sevje said in an Israeli newspaper interview Tuesday that while the Norwegian bomb and gun rampages that killed 76 people and Palestinian attacks should both be considered morally unacceptable, he wanted to “outline the similarity and the difference in the two cases.” Palestinians, the ambassador told Maariv, “are doing this because of a defined goal that is related to the Israeli occupation. There are elements of revenge against Israel and hatred of Israel. To this you can add the religious element to their actions.”
“In the case of the terror attack in Norway, the murderer had an ideology that says that Norway, particularly the Labor Party, is forgoing Norwegian culture,” Sevje said, referring to suspect Anders Breivik, a Christian native who is openly anti-Islam and anti-immigration.
“We Norwegians consider the occupation to be the cause of the terror against Israel,” he said. “Those who believe this will not change their mind because of the attack in Oslo.”
He added, “Can Israel and the Palestinians solve the problems without Hamas? I don’t think so.”
Another thing that is disturbing in this interview is that Mr Sevje legitimises Hamas as a worthy partner for dialogue. He’s claiming that no peace can be achieved without Hamas at the negotiation table. Mr. Sevje ought to know that it’s completely unacceptable to enter into negotiations with terrorists. I wonder if Norwegian authorities would be willing to sit down and talk to Breivik’s accomplices, if such do exist, or whether they would be willing to accept land for peace in order to dissuade terrorists from future attacks on innocent Norwegian youths. I don’t think the authorities in Norway would even contemplate such a scenario. So why is Mr Sevje suggesting that the Israelis should have to do so?
Mr. Sevje’s response to Maariv does however give us an insight into the mentality of the Norwegian left-wing community. They believe that different rules should be applied to the state of Israel. They insist that Israel must acknowledge the moral right of Palestinian terrorists to attack Israel, because the Palestinian ‘struggle’ is somehow justified. In this case they believe that the end result justifies the means, which of course it doesn’t. But in the ambassador’s defence, he’s just conveying the official government line. In January 2011 it was revealed that the Norwegian foreign minister, Jonas Gahr Støre, had been involved in talks with the leadership of Hamas, an organization that the EU, Israel and USA have classified as a terrorist organization. When Støre was confronted with this in an interview with Norwegian TV2, his first reaction was to try and deny it, but he was forced to admit that the talks had occurred after the interviewer presented indisputable evidence that such talks had taken place.
Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre has admitted to Norway’s national commercial television channel TV2 that he’s had direct contact with the leader of the Palestinian group Hamas, even though Norway officially only has contact with Hamas at a bureaucratic level. Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre claims his conversations with Hamas’ leader in 2007 came at the urging of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Hamas leader Khaled Mishaal had confirmed to TV2 that he has had several phone conversations with Støre. Hamas has won voter support among the Palestinians, not least for its social welfare work among the poor, but is also an Islamic and paramilitary organization that has refused to recognize Israel’s right to exist, and took control of Gaza by force. The US, the EU and Israel consider Hamas to be a terrorist organization.
But for those of us that have followed Norwegian politics for a while it doesn’t come as a big surprise. There is no question that large portions of the political Left in Norway have strong anti-Semitic views which are disguised as opposition to the policies of the state of Israel. According to Wikileaks documents even the US ambassador to Norway, Benson K. Whitney, shared this view. In a memo from 2009 he wrote:
Although the Government of Norway would deny it, there are clear signs that contacts with Hamas go beyond a tactical desire for dialogue to a level of sympathy for Hamas positions. The FM once told DCM for example that one could not expect Hamas to recognize Israel without knowing which borders Israel will have. While the Foreign Minister expresses some sympathy for the Hamas position only in unguarded moments other prominent Norwegians go further.
According to the leader of the Foreign Relations Committee, Olav Akselsen, Yeahya al-Abadsa seemed positive towards the Norwegian views. He indicated that Hamas is willing to look at those parts of the PLO Charter that dictates the destruction of the state of Israel. “He also told the committee that the Charter is no longer valid. Hamas’ point of view is that it is Hamas who are responsible for the situation in the Palestinian territories. Al-Abad also said that Hamas don’t accept the charter, and that they didn’t get elected on this issue,” says Akselsen.
…There’s no turning back. It’s time to learn a new lesson: We no longer recognize the State of Israel. We could not recognize the apartheid regime of South Africa, nor did we recognize the Afghani Taliban regime. Then there were many who did not recognize Saddam Hussein’s Iraq or the Serbs’ ethnic cleansing. We need to get used to the idea: The State of Israel, in its current form, is history.
We don’t believe in the notion of God’s Chosen People. We laugh at this people’s capriciousness and weep at its misdeeds. To act as God’s Chosen People is not only stupid and arrogant, but a crime against humanity. We call it racism.
Limits to tolerance
There are limits to our patience, and there are limits to our tolerance. We do not believe in divine promises as a justification for occupation and apartheid. We have left the Middle Ages behind. We laugh uneasily at those who still believe that the god of flora, fauna and the galaxies has selected one people in particular as his favourite and given it silly, stone tablets, burning bushes and a license to kill.
We call baby killers “baby killers” and will never accept that people such as these have a divine or historic mandate excusing their outrages. We just say: Shame on all apartheid, shame on ethnic cleansing and shame on every terrorist strike against civilians whether carried out by Hamas, the Hezbollah or the State of Israel!
And, unfortunately, it is in this type of environment of one-sidedness and political propaganda that the future left-wing politicians of Norway have their ideas and opinions formed. And nowhere is it more prevalent than within the ranks of SU (the youth wing of the socialist Left) and the AUF (the youth wing of the Labour Party). Former leader of the Oslo branch of the AUF, Askil Pedersen, was thrilled that Hamas won the elections in 2006 and stated that:
Hamas has won the most democratic elections in Palestine’s history, and the election results should be recognized with a state visit. Pedersen believes he will get the necessary support for this proposal from Oslo AUF, because Ariel Sharon — who is equally controversial — has previously been invited to Norway.
The AUF supports the Palestinian people in their struggle for liberation and the AUF will fight for an independent Palestinian state.
“The Norwegian Foreign Ministry has indicated its intention to promote trade cooperation between Norway and Israel. The AUF is opposed to this. First and foremost because it is two-faced and it is irresponsible to increase trade with a nation that so clearly violates human rights and international law. Israeli foreign trade enables the country to maintain the occupation and the AUF demands that the Norwegian government stop its plans. The AUF suggests that the government should start working on an international boycott campaign of Israel. For a country that is so heavily dependent on foreign trade and good relations with the rest of the world, a boycott could be the reaction that is necessary for political change to occur. We saw this with the Apartheid regime in South-Africa, and if the international community come together and join this initiative this could help bring down the Apartheid Wall in the West Bank. The AUF demands that: The Government stop the Foreign Ministry initiative to promote trade cooperation with Israel. That the Government should start working for an international boycott of Israel. That the Government sell its shares in the two French companies Alstom and Veolia immediately and raise the issue with Israeli authorities. That the Government stop all its investments in the Israel Electric Company.
Gry Larsen was declared an enemy of Israel in 2003. Later that same year she was stopped at Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv when she tried to visit the country. After a lengthy questioning process and baggage examination, she and another AUF member were refused entry into Israel on the grounds that she was a security risk. “I was treated like a terrorist and sent home,” Larsen later told the newspaper Dagbladet. The statement was later withdrawn by Israel.
The AUF has taken the initiative to start a petition within the social democrat community in support of the Gaza-flotilla and to demand that Israel end the illegal blockade of Gaza. “The struggle for a free Palestine is part of the Norwegian social democratic soul,” says AUF leader Eskil Pedersen. Among the names on the petition are several members of parliament from the Labour Party, representatives from trade unions, including union leader Jan Davidsen, and several candidates running in local elections, including Labour’s mayoral candidate in Bergen and member of the central committee, Martha Mjøs. “We demand that the ships be allowed to leave Greek ports, and that they be allowed into Gaza. We condemn the Israeli blockade of Gaza which imprisons 1.5 million people, and we demand that the Norwegian Government start working on having the blockade lifted,” says Pedersen.
The AUF want a unilateral Norwegian economic embargo of Israel.
“The AUF wants a more aggressive Middle East policy and we demand that Norway recognize Palestine. Enough is enough. We now need to get the peace process into a new track,” said Pedersen. The foreign minister admitted that the situation is difficult, but believes that a boycott is the wrong to proceed.
“Boycotting means that we go from dialogue to monologue. It would then be difficult to open the door the day we wish to start talking with Israel again,” said Støre.
Norway’s prime minister and foreign minister were busy with damage control tasks late this week, after one of their government’s coalition parties called for a boycott of Israeli products. And just when Israel’s own prime minister was lying gravely ill. The Norwegian government has long supported Israel and has been active in years of attempts to broker peace between the Israelis and Palestinians. That’s what Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg tried to stress, when downplaying the boycott call by the Socialist Left party (SV).
SV is open to the idea of using military force against Israel. In a proposal to the congress by a unanimous committee it is suggested that the international community could intervene militarily against Israel if the country decides to attack Gaza. The proposal that deals with Norway’s participation in the Libyan war is also open to military reactions against Israel. “The world’s credibility is undermined when actions aren’t taken against other states in the region which violate the rights of civilian populations. The world community must also respond to Israeli air attacks in the Gaza Strip,” according to the proposal.
But Mullah Krekar isn’t the only foreign terrorist living the high life in Norway. Another famous terrorist living in the country is Souhaila Andrawes, who participated in the hijacking of Lufthansa flight 181 in 1977, which resulted in the killing of the German captain. According to passengers that were onboard the plane at the time, Mrs. Andrawes acted very aggressively towards the passengers and she physically assaulted several of them. But the Norwegian authorities took pity on her and gave her a residence permit. Mrs. Andrawes now lives in Oslo.
And she isn’t the only hijacker that Norway has granted political asylum to. Norway also granted asylum on humanitarian grounds to two Iranian nationals who hijacked a Russian Aeroflot plane in 1993 and forced it to land in Norway. Like Mrs Andrawes, these hijackers also acted in a very aggressive manner during the hijacking.
It has also been revealed that Norwegian authorities gave political asylum on humanitarian grounds to 33 Taliban fighters in 2009.
But this is just the tip of the iceberg. In addition to the above-mentioned individuals, thousands of other criminals and potential terrorists are allowed to reside inside Norway’s borders and more are arriving every day. A question worth asking is: How many terrorists can be found among these so called ‘asylum seekers’, a hundred, or perhaps even a thousand?
Another question that raises serious doubts about the political Left’s belief in democratic principles is the violent Norwegian Marxist anarchist organization Blitz. This organization has since its inception in the early 1980’s extensively used violence and intimidation to curtail the freedom of its political opponents. And the truly shocking thing is that Blitz has since 1982 been allowed to stay in an old tenement building owned by the city of Oslo, despite the organization’s violent and undemocratic nature. Members of the Blitz movement were heavily involved in the physical assaults on members of anti-immigration organizations and for disrupting political meetings of the Progress Party in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The fact that the Norwegian authorities have chosen not to intervene and evict Blitz from their base in Oslo is clear evidence that the political left-wing establishment silently condones the Blitz’s behaviour, which may not be that hard to understand when we consider the political Left’s support for militant organizations abroad.
In the aftermath of the Oslo attacks, one Israeli political commentator suggested that Norwegian authorities’ ambiguous views on terrorism perhaps had an impact on Breivik’s decision to execute the attacks. I don’t personally subscribe to this assertion, but I believe that such a claim is just as valid as claims made by the Left that Breivik was heavily influenced by right-wing bloggers. I believe Breivik and only Breivik is to blame. There is a very distinct difference between ideas and actions.
As I mentioned previously in this essay, the left-wing community in Norway has made serious accusations against the conservative community in Norway in the aftermath of the attacks. The Left has also demanded that the conservative community re-evaluate their views in light of these attacks. I believe that it’s more appropriate to ask the Left to re-evaluate their views, and in particular their views and positions on terrorism, regardless of whether it is foreign or domestic, because neither should be supported.
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Thanks rmlew. Hey, isn’t that redundant? :’)
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