STORTINGET (Nettavisen): – I walk around with an alarm all the time.
Olaug Bollestad does not really want to talk about it, but nevertheless he has agreed to appear in an interview.
It is time to speak, she believes.
The alarm she got from PST, she has been carrying around for a long time, but the need to use it is somewhat different now than before.
– A notification goes straight to the police when I press it. There is a feeling of security, but I never thought that I would wear it every day at work, the director of KrF tells Nettavisen.
Most of the unpleasant experiences come recently from Palestinian activists in Oslo, says Bollestad. She is not the only one. Recently turned three people who were arrested after following Frp leader Sylvi Listhaug.
– I have never felt as dangerous as I am now, said the head of the KrF.
– The cleaner is called the “mother of the people”.
Palestinian protesters regularly block the entrances to the Storting. On Wednesday, all entrances were blocked again and the police had to forcefully remove protesters.
The Storting has sometimes stationed guards outside the doors to ensure that staff, journalists and representatives do not enter.
When entrances cannot be blocked, the protesters are happy to shout.
As a rule, slogans are shouted against Israel’s war and accusations of Norwegian sympathies. Several politicians and Storting Nettavisen councilors have spoken about unpleasant experiences at meetings with the activists.
A councilor who wishes to remain anonymous has seen on several occasions that cleaners, restaurant staff and administrators at the Storting do not let protesters pass unannounced.
– Cleaners and people in the IT department are called “people movers” on their way to work, says the consultant.
Tells about motivation
During the interview with Nettavisen, KrF leader Bollestad shows several times the importance of freedom of expression and freedom of expression.
But it turns uncomfortable when it becomes focused and personal.
– There must be great generosity in presentation, but do so without threatening or creating insecurity. There is also a lot of pressure on social media and email. They go for personal things, like looks. They think it hurts more. Now I’m a woman over 60, so I don’t really worry about that.
– I am very safe, but when you find yourself starting to look over your shoulder, some of us must want to talk.
– Are you afraid?
– Of course I can be scared. But I don’t want to be that kind of woman who presses the alarm all the time. I think “I won’t budge”, because I don’t want it to control us as a society.
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There are others who have it worse, she believes.
– The current situation of Norwegian Jews is worse. When anti-Semitism grows, we shut many out of open public discourse. I thought it was special that Jewish women were not allowed to go on the train on March 8th. At the same time, protesters stood and shouted
A slogan that refers to the area between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. The slogan is also used by Hamas, and according to some, it means that a Palestinian state should cover this whole area, and thus remove Israel from the map. Others believe that the slogan is merely peaceful.
” /> – they say that someone has to go, that Israel has to stop.
It was distributed
Another councilor says that there are about 15 protesters on the way in the door. It is said that a microphone was placed in his face and he was asked several questions about what the person should do to ensure the safety of those in Gaza.
Eventually the consultant, whom Nettavisen is anonymous because of his relationship with the employer, passed the protesters. The person says it was still unpleasant:
– Nothing happened beyond that, but you don’t feel confident about safety and that they are in control.
The Storting’s head of security was contacted about the incident, but they were able to ensure that the situation is under control.
– He does not feel that they have control, because there were no guards present, said the councillor.
Story representative Anna Molberg in the Conservative Party has also had the experience of meeting the activists. She believes they are more concerned with one-way communication than real communication.
– When I pass, I hear that today I was dressed so nicely. “Do you think the women in Gaza can do the same?” Or you get a video camera in your face with controversial questions as you try to break through to make an appointment. It certainly doesn’t invite conversation.
– Totally disrespectful behavior
Representative Mahmoud Farahmand in the Conservative Party is among those who respond.
He emphasizes to Nettavisen that it must be high under the roof in Norway and that the politicians must be able to show outside the Storting. But that can go too far, he believes.
– It has to be so that we politicians can feel safe too. If you get more cases like the one with Listhaug, the mutual trust ends, and it’s damaging for everyone, he says and says:
– I hear about colleagues, and there are far more than Listhaug, who are stopped on their way in the door and asked to show their identity because they need to know who they are it seems to live under occupation, or who was pushed, and that is completely unheard of. Totally unheard of behavior!
– Freedom of expression stands strong
Nettavisen has also spoken to a number of people who have never been harassed or had an unpleasant experience with the activists.
Storting representative Siv Mossleth in the Center Party says she has almost stepped on people on the way to the door of the Storting, but she has never been exposed to anything wrong. pleasant
– Freedom of expression is strong in Norway. In a democracy, we must accept that people express themselves as long as it is within the framework of the law, but I distance myself from those who oppress individuals. On my way to work, I have almost stepped on people who have been lying down and showing up, but I have not experienced harassment personally, she tells Nettavisen.
– Works against its purpose
Høyre-Molberg believes that the activists’ method is not very effective.
– It works against its purpose. A bit like Extinction Rebellion clinging to the fence in the gallery in Stornoway. It’s the kind of activity that doesn’t work well for elected officials, she says, adding:
– Of course you should be allowed to express yourself. I understand that the case leads to a very emotional involvement and that one feels powerless against what is happening in the Middle East.
Get help from the police
The head of the Storting’s security department, Pål Munck, reports a significant increase in the number of demonstrations, both on Eidsvoll square in front of the Storting and at the doors.
– It is important that people are allowed to exercise their freedom of expression. At the same time, it is important that we have security for everyone who works at the Storting. In that context, we work closely with the police, he says to Nettavisen.
– We have heard about workers being called genocidals on the way to work. Has it been uncomfortable for the staff?
– It is clear that it is unpleasant for people to be called ugly things. At the same time, it is probably within the freedom of expression and maybe something that people have to accept, even if it feels uncomfortable.
– Politicians are responsible for the violence
Fredrik Glad-Gjernes is a spokesman for the Palestinian Task Force, which sometimes blocks entrances to the Storting. He believes that the protesters are not reckless or violent.
– Storting politicians are responsible for the violence and the break with democratic traditions, he says in response to Nettavisen.
He says that the Oil Fund has shares in companies that manufacture weapons and defense equipment used by Israel. The Norwegian Oil Fund must get out of those, the task force, which gives responsibility to the Storting.
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Normally, the Norwegian Oil Fund’s ethics council decides which companies are banned, but the Storting has banned the Norwegian Oil Fund from investing in Syria, North Korea , Russia and Belarus.
The Chairman of the Ethics Council, Richard Brandtzæg, has said before E24 that companies can be excluded if they sell weapons to states that use them in violation of humanitarian law. It is a legal assessment, not a political one, that needs to be clarified before banning someone, he says.
– Don’t understand
Israel is committing genocide against the people of Gaza, according to Glad-Gjernes. He says the group is not violent, physically or verbally. What is said, he believes, the politicians must put up with.
– The demonstrators in the Task Force for Palestine have never used violence, verbally or physically. Because some freelancers in spontaneous action followed Sylvi Listhaug from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the Storting while shouting “Sylvi hør, children in Gaza are dying” or “Shame ont” is not reckless behavior or any threat to a representative of. the Storage.
– We do not understand that Bollestad or Molberg feel unsafe or afraid, he says and says:
– The Palestine Task Force has no information that Bollestad or Molberg have been exposed to anything, other than democratic statements that challenge the fact that KrF and the Conservative Party support Israel while committing war crimes and genocide.
2024-05-12 19:47:59
#Loads #insecurity #alarm #time
