Norway’s parliament has authorized a government request for sending troops to Syria, a new sign that the pacifist Scandinavian country may become involved deeper in the conflict in the Arab country.
The government in Oslo said the parliament gave the go-ahead on Wednesday for a potential dispatch of troops to Syria.
“It is therefore more on the agenda that coalition forces should be able to train, advise and give operational support on Syrian territory in their battle against IS (Daesh),” Norwegian Defense Minister Ine Eriksen Soereide said in a statement, adding, “Local forces (in Syria) are making more progress than we could have expected.”
Norway has plans to dispatch some 60 troops to Jordan this summer with the alleged aim of training local forces battling the Takfiri Daesh terrorists. The government had earlier said it could consult the parliament in case a direct military presence in Syria becomes necessary.
The new contingent would consist of some 60 Norwegian soldiers, according to the approved government plans.
Oslo has already sent some 120 troops to Iraq to train and support Kurdish fighters against Daesh.
Western governments have been contributing for the past two years to a so-called US-led coalition of forces claiming to battle Daesh in Iraq and Syria.
The presence of foreign forces in Syria has drawn fierce criticism from the country’s government, with Damascus saying that the unauthorized deployment violates Syria’s territorial integrity.
Foreign Minister Brende’s opening speech at Sixth World Congress against the death penalty in Oslo.
At all times, we must remember that – contrary to what many people think – the death penalty is not exclusive to any particular region, political system, religion, culture or tradition.
As we have learned time and again, no justice system is perfect. There are numerous cases of innocent people serving time. Death row is no exception.
Some 700 priests called for clemency.
In addition to the constitutional mandate, Power of Mercy Act 2011 assigns the committee support functions including undertaking research and collecting data on matters related to power of mercy.
Mangala Samaraweera, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka in Norway to attend the 6th World Congress against the Death Penalty.
Thank you, thank you, Ladies and gentlemen and friends. It is indeed a great honor to be here today at the Norwegian Institute for International affairs.
In fact, this victory in January was repeated again in August where extremist political parties on all sides of the divide were again decisively defeated and for the first time in Sri Lanka’s history, the two principle political parties which have governed Sri Lanka since independence chose to be on the same side leaving aside the bitterness of the past. And also for the first time, the leader of the TNA, the party which represents the Tamil community in Sri Lanka was chosen as the leader of the opposition and thus I feel a new window of opportunity was opened for Sri Lanka after many years to rectify the mistakes of the past and go forward towards a new future.
From here I go to Geneva next week where I will be making a statement on what we are doing now and also the fact that the Government is united in its determination to come to terms with what happened earlier. Again certain newspapers and social media like to say that the President has one view, the Prime Minister has another, the Foreign Minister yet another but it is not so. We are working unitedly. In fact, those of you who heard President Sirisena addressing the nation on the 4th of February during the independence day of Sri Lanka this year, he said “ It is now time for us to seize the current opportunity that is before us to implement the provisions of the Geneva resolution, not because of International pressure, but because as a nation, we must implement these provisions for the sake of restoring the dignity of our nation, our people and our military, in order for Sri Lanka to regain her due position as a strong democracy among the community of nations.” So we are moving ahead as I said with confidence and meeting the challenges head on.
We have been getting a lot of support from the West since the new government came into power. There’s a tsunami of goodwill I’d like say but that good will must now transform itself into practical day to day realities and the best way you can help as I said is by choosing Sri Lanka as your destination of choice for investment for trade.
If you want to know what kind of diplomacy Sri Lanka is following, I would like to go back to something Jawaharlal Nehru said in 1947. He said “Whatever policy you may lay down, the art of conducting foreign affairs of a country lies finding out what is most advantageous to the country.” So I think today it may sound very selfish but we aren’t ideologically driven but self interest is I would say is the driving force in our foreign policy. Because we want to ensure that the people of Sri Lanka, even at this late stage, get the future that they truly deserve.
In 1956, a few years after Independence, my father, then the Parliamentary Secretary for Justice, proposed a bill ending capital punishment which was supported by S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike, the Prime Minister and founder of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party – our island’s other main political party. The bill passed but tragically the death penalty was resumed a few years later as result of Mr. Bandaranaike’s assassination until a de facto moratorium was instituted in 1976.
was overwhelmingly in favour of the death penalty in 1981, its abolition decided by the then President of France led to a change of public opinion. It is clear that the debate resulting from the process of abolishing the death penalty and the lack of change in crime rates after the death penalty has been abolished allays the public’s fears. As a result there have been very, very few cases of reversal once the death penalty is abolished.
In a message to a world conference against the death penalty in Oslo, Norway, Pope Francis says capital punishment “contradicts God’s plan for individuals and society, and his merciful justice” and says that growing opposition to the practice is a “sign of hope.”
“Indeed, nowadays the death penalty is unacceptable, however grave the crime of the convicted person,” Francis said on the message released on Tuesday.
“It does not render justice to victims, but instead fosters vengeance,” Francis said in Spanish.
As he has done several times before, the Argentine pontiff also called for an improvement of prison conditions so that they respect the dignity of does incarcerated. Rendering justice, he said, “does not mean seeking punishment for its own sake, but ensuring that the basic purpose of all punishment is the rehabilitation of the offender.”
A Kenyan delegation is in Oslo, Norway to attend the 6th World Congress against the Death Penalty.
State Secretary Tore Hattrem’s speech at the 200th anniversary of the Office of the Auditor General of Norway.
Norway has revealed a proposed defence spending plan that allows for the acquisition of a new maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) to replace its six-strong fleet of Lockheed P-3 Orions.
The United States and Norway this week announced (1) they would offset the greenhouse gas emissions from their aviation industry by buying voluntary emission reduction credits from reduced emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in tropical forests. The plan would violate the Rio Declaration in two ways.
The UK energy regulator has granted a licence to a Norwegian consortium that plans to build a 345-mile power cable to bring renewable hydro power into Britain.
Although Norway is not an EU member, it has agreed on a voluntary contribution of €2.8 billion to promote economic and social cohesion in poorer Eastern European countries. “It’s a win-win situation,” explains Elisabeth Aspaker who adds: “It’s not a rule that we should get something back.”
“This year’s observance of the International Day of Yoga highlights the important role healthy living plays in the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals, adopted last year by all 193 United Nations Member States.” Ban Ki-moon , United Nations Secretary-General
The Norwegian government has proposed a substantial increase in military funding to tackle “deteriorated” security situation in its long-term plan for the Nordic country’s armed forces.
Just days after the ISIS-inspired Orlando shooting, Secretary of State John Kerry was busy touring the Arctic Circle this week to see how climate change was affecting the region. But he did make one stunning admission: ISIS and terrorism poses a bigger threat than climate change, revealing a drastic paradigm shift. On Thursday, Kerry told reporters in Norway that “I’d probably give violent extremism — have to say one of — the defining threat[s] of a generation.” He also said, “Besides the fight against extremism is to deal with the enormous battle of climate change.” In the past, Kerry has likened climate change as the most serious threat facing mankind, and the “largest weapon of mass destruction.”
Norway’s Crown Princess Mette-Marit has opened the Petter Dass festival in Alstahaug.
Rosselkhoznadzor head Sergey Dankvert met with Jose Miguel Burgos, the head of Chile’s Sernapesca fisheries body, on Thursday.