Friday, May 15, 2026
Asia and Norway

Multilateralism is at greater risk since Cold War, Kazakh President says at UN

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

“Multilateralism now faces greater risk than at any point since the end of the Cold War,” said President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of Kazakhstan, addressing the High-Level Meeting to commemorate the 75th Anniversary of the United Nations“

The history of the United Nations has been a period of intense collective efforts and rich learning: from decolonization to development, from child protection to climate change, from health to human rights, from peacekeeping to peacemaking… When we look around us today, many new challenges – and some old recurring ones – threaten to drag us back in time. Multilateralism now faces greater risk than at any point since the end of the Cold War. COVID-19 has proven surprisingly difficult to be overcome. A second arms race looms. Our strategic development goals are suffering setbacks,” he said.

Kazakhstan’s President Kasym-Jomart Tokayev

However, the President questioned the position that the ideals enshrined in the UN Charter are no longer realistic. “As President of my country and a former senior official of the UN, I strongly disagree. More than ever, we must give rein to the horse of our hopes, not pull back out of fear. We must galvanize efforts in pursuit of those shared ideals, not abandon them. We must continue to build a rules-based community, not return to lawlessness”.

President Tokayev commended strong leadership by Secretary-General António Guterres and supported his work to boost the effectiveness, transparency, and accountability of the UN.

Over the last three decades since independence,  Kazakhstan has participated in endeavors of every major UN body – including the Security Council – in pursuit of a range of priorities including conflict resolution, non-proliferation and nuclear disarmament, combatting terrorism, interfaith and interethnic dialogue, as well as promoting the interests of Land Locked Developing Countries.

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Oil & Gas

DNO decarbonisation project in Iraq begins

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

Norwegian oil and gas operator DNO has said the Peshkabir Gas Capture and Injection Project in its Tawke license in the Kurdistan region of Iraq is onstream and has reached the 1 billion cu ft of gas injection milestone. The $110-million project is expected to reduce annual emissions from the company’s operated production by over 300,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent, offsetting the emissions from some 150,000 automobiles. 

Engineering and construction were launched in mid-2018 and commissioning completed in mid-2020 in what is the first gas capture and storage project in Kurdistan. Some 20 million cu ft a day of previously flared gas at the Peshkabir field is gathered, treated and transported 80 km by pipeline to the Tawke field where it is injected for storage and reservoir pressure recharging. 

Effective June 2020, the project halves the average carbon intensity of the company’s operated production from 14 kg CO2 equivalent for each barrel of oil equivalent produced (kg CO2e/boe) to an average of 7 kg CO2e/boe. This compares to the target set by a group of 12 of the world’s largest oil companies comprising the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI) to reduce the average carbon intensity of their aggregated upstream oil and gas operations to between 20-21 kg CO2e/boe by 2025 from a collective baseline of 23 kg CO2e/boe in 2017. 

“Gas injection and the associated carbon capture and storage is proven, practical and potentially profitable,” said Bijan Mossavar-Rahmani, DNO’s Executive Chairman. “Our project was completed on schedule and on budget notwithstanding the challenges of working in what is still a frontier oil and gas operating environment and the obstacles posed in the late stages by the Covid-19 pandemic,” he added. 

Gas flaring at the Peshkabir field has been reduced by over 75 per cent, with work underway to reduce it further.

Any Peshkabir field injected gas produced at the Tawke field will be recovered and recycled into the latter or used as fuel to displace diesel. Reservoir models suggest gas injection will increase gross Tawke field recoverable volume by 15 to 80 million barrels of oil, of which 23 million barrels are included in the gross proven and probable (2P) Tawke field reserves in the DNO 2019 Annual Statement of Reserves and Resources. 

DNO’s greenhouse gas emissions increased following commencement of production from the Peshkabir field in 2017 as the oil contains a relatively high associated gas content.

Flaring from the Peshkabir field was the largest single contributor to DNO’s total 2019 greenhouse gas emissions of 639,200 tonnes of CO2e. Mossavar-Rahmani announced the launch of a new initiative to more actively measure, monitor and mitigate methane leakages at DNO’s operated sites, noting that while CO2 emissions from oil and gas operations receive the greatest attention, methane emissions are a significant but underreported source of greenhouse gas with an impact 25 times greater than CO2 on a 100-year horizon. 

DNO operates the Tawke license containing the Tawke and Peshkabir fields with a 75 per cent interest; partner Genel Energy plc holds the remaining 25 percent. The company will publish its corporate social responsibility report, which covers greenhouse gas emissions developments and strategies, in the coming days. 

–Traderabia News Service

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Terrorist

Hezbollah of storing ammonium nitrate in Europe – USA

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

Militant group Hezbollah has stored chemicals that can be used to make explosives in several European countries, a senior US State Department official said Thursday as he appealed to countries in Europe and elsewhere to impose bans on the organization.

Hezbollah operatives have moved ammonium nitrate from Belgium to France, Greece, Italy, Spain and Switzerland in recent years and are suspected to still be storing the material throughout Europe, said Nathan Sales, the State Department coordinator for counter-terrorism.

Ammonium nitrate is a chemical compound commonly used as a fertiliser, but it can be used to make explosives. It can also be dangerous in storage, as demonstrated by the huge explosion last month in the Lebanese capital of Beirut.

“Why would Hezbollah stockpile ammonium nitrate on European soil?” he said. “The answer is clear: Hezbollah put these weapons in place so it could conduct major terrorist attacks whenever it or its masters in Tehran deemed necessary.”

Sales called on more countries to do the same.

Hezbollah is a “unitary organization that cannot be subdivided into a military and so-called political wing,” he said. Without a full ban, the group can still raise money and recruit operatives.

“Hezbollah is one organization,” he said. “It is a terrorist organization.”

Below is a full rush transcript of the press conference by Ambassador-at-Large Nathan A. Sales State Department Coordinator for Counterterrorism.

Ambassador Sales:  Thanks very much, I’ll speak very briefly.  I just came from a panel discussion hosted by the American Jewish Committee about the Hizballah threat to Europe, and I wanted to share with you some of the key points that came up during this conference. 

The United States has long designated Hizballah as a terrorist organization in its entirety.  That goes back to 1997.  And we encourage more countries around the world to do the same, that is to say, to reject the false notion that there is a distinction between a so-called political wing of Hizballah and Hizballah’s terrorist enterprises.  Our ask is for more countries to designate Hizballah in its entirety. 

We’re seeing really incredible moments on that front as more and more countries around the world recognize reality and designate or ban the group in its entirety.  In 2019, the United Kingdom did so.  Germany this year banned Hizballah in its entirety.  And just within the past several months we’ve seen similar announcements from Lithuania, Kosovo, and Serbia.  Closer to home, here in the Western Hemisphere we’ve seen incredible momentum with countries like Argentina, Paraguay, Colombia, and Honduras designating or banning Hizballah in its entirety within the past 18 months. 

Part of the reason why these countries are designating Hizballah is because they recognize the threat that Hizballah poses to the world and to them.  Earlier today I revealed new information about the threat that Hizballah poses to Europe and its presence in Europe, and I’d like to share that previously sensitive information with you now. 

Since 2012, Hizballah has established caches of ammonium nitrate throughout Europe by transporting first aid kits whose cold packs contain the substance.  And as we all saw in the Port of Beirut explosion, ammonium nitrate is a truly dangerous substance. 

To continue, I can reveal that such caches have been moved through Belgium to France, Greece, Italy, Spain, and Switzerland.  I can also reveal that significant ammonium nitrate caches have been discovered or destroyed in France, Greece, and Italy.  We have reason to believe that this activity is still underway.  As of 2018, ammonium nitrate caches were still suspected throughout Europe, possibly in Greece, Italy, and Spain. 

And that is why we continue to regard Hizballah as a threat, not just to the United States but to our European allies as well.  And that is why we renew our call for more countries to designate Hizballah in its entirety, and for the European Union to expand its 2013 designation of the so-called military wing to reach the entire organization. 

Question:  What’s your assessment of the reality that Hizballah represent in Lebanon and the region? 

Ambassador Sales:  Well, we think that Hizballah is not a force for stability in Lebanon.  To the contrary, we think that Hizballah is a force for instability in Lebanon.  Hizballah is not a solution to Lebanon’s problems.  Hizballah is the cause of Lebanon’s problems.  It has helped foster a culture of corruption and impunity.  It has enriched itself at the expense of the Lebanese people.  And the solution is for us to recognize the reality that Hizballah is not a political organization.   It’s not a legitimate representative of the Lebanese people.  What it is, is a terrorist organization that exists to shed blood around the world, act at the behest of its masters in Tehran.  The way to address this problem is to call it for what it is, and marginalize and isolate Hizballah as the terrorist group that it is.  Thank you. 

Question:  I see that most European countries consider that Hizballah is a completely terrorist organization.  This was well-received by the United States.  But the question is, why France is dealing with flexibility with Hizballah in Lebanon? 

Ambassador Sales:  I think a number of European countries, like the UK and Germany, share our view that Hizballah is a terrorist organization through and through.  We’d like to see more join the club, as it were.  When it comes to France and our objectives in Lebanon, I think France and the United States share the same goal; we all want to see a Lebanon that is sovereign, that is prosperous, and that is stable.  At the same time, I think we have to recognize that we have some pretty substantial disagreements about how best to accomplish that goal. 

We do not think that it is helpful to engage with Hizballah as though it were a legitimate political actor.  In our view, those sorts of engagements only serve to legitimize what is in fact a terrorist organization.  Instead, the U.S. approach is to engage with the legitimate organs of the Lebanese state, including providing extensive assistance to those entities in the hopes that the Lebanese state can stand up strong and prosper without Hizballah’s interference. 

Since 2006, the United States has invested billions of dollars in Lebanon.  We’ve devoted more than $2 billion to improve the capabilities of Lebanon security services.  We’ve also devoted more than a billion dollars of economic assistance to Lebanon.  So we all want the same thing for Lebanon, but the way to get there does not run through Hizballah, in our view. 

Question:  First, what’s the importance of the sanctions today on Hizballah?  And second, what’s the effect of the U.S. sanctions on the party, especially that it’s still able to provide money, salaries, and its followers’ needs? 

Question:  Are you seeing any signs from Lebanon that these sanctions are perhaps driving a wedge between Hizballah and its ally?  And I know it’s one question, but I’m going to just throw that in.  There is a sectarian, now, battle over the formation of the next government.  Does the U.S. object to having a Shia finance minister, I mean, if we can be blunt about it? 

Ambassador Sales:  Thanks for the question.  So these are sort of inside baseball questions about the behind-the-scenes developments in Lebanon as it – as it struggles with some very significant crises:  the financial crisis brought on by decades of corruption and mismanagement, aided and abetted, of course, by Hizballah, as well as the more immediate humanitarian catastrophe in the wake of the Beirut port explosion. 

I don’t have a whole lot to say about what’s going on behind the scenes other than to reiterate what the United States’ goal is in this situation.  We want to see a Lebanon that is sovereign and independent and prosperous and stable.  And we want to see it emerge from the current crises in a way that allows it to reach that goal.  And we think the best way to reach that outcome is not to legitimize Hizballah as a political player, but to marginalize and isolate it and rely on other legitimate organs of Lebanese society and the Lebanese state.  Thanks. 

Question:   Today new sanctions will be issued against Lebanese officials that are linked to Hizballah.  Will the U.S. sanctions be similar to European sanctions?  What will the repercussions be on the struggling Lebanese government?  Will you be able to separate the military and political part?

Ambassador Sales:  Our sanctions do not distinguish between a military part of Hizballah or a political part of Hizballah.  Our sanctions are premised on the reality that Hizballah is a single organization, and it’s a terrorist organization, root and branch.  And you don’t need to take the U.S.’s word for that.  Hizballah itself has been perfectly clear that they do not themselves recognize a distinction between their terrorist operations and a so-called political branch.  So our sanctions against Hizballah are and always have been directed at the entirety of the organization, and that will continue to be the case. 

As far as the effects of our sanctions are concerned, and this is true regardless of whether we’re talking about sanctions on Hizballah or al-Qaeda or ISIS or any other terrorist organization, the effect is to exclude the named individuals and entities from the U.S. financial system, and to drive up their costs of doing business.  We want to make it harder for them to raise money.  We want to make it harder for them to transfer money.  We want to make it harder for them to run front companies because by starving these organizations of resources, you prevent them from committing acts of mass murder. 

Question:  Are you trying to link the incident that took place in our port here in Beirut with what’s happening in Europe and, like, So are you trying to say that these ammonium nitrates belonged to Hizballah at the port?  Is that what you’re trying to picture here, Ambassador Sales?


Ambassador Sales:  We know that Hizballah has stored massive amounts of ammonium nitrate across Europe.  According to the information I revealed today, those sorts of caches have been found in a number of countries, including the UK, Greece, France, Italy, and a number of others.  We also know from what we saw in Beirut the truly destructive power of ammonium nitrate.  It’s capable of inflicting mass destruction when used as an explosive.  That is why the United States has called for a full, open, and transparent and thorough investigation of the explosion in Beirut, and we hope to see the results of that shortly.

Question:  My question was that Mr. David Schenker mentioned that the sanctions on former ministers Finyanus and Ali Hassan Khalil were a message to other Lebanese politicians who failed to fight corruption.  On what grounds would the U.S. administration take this kind of sanctions leaning towards – in – for targeting corruption, or those who didn’t fight corruption?


Ambassador Sales:  Well, we think that the sanctions send a clear signal that business as usual in Lebanon is not going to work for the Lebanese people.  I don’t have much more to add beyond what Assistant Secretary Schenker has said.  But the United States stands firmly on the side of the Lebanese people whose aspiration is for a stable state in which the government is responsive to their needs and not beholden to a terrorist organization.

Question:  I would like to ask you, are there any comments on the Hizballah in the GCC?  As you mentioned on the cache of the ammonium nitrate, do you see a risk of these in this region?  What’s your comment on that?  


Ambassador Sales:  I don’t have any more sensitive information to reveal today.  But what I can tell you more broadly is in the Gulf region, we are grateful to the Gulf Cooperation Council as well as the Arab League for the actions they have taken to counter Hizballah.  Both organizations have joined the United States in designating Hizballah in its entirety, and we commend them for that.  More broadly, we have seen a range of Iran-backed terrorist organizations – not just Hizballah but others backed by Iran – that are active in the region and that seek to promote violence, whether it’s Kata’ib Hizballah in Iraq, Al-Ashtar Brigades in Bahrain, or various other groups with links to Iran.  The story is very similar.  The story is the same.  These groups take money, weapons, and resources from their masters in Tehran, use those resources to commit acts of violence, and the United States will do everything in our power using our sanctions tools to dry up those resources so that our partners in the Gulf don’t have to face this threat.

Question:  You specifically mentioned that sanctions have had an impact on Hizballah specifically.  Do you see the sanctions having a positive impact on the U.S. will to drive a wedge between Hizballah and its allies inside Lebanon?


Ambassador Sales:  If you’ve been sanctioned by the United States and by Britain and by Germany, that is a pretty good sign that you’re not a legitimate political organization.  It’s a pretty good sign that you’re a terrorist organization.  So we think there is an obvious practical effect to our sanctions, which is to dry up resources, and those are having a demonstrable effect.  Hassan Nasrallah not so long ago was publicly requesting donations because our sanctions have had a significant enough bite that he is not able to count on the same level of support that he previously enjoyed.  But in addition to those practical consequences, there’s also a very strong messaging value to our sanctions, and that is to say by branding you a terrorist organization, by recognizing the reality that you’re a terrorist organization, it helps to marginalize and isolate that group.

Question:  You label Hizballah at a whole as a terrorist group; on the other hand, your – as far as I know, your ambassador is in Beirut and is dealing with Hizballah members of government and the U.S. does it too, the whole administration.  So isn’t that consequent – inconsequent, because is the U.S. dealing with terrorists, negotiating?  I mean, that can’t be.


Ambassador Sales:  I guess I’d reject the premise of your question, which is that the United States is engaging with Hizballah.  That’s simply not the case.  Our policy has never been to engage Hizballah, and that is a policy that has stretched back for 23 years and has been shared by presidents and administrations of very different political parties and very different overall views.  But the one thing that has united U.S. policy towards Hizballah since 1997 is to call it for what it is: a terrorist organization.  

Now, we are engaged in very robust diplomacy with Lebanon and we are engaged in very robust foreign assistance to Lebanon.  But make no mistake, that is engagement with the legitimate organs of the Lebanese state, and the purpose of that engagement is precisely to strengthen them against Hizballah’s malign influence.  So we see no double standard whatsoever in marginalizing and sanctioning Hizballah on the one hand, and dealing with non-Hizballah elements of the Lebanese state on the other.  Thank you.

Question:  I want to ask about Ismail Haniyeh’s visit to Lebanon.  he’s living in Lebanon for two weeks.  How does the United States look for this visit, especially since he was in Turkey and he met President Erdogan, knowing that Turkey is a member of NATO?


Ambassador Sales:  It’s not helpful for a designated terrorist like Ismail Haniyeh to be able to travel freely throughout the Middle East or throughout the world.  Our position is very clear.  Hamas is a designated terrorist organization.  Like Hizballah, it was one of the first groups ever to be designated by the United States.  And Haniyeh himself has been additionally singled out as a specially designated global terrorist.  We do not regard him as a legitimate political actor.  He is a person who has blood on his hands and we would encourage the rest of the world to recognize him for what he is and treat him accordingly, as a terrorist, not a statesman.

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Russia and Norway

More NATO jets are being scrambled from Norway

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

Two NATO F-16s scrambled into the air on Monday to identify Russian military planes, as the number of such QRAs (Quick Reaction Alerts) in the High North has already surpassed the 2019 count.

“We can confirm NATO QRA from Bodø on mission today,” spokesperson Major Brynjar Stordal told the Barents Observer.

A Norwegian F-16 flies alongside a Russian Il-38 aircraft. (Norwegian Air Force via The Independent Barents Observer)

Also this weekend, Stordal said, two Russian Tu-142 anti-submarine warfare planes from the Northern Fleet were identified outside Norwegian air space. The planes continued south to the north of England before returning home. Two weeks ago, the U.S. Navy submarine Seawolf surfaced outside Tromsø in northern Norway for crew replacement.

By September 14, Norwegian fighter jets on NATO alert have been scrambled 41 times. In 2019, 38 QRA take-offs took place. The number of Russian aircraft identified last year was 83, one less than so far in 2020, which still has more than 3 months left.

The Norwegian Joint Headquarters underlines that it has several means to identify Russian military planes, so scrambles itself do not necessarily paint the whole picture.

In the first 15 years after the end of the first Cold War, there were very few scrambles. In 2007, Russian long-range bombers (Tu-95 and Tu-160) again started to fly west of the Barents Sea into international airspace in the North Atlantic.

The number of scrambles from the airbase in Bodø increased until 2014. In 2015-2016 the Russian military flight activity in the High North was substantially lower again, which the Norwegian military attributed to activities other places, and maintenance challenges with the planes. From 2018, when Norway hosted the Trident Juncture exercise, Russia’s long-distance flights increased again.

Last week, Norwegian, British, American and Danish maritime surveillance aircraft were daily met by Russian fighter jets over international airspace in the Barents Sea as the four-nation NATO naval group were exercising navigation in the area.

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Science

Wrocław to deliver electric buses to Norway’s Bodo

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

Volvo’s Wrocław plant will deliver 31 electric city buses to Norway’s northern city of Bodo. The buses, together with charging and servicing infrastructure, are to be delivered by July 2021.

“This is the largest project for the sustainable development of road transport in northern Norway, which is of great importance both for the region and for us,” Anders Mjaaland, director of Saltens Group, owner of Nordlandsbuss, was quoted in a press release as saying.

The contract has been signed for the delivery of 17 12-metre Volvo 7900 Electric models, and 14 large capacity Volvo 7900 electric articulated buses which can carry up to 120 passengers.Volvo Group

Anna Nojszewska, Volvo Polska communication director, told PAP that the vehicles will be the first electric buses to be operated in the northernmost area of the world and the first to enter service beyond the Arctic Circle.”

The contract has been signed for the delivery of 17 12-metre Volvo 7900 Electric models, and 14 large capacity Volvo 7900 electric articulated buses which can carry up to 120 passengers.

So far this year, Volvo has received orders for 63 electric buses from Norway, among others from Drammen and Alesund.

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Spy War

Intelligence: Diplomatic Impunity In Norway

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

In the latest of a growing number of incidents, a Russian diplomat was caught while Harsharn Singh Tathgar, a Norwegian citizen originally from India, was turning over classified information in a restaurant. The PST (Norwegian Security Police) men who made the arrest did not realize that the Russian involved was a diplomat although that was revealed loudly and repeatedly when the PST men searched the Russian and his briefcase for the classified data. The Russian had diplomatic immunity and could not be arrested or, technically, searched. Tathgar works for DNV GL, an international risk management firm based in Norway that did business with the Norwegian military, giving Tathgar access to classified material. Tathgar pled not-guilty of espionage but did admit he was receiving money from the Russians for information. The PST had discovered that Tathgar had been doing this for several years.

This was the first time since 1984 that a Norwegian citizen was arrested for selling classified information to Russia. It’s unusual for a Russian diplomat to be so directly involved in local espionage efforts. If caught the diplomat would be expelled and the staff size of the Russian embassy might be reduced. Normally the Russian are more careful when receiving classified information. One thing that is certain is the increasing Russian interest in Norwegian military affairs and technology developed by the many Norwegian firms that develop and export military technology. 

Back in 2008 Norwegian counter-intelligence officials reported that Russian espionage had returned to Cold War levels. Russian espionage has increased worldwide since 2000, ever since former espionage chief Vladimir Putin took charge after he was elected president. He has since become president-for-life. Russia denies this increased espionage, as one would expect, but does defend the use of espionage to protect Russian interests. At first those interests appeared to be mainly economic, but since 2014 military secrets have been sought as well. While Russia depends on the more traditional forms of espionage, like recruiting agents in foreign countries, China has energetically gone the high-tech route, making increasingly effective espionage forays via the Internet. China also uses human spies a lot, but also relies on thousands of Chinese students, businessmen and tourists to pick up bits of intel that are put together back in China to produce useful results.

There was a sharp drop in Russian espionage during the 1990s, and one of the first Russian targets was oil field technology. Norway is a leading developer of off-shore oil drilling equipment and techniques, as well as military equipment and other high-tech items. Norwegians understood Russian interest oil production tech but hoped that, after the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, the Russians would reduce their espionage efforts in Norway and the rest of Europe. That was the case for a short time before Russian rejoined other nations that were also after Norwegian technology, and had spies active in Norway but not to the extent of the Russians.

(strategypage)

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NATO and Norway

NATO-led Exercise In Georgia Downsized To 5 Nations

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

Organizers amid the coronavirus pandemic downsized NATO-led Noble Partner military exercises in the country of Georgia to five participating nations from 26 envisaged originally, Deputy Chief of the Georgian Defense Forces Irakli Tchitchinadze told reporters on Tuesday.

“Originally we had 26 different nations from NATO and NATO partners, but… because of COVID it was impossible for everyone to participate here this time,” he said during a phone briefing.

Approximately 2,800 military members from France, Georgia, Poland, the United Kingdom, and the United States, are participating in the exercise that kicked off on September 7 and will include on September 18.

Joe Jarrard, US Army Europe Deputy Commanding General for the Army National Guard, mentioned Ukraine among the countries which were invited, but couldn’t make it to Georgia.

“Ukraine was invited to participate in exercise but… Ukraine along with several other countries was not able to participate due to the mitigation measures,” he said.

Armor, artillery, paratrooper, engineering and other units train at Vaziani and Camp Norio areas in Georgia to increase their “readiness and interoperability,” Tchitchinadze said. They all operate in a coronavirus-proof “bubble” at the training range and so far there has been no cases of contamination during the exercise, he added.

Below is a full rush transcript of the press conference by Maj. Gen.  Joe Jarrard Deputy Commanding General for Army National Guard, U.S. Army Europe And Brig. Gen. Irakli Tchitchinadze Deputy Chief, Georgian Defence Forces.

Maj. Gen. Jarrard:  I’m very pleased to join you today to speak about Noble Partner, and I’m also especially glad to join Gen. Tchitchinadze from Georgia.  U.S. Army Europe is honored and proud to work with our Georgian Defence Force partners to host this exercise, and I look forward to discussing it with you today.

Gen. Tchitchinadze:  Thanks, it’s my pleasure and great honor to speak about Noble Partner 2020.  It’s one of the very important events we are hosting now in Georgia, and especially my thanks and appreciation for Georgian Defence Forces and from Georgian Ministry of Defence to Gen. Jarrard and to our partners.  Thank you again.

Question :  Has the exercise scenario been reflected in the hybrid threats which Georgia and other countries like Ukraine are currently facing?  Was Ukraine invited to participate?  And if not, why not? 

Maj. Gen. Jarrard:  To the answer the second part of the question first, Ukraine was invited to participate in the exercise, but, as everyone understands, COVID is impacting a lot of the training and exercise that we’re trying to conduct in this current environment.  And so Ukraine, along with several other countries, were not able to participate due to the mitigation measures that were needed to take place to participate, and so they are not participating currently.

With respect to the first part of the question, the hybrid threats, we’ve got a numerous force structure participating in the exercise, so there are some artillery units, our Striker units from 2nd Cavalry Regiment, engineer units, along with special forces units.  And so throughout the scenario there are different types of events that are taking place, and there are several hybrid threat scenarios involved in the process.

Brig. Gen. Tchitchinadze:  Actually, we had invited 26 different nations from NATO partners – NATO members and partner countries, but again, as Gen. Jarrard mentioned, because of COVID it was impossible actually for everyone to participate here this time this year.

Regarding the first question about hybrid, if it’s also involved from hybrid threats, I could say yes, definitely, because these exercises also are focusing to improve synchronization planning and improve SOF integration and interoperability as well as interdependence with conventional forces.  So it means that we have conventional forces and where it’s sort of [inaudible] exercised together.  Plus, as you know already, we conduct joint force entry with airborne assaults at Vaziani Training Area.  And so all these [inaudible] forces, they are combined arms and combined units, all together, and of course there is huge efforts regarding hybrid assessment.  

Brig. Gen. Tchitchinadze:  I’d like to mention United States, United Kingdom, Poland, and France.  So we have about 2,800 personnel totally with Georgian Defence Forces, of course, participating this year.

Question : Gen. Jarrard, what were sort of – what are some of the principal capabilities that you will be exercising during the course of this joint exercise?

Maj. Gen. Jarrard:  I’ll quickly read some of the exercise objectives and then talk about some of the types of units that are participating.  So some of the exercise objectives involve conducting a joint forcible entry with airborne assault.  And as my partner just mentioned, build multinational regional combined and joint partnership capacity; exercise coordination and integration capability in a multinational environment; improve interoperability at the tactical level between allies and partner nations; improve synchronization planning for enablers to increase effective fire-and-maneuver units; improve SOF integration and interoperability; and exercise and improve multinational command and control capabilities at the tactical level.  So those are some of the overarching training objectives that are – that we have.  

But then we have the Georgian National Guard is participating with a firing – a field artillery battery, and so they’re getting after some of their training objectives such as processing fire missions and synchronizing fire support operations and things like that. 

The engineer unit from the Georgian National Guard is doing – is conducting – providing support for mobility and breaching operations.  And then you’ve got the 2nd Cavalry Regiment that is also doing – they’re doing some live firing and also working with the partners there throughout the exercise.  So underneath those overarching exercise objectives, the individual units are not only working with their partners, but also working on their readiness objectives with respect to the normal soldier tasks that they need to accomplish if they are ever called to fight.

Question : Gen. Tchitchinadze, what are some of the Georgian military’s goals for this exercise?

Brig. Gen. Tchitchinadze:  So the main goal for us is to increase our readiness and, of course, interoperability with, of course, first of all, the United States and NATO members.  And the key point, again, this is building our interoperability with NATO and allied countries.  Also, to build the trust between the participants and that we really highly appreciate participating from our NATO partners in this exercise.  So I think this is the main one.

Question:  What you’re describing, was originally going to be done for the large exercise of the Europe 20 exercises?  Is this part of that or originally part of that or is this something completely separate?

Maj. Gen. Jarrard:  I will say that the joint forcible entry portion of this exercise was planned as part of the original DEFENDER 20 Exercise, but DEFENDER 20 was a series, really an umbrella over a series of exercises.  And so Noble Partner takes place every other year in even-numbered years, and so it was not necessarily linked to DEFENDER.  But the first part of this exercise, the joint forcible entry, was included in DEFENDER 20 but had to get pushed to the right due to the COVID impact. 

Brig. Gen. Tchitchinadze:  Actually, a little bit just regarding Noble Partner, you know, we are already doing this the fifth time in Georgia because we started from 2015 actually.  And every year, as it was mentioned by Gen. Jarrard, that we do this exercise – this year in Tbilisi, near from Tbilisi.  Just last year, in 2019, we did not because we had another multinational exercise, so conducted with United States and with our partners named as Agile Spirit 2019.  And so this year again, as you all know, we do this Noble Partner 2020.

Maj. Gen. Jarrard:  Well, the first thing I’d like to highlight is the fact that although COVID impacts the things that we’re doing now, we are – we take the safety of our soldiers and those participating in exercises very seriously.  And so – and what we have determined is that we have to continue to train.  And so I think this exercise is a great example that we still will maintain our training exercises, and we will do those with multinational partners and allies, and that we have figured out how to do that safely.

And so all of the soldiers that are participating in this exercise are within a bubble at the training range.  No one enters that bubble other than those that are participating.  And we have mitigation measures in place and the ability to test individuals throughout the exercise to make sure that the bubble is staying clean.  And if somebody does experience symptoms, then we will move them out of the bubble and take care of that – them medically.  So I just want to highlight that we are working in a new way within this COVID environment, but we have figured out how to do it safely, and we will continue to do exercises like this with our allies and partners. 

And so, as Gen. Tchitchinadze mentioned a minute ago, I appreciate him mentioning the word “trust” because we talk about interoperability and a lot of people think that that is through our communication devices and radios and so forth.  And while that is important and may be the hardest part of interoperability, it does involve person-to-person interaction.  And that’s – through these type of exercises, we’re developing that trust with our partners and allies that enables us to understand each other’s culture so that we can train and fight together if necessary.

Brig. Gen. Tchitchinadze:  On behalf of Georgian Defence Forces and Georgian Ministry of Defense, I one more time would like to stress on the importance of this multinational exercise that we are hosting now in Georgia, and especially to send to our partners participating in these exercises this year and especially to United States, one of the most important strategic partners which actively support Georgia’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, and democratic development, and strengthening our self-defense capabilities, of course.  

Regarding Noble Partner, this exercise fosters regional stability and security, strengthening readiness and defense capabilities, as it was mentioned.  And of course, it facilitates stability and peace in the region.  And that’s why we are very, very appreciative and very happy conducting Noble Partner almost every year.

Regarding COVID, as it was mentioned by Gen. Jarrard, there was a lot of regulations, very strict regulations, being set up by us and our partners to prevent this disease, especially during these exercises.  And right now, till now actually we are doing well because we have no single cases, and this makes us even more happy.

So once again, thank you very much for giving us this opportunity to speak a bit about our important events that we are doing here in Georgia.  And again, my deepest appreciation to you, to the organizators and to all our journalists.  And Mr. General, we are looking forward to see you here soon in Georgia.

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Media Freedom

Country marketplaces brief – Norway

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

With Fruugo, we are publishing a series of country marketplaces briefs and today take a look at Norway:

With one of the highest standards of living and purchasing power in the world, Norway is an attractive market to access. Like their Nordic neighbours, Norwegians are used to ordering goods from international sellers. The most popular categories are Fashion, Electronics and Media.

Norway recently introduced a new simplified tax system in which the VAT element of all sales made via a marketplace for Norway will be the responsibility of the marketplace. As a result Fruugo is collecting and remitting VAT on behalf of all our retailers for sales made to Norway. Each retailer will continue to receive their orders and payments from Fruugo in the same manner and your order totals will be unaffected by these changes.

If you are considering expanding your business internationally, there are a number of market factors to consider. Use the statistics here as well as the links provided below to help inform your decision. Fruugo provides retailers with a risk-free way of selling their products in over 40 countries around the globe.

Population: 5.4 million
Language: Norwegian
Currency: Krone (NKR)
GDP: $403,306 million
Purchasing Power Factor: 1.2
De minimis values: Duties: 350 NKR Tax: 350 NKR (about 33 EUR)
Logistics rating: 3.70, 21st globally
Internet access: 98%
Online shoppers: 82%
Mobile Internet users: 91%
Preferred payment methods: Bank card, Bank transfer, eWallet
Google share of search: 94.7%

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Diplomatic relations

USA will sanction opponents who support Maduro

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

The United States announced that there will be more sanctions against opponents who support the Nicolás Maduro regime. He asked for union with the factors that fight against usurpation.

Carrie Filipetti, deputy undersecretary for Cuba and Venezuela in the Western Hemisphere Affairs office of the State Department, indicated that it was important that they remain united and focused on the same end goal, she said.

Filipetti acknowledged that there are disagreements among Venezuelan opponents, but said they all seem focused on a single goal: « to achieve free and fair presidential elections. »

« All are working collectively to fight against the attempts of the regime to stimulate democracy, » said the official during an audio conference with journalists.

Asked about the divergent positions of María Corina Machado, representative of the most radical wing of the opposition to Maduro, and Henrique Capriles, more moderate, Filipetti said that « of course » both leaders « still agree with the strategy of the opposition. »

Filipetti pointed out that any vote is impossible under Maduro’s mandate.

“The so-called elections on December 6 are a fraud. They are not free. They are not fair. They are not even really elections, « Filipetti said, warning against Maduro’s attempts to » manipulate « international public opinion.

Below is a full rush transcript of the press conference by Carrie Filipetti Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Cuba and Venezuela Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs.

DAS Filipetti:  As always, it’s my pleasure to speak with all of you, and I hope each of you and your families are staying safe and healthy.  As mentioned, I want to take the opportunity to speak with you about some of the recent developments in Venezuela, and I’d like to start by going back to January 9th, which was over eight months ago, when the United States highlighted what we saw as the illegitimate regime’s next steps.  Aware Maduro and his cronies would continue their years-long effort to subvert all democratic institutions in the country and undermine the constitutional leadership of Interim President Guaido, Secretary Pompeo and the Department of State issued a warning to the international community, noting the importance of insisting on minimum conditions for any upcoming election, and predicting the regime’s efforts to undercut key principles for a free and fair election. 

Now, in this statement, the Secretary highlighted the 4.8 million Venezuelan refugees, the collapse of the Venezuelan healthcare system, and the illegitimate regime’s continued abuse of human rights.  He stressed the importance of the international community insisting that any upcoming election be fully free and fair, and the importance of our continued focus on the root of the problem: the continued usurpation of Nicolas Maduro.

Since that statement, the illegitimate regime has behaved precisely as anticipated, and of course the conditions in Venezuela have only worsened.  What were then 4.8 million refugees are now 5.2 million.  What was then a collapse of the healthcare system to 20-30 percent of its original capacity is now a country in the throes of a global pandemic, without enough soap and water – let alone PPE – to protect its citizens.  And what was then the continued refusal of the illegitimate regime to follow through on recommendations proposed by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michele Bachelet is now the regime’s complicity and transfer and almost full territorial and financial control to the ELN, FARC and colectivos, whose flagrant abuses in the Arco Minero have generated one of the largest health and human rights crises in the country.

But perhaps most significant given the advance of the so-called “elections” on December 6, is the fact that a mere four months out, not a single one of the internationally recognized conditions for free and fair elections are currently in place.  International standards require tested equipment, and yet there are no voting machines in the country.  International standards require freedom of association, yet in Venezuela the majority of the opposition parties are banned from running, or have had their party leadership removed and replaced by regime appointees.  International standards require the removal of all restrictions on individuals and political parties to allow their free participation, yet there remain over 300 political prisoners in the country.  International standards require an open and fair media environment, and yet media censorship runs rampant, with dozens of independent channels blocked by the illegitimate regime and with horrific reports of extrajudicial killings of journalists on a regular basis.  

But these aren’t the only conditions that are lacking.  The National Electoral Council and the Supreme Court of Venezuela are stacked with unconstitutionally appointed regime lackeys, despite the Venezuelan constitution’s requirement for these positions to be appointed by the democratically elected National Assembly.  And the illegitimate regime has requested EU participation, despite the clear mandate for a minimum of five to six months of preparation.

Now, the illegitimate regime, always underestimating the intelligence of the international community, thinks we will ignore all this.  They think they can release 50 political prisoners and we will forget the remaining 300.  They think the answer is an invitation to observe elections, without a commitment to undertake the hard work to make them truly free.  

But the OAS and the EU’s rejection of this invitation is because they know what we know – elections are either free and fair or they are not.  There is no in between.  Multiple documents, including the Inter-American Democratic Charter, the OAS’s American Convention on Human Rights, the UN’s Convention Against Corruption, the UN Human Rights Council, the Handbook for European Union Election Observation, and others, highlight minimum conditions, the absence of any of which would render the election in question neither free nor fair. 

So Maduro cannot merely postpone the election; he cannot merely release a handful of people; he cannot merely replace the CNE.  It is for these reasons that the United States can confidently say that the December 6 so-called “elections” are a fraud.  They are not free.  They are not fair.  They are not even really elections.  They are the Maduro regime’s final effort to replace the opposition-led, democratically elected National Assembly with hand-picked replacements who would be easier to control.  And it’s important to remember this fraud is not a new strategy reflecting a changed Maduro – it is a continuation of his efforts to undermine and sideline democratic institutions in Venezuela, an effort that began with the politically motivated contempt proceedings against the National Assembly and continued with the appointment, in direct contravention of the Venezuelan constitution, of the National Constituent Assembly.

So, in sum, postponement alone is not a solution.  One or two conditions are not a solution.  In fact, parliamentary elections in general are not a solution.  This is because no matter what we may hope to be the case, free and fair elections – parliamentary, presidential, or otherwise – are impossible under Maduro’s leadership.  This was just as true in May 2018 as it is today.  Fraudulent elections under Maduro are the problem, they are not the solution.  This is why we are and will continue to insist on a transitional government, in keeping with the Venezuelan constitution, that can govern during truly free and fair presidential election processes.  We will continue to work with our allies, including the 33 other nations that signed our August 14 Joint Declaration on Venezuela and the almost 60 countries that recognize interim President Guaido, to push for such a transition.  And we will continue to amplify the voices of the Venezuelan people, under Interim President Juan Guaido’s leadership, who are fighting for their lives, their livelihood, and their freedom.

Question:  The United States is concerned about the possibility that Europe will implement a new strategy in Venezuela with less sanctions and a dialogue with Maduro.  How could this affect the efforts made up to now?  Will it weaken the progress? 

DAS Filipetti:  I think so far, the EU and its rejection of the invitation to send electoral observation is focused on precisely the same things that we are.  These are minimum conditions that we need to achieve.  As I said, you cannot just pick and choose which ones you’d like to follow.  We are concerned, of course, that the Maduro regime is going to try to manipulate international opinion, that they may agree to postpone the election but make no other changes.  And so we will work closely with our allies to make sure that we are continuing to insist on minimum conditions, meeting all of those internationally recognized standards, so that these upcoming elections would be seen as free and fair.

As I pointed out, the U.S. position is that the Maduro regime is in no way willing to undertake that difficult work.  To date they’ve refused to postpone the elections, they’ve refused to allow true party leadership to continue to govern their political parties, they’ve continued to hold onto the 300-plus political prisoners, and their attempts at trying to hide this with this dismissal of some of the politically motivated charges against Venezuelan leaders has not worked.  And so we are grateful that the European Union and others are really focused on hitting all of these international standards, and we’ll continue to insist that they meet all of these international standards.

Question:  My question is related to an announce that Maduro made a few days ago.  Nicolas Maduro said at a press conference that Cilia Flores, his wife, allegedly traveled to Puerto Rico.  Could you confirm if that is true, and if so, how it is possible that this would happen if she is sanctioned by the United States? 

DAS Filipetti:  It’s always good to hear from you.  So we also saw those reports.  Unfortunately, I’m not in a position to confirm or deny anything.  But as you rightly point out, all of these individuals have clear sanctions, not only issued by the United States, but also from multiple countries, including the EU and of course the signatories of the Rio Treaty.  And so I think it’s safe to say that the travel of any of these individuals who are sanctioned would not be welcome into the United States, and hopefully into the other countries of our partner states as well.

Question:  Last year the U.S. Embassy in Bulgaria announced that the Maduro regime has transferred large sums of money to a Bulgarian bank.  Has the investigation in the U.S. found the exact amount, the name of the bank, and the purpose of the transfers?

DAS Filipetti:  So there’s nothing that I would add on that that’s not already in the public record, but of course we are always very interested in any attempts by the Maduro regime to continue its theft of resources from the Venezuelan people.  I think it’s really telling that when the Maduro regime tries to get money, it spends that money on lining its own pockets, on supporting its loyalists, and so on; whereas when the interim government and Interim President Guaido have financial resources, they use that for humanitarian assistance and they use it in order to pay the critical healthcare workers who are on the front lines every day.  So it is a great example of the different priorities of the illegitimate regime and the interim government.

Question:  A former aide to the president of Ukraine, Mr. Andriy Bogdan, recently claimed that the U.S. was involved in an operation to lure some Russian nationals to Venezuela and to trap them en route while they were traveling and to bring them to Ukraine.  He claimed that the U.S. Government was involved.  My question is, can you confirm or deny this claim? 

DAS Filipetti:  Thank you for that question, Andrei.  I am actually not aware of this claim and so I have no information to provide on this.

Question:  Deputy Assistant Secretary, I hear what you’re saying about the illegitimacy of the forthcoming election, but for the opposition, what’s the alternative for them?  Because the U.S. policy so far of ever-tighter sanctions has also not produced regime change.  So what can you offer the Venezuelan people that will help them resolve their deadlock if they’re not going to take part in the elections?

DAS Filipetti:  Sure, that’s a great question, Michael, and I think Interim President Guaido has announced his path forward for how to continue to fight for freedom inside Venezuela.  Of course, as you know, there are some individuals that have so far indicated that they have an interest in participating in the elections; there are others who are choosing not to participate.  I think the ultimate end goal is that all of these opposition members, all of the international community, work collectively to insist that we don’t make exceptions for the Maduro regime to further undermine democracy.  We need to continue to fight for those minimum conditions, and most importantly, we need to continue to highlight the fact that a solution here is a presidential election.  

I think as time goes by, we’re seeing more and more of what the United States has been saying from the very outset, which is that Maduro himself cannot be in charge during an electoral process because every time he is, that election is stolen by regime lackeys.  And so we are going to continue to work on – to focus the international attention on that ultimate solution, which is free and fair presidential elections.  This is something that the United States pushed forward in our framework for a transitional government.  Interim President Guaido himself has called for an emergency government to suit similar purposes.  And so we encourage the international community and the Venezuelan people to work with Interim President Guaido to make that emergency government a reality.

Question:  There are two U.S. soldiers, Luke Denman and Aaron Barry, who were jailed recently for 20 years for their involvement in the attempted coup against Mr. Maduro.  Their families have appealed for a pardon for both of them from the Venezuelan Government.  Is the U.S. State Department involved in any way in supporting the men’s attempts to get either released or a reduced sentence?  They claim that they’ve not really had much help from the State Department ?

DAS Filipetti:  Thanks very much for that question.  So as you know, the United States cares very, very deeply about all of our American citizens.  I would just quickly point out that these two individuals are former U.S. soldiers; they are not currently employed by the Department of Defense.  Of course, they were convicted and sentenced without the benefit of lawyers, and it was done in the middle of the night, so that’s of course an incredible miscarriage of justice.  Unfortunately, I can’t get into really any further details other than noting that our embassy is of course in touch with their families and we are tracking this as closely as possible.

Question:  The question is, the Venezuelan opposition seems not to be united at the moment.  Henrique Capriles supports the elections; Maria Corina Machado does not support them, but she does not agree with the management of the interim government to name a few examples.  From the American perspective, it is possible to achieve Maduro’s exit with this scenario?

DAS Filipetti:  That’s an excellent question, and I would answer it by saying: this is what a democracy is about.  There are disagreements.  All of those disagreements seem to be focused on the same ultimate objective, which is to get free and fair presidential elections.  There’s disagreements on how to do that.  Obviously, there’s disagreements on some sides believing that the United States should be much more active and kinetic; there are others believing that there should be more participation in the elections.  In any case, we think it’s really important that they are all united and focused on the same ultimate goal.  And so this is – this is why we believe that the opposition still remains connected and united because they are all working collectively to fight the regime’s attempts to undermine democracy.

DAS Filipetti:  Of course, I would just quickly add that there may be some individuals who will try to support the Maduro regime, who will try to truly undermine democracy, and of course, for those individuals who are actively supporting the regime, we’re going to continue to apply U.S. sanctions and other efforts.  So that is something that we will continue to look out for – there is a distinction between those who disagree on tactics and those who have fundamentally different strategies and hope to support the Maduro regime.  Of course, the individuals that you mentioned are still in agreement with the opposition strategy. 

DAS Filipetti:  I would just say thank you so much for participating.  It’s always wonderful to speak with you, to hear your questions.  I hope we’re been able to answer them.  And we look forward to speaking with you going forward.

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Science

Arrivals from nine EU countries no longer required to self-isolate

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

People arriving in Lithuania from Germany, Sweden, Poland, Bulgaria, Norway, Iceland, Lichtenstein, Serbia and Canada will no longer be required to self-isolate as of Monday.

As before, arrivals from Finland, Cyprus, Estonia, and Latvia will not need to isolate.

The Lithuanian government has upped the self-isolation threshold from 16 to 25 cases of Covid-19 per 100,000 people, meaning that only people arriving from countries with more than 25 cases will need to spend two weeks in isolation.

People arriving from affected countries will also need to have a prior Covid-19 test which will be held valid for 72 hours. Lithuanian residents are exempt, but will still need to get tested within three days of arriving in the country.

This week, the government may also decide to cut down the self-isolation period to 10 days.

Even if a non-EU country is removed from the affected list, only residents and nationals of EU and EEA countries, including the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Norway, and Iceland, can enter Lithuania.

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Environment

Germany and Norway exchange first renewable energy

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

The NordLink interconnector has transmitted the first power between Norway and Germany.

According to Nexans, the system is under testing and electricity with a capacity of 70 MW was transferred between the two countries last week.

NordLink is the world’s first interconnection that will enable two countries to exchange and store energy generated from renewable sources. 

Nexans is in charge of designing, manufacturing and installing two 525 kV high-voltage cable subsystems between Büsum, Germany, and Tonstad, Norway, with a total length of over 700 kilometers. 

The 1,400 MW interconnector is a joint project of the Norwegian Statnett and Germany’s DC Nordseekabel GmbH, a joint venture of TenneT and KfW.

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NATO and Norway

New Belarus sanctions in ‘days’ – USA

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

The United States said Friday it would impose new sanctions on Belarusian figures within days as it urged Minsk and its ally Russia to end a crackdown on protests. Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun said that the United States was coordinating with the European Union and looking to target both individuals and export rules.

“I expect in just a few short days we will be in a position to be able to definitively identify the additional list of sanctions that we will be imposing in parallel with those that are being enacted by the European Union,” Biegun told reporters by telephone.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo earlier hinted at new sanctions on Belarus as strongman Alexander Lukashenko clamps down on the biggest challenge to his 26-year rule.

Biegun said that the United States backed her demands for “truly free and fair presidential elections, the release of all political prisoners and the investigation of the authorities crimes against the people.”

Biegun asked how Russia “can back such a regime and such violence against peaceful citizens exercising constitutionally protected rights to freedom of assembly, association and speech.”

“If the Kremlin continues down this path, it risks turning the Belarusian people, who have no grievance with Russia, against Moscow.”

Below is a full rush transcript of the press conference by  Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun.

Deputy Secretary Biegun:  As I think is known by most who cover this issue, Secretary of State Pompeo has asked me to play a lead role in advancing our plans, our policies on – in regard to the events that are playing out in Belarus.  Like many in Europe, and also especially the Belarusian people themselves, the United States wants to see a sovereign, independent, successful Belarus in which the Belarusian people themselves have the right to choose their own future.  We commend the unwavering courage of the protesters who we’ve seen on the streets of Belarus, peacefully asserting their right to choose their own leaders in a free and fair election and not subject to unjustified violence or repression by their own ruler.

The abuses and brutal violence that we’ve seen against the peaceful protesters over the past month must end.  All unjustly detained, including the U.S. citizen Vitali Shkliarov, who continues to be held, must be released.  It’s alarming and deeply troubling for us to see the continued reports of politically motivated detentions and the forced deportations and kidnapping of Coordination Council members that we saw just a few days ago.  Belarusian authorities have a responsibility to ensure the full safety of Ms. Kalesnikava, Mr. Shkliarov, and all others who are unjustly detained.

We believe that the Belarusian people must be able to determine their own path free from outside interference or threats, including from powerful neighbors.  U.S. support for the Belarusian people and our support for productive dialogue between the regime and the Coordinating Council does not mean we are asking Belarus to choose between East and West.  This is not a contest between the United States and Russia.  This is a battle between a ruler and the people that he purports to rule.

The Belarusian regime is not working for the best interests of the Belarusian people.  The regime has used ill-gotten wealth to amass and maintain power, through a level of corruption that is all too apparent to those living inside Belarus, not to mention to the rest of the world.  And now, after being clearly rejected by his own people, the ruler of Belarus is using violence to maintain his grip on power and relying upon – increasingly upon support from Moscow to prop him up.  

Most Belarusians have seen Russia as the country closest to their hearts, and we respect that sentiment and sovereign choice.  It thus eludes us how Moscow can back such a regime and such violence against peaceful citizens exercising constitutionally protected rights to freedom of assembly, association, and speech.  If the Kremlin continues down this path, it risks turning the Belarusian people, who have no grievance with Russia, against Moscow.  Even more confusing is the reality that ordinary Russian citizens are also being sucked up by Belarusian authorities as part of the crackdown and subject to the same brutal violence.  Why would Moscow support such a regime?  We can see that the Russian people clearly do not.  And as Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya said earlier this week, we urge the people of Russia to resist Kremlin-generated disinformation about the protest movement and support the Belarusian people in their desire for justice and free elections.  

And that brings me to a final important point.  Repeated reports suggest that Belarusian authorities have harassed, beaten, and arrested journalists and other media workers who are covering the election and the ongoing protests.  Coupled with the use of internet shutdowns, they have laid bare their blatant desire to suppress the exercise of free speech and to limit access of information to their own people.  

So where do we go from here?  As both Secretary of State Pompeo and I have previously noted, we are closely coordinating with partners and allies on the next steps.  This includes sanctions, and I want to be absolutely clear: The United States continues current sanctions on 16 individuals, including the ruler of Belarus and other high-level officials, and in addition we are closely coordinating with our European partners on targeted additional sanctions to promote accountability for those involved in human rights abuses and repression in Belarus.  We also call upon Belarusian authorities to immediately accept the offer of the OSCE chair-in-office to facilitate a dialogue with the Coordinating Council.

Just a couple weeks ago I had the opportunity of meeting Ms. Tsikhanouskaya in Vilnius.  I’d like to close my remarks before taking a few questions by echoing her three recent demands: truly free and fair presidential elections; the release of all political prisoners; and the investigation of the authorities’ crimes against the people of Belarus.  We share Ms. Tsikhanouskaya’s vision for Belarus’s future and we stand by our long-term commitment to support the sovereignty of Belarus as well as its territorial integrity, as the aspirations of the Belarusian people to determine their own path remains in front of us.  

Question:  My question is for the last year, contacts between the United States and Belarus were more or less well-established and we saw Mr. Kravchenko ultimately in Washington, and it was already planned that there will be exchange of ambassadors again.  Do I understand correct that the whole procedure with ambassadors is now canceled? 

Deputy Secretary Biegun:  The United States has no animosity towards the people of Belarus at all, and in fact, dating back to the very beginning of Belarusian independence in 1991, the United States has sought wherever possible to maintain close relations and cooperation with the people of Belarus, and that remains the same today and is very much why we are giving such voice of support to the Belarusian people.  As far as our ambassador goes, we have an excellent candidate who has been selected by the President by the name of Julie Fisher.  Julie is still in the approval process here inside the United States, and we have not suspended that process.  We believe it’s very important for the United States to have a representative in Belarus that can give a voice to the policies of the United States of America and strongly represent the values and interests that we believe are important to address in our relations with Belarus.  I have noted with great encouragement the presence of several of our partners’ ambassadors in standing side by side with brave members of the Coordinating Council, like Svetlana Alexievich, and I very much look forward to having a United States ambassador standing side by side with her colleagues in Belarus in defense of the Belarusian people.

Question:  You mentioned, the Secretary mentioned sanctions.  Do you care to describe that in any more detail?  One of the sanctions that could be lifted easily are those that were – sorry, that could be reimposed easily are those that were lifted after a waiver in 2015.  You could do that easily.  Is that something you’re considering?  And an overall question about Europe: The EU, as you know, is struggling to maintain unity on Belarus because of divisions over the Eastern Mediterranean.  Does that hamper a unified response?  

Deputy Secretary Biegun:  As far as sanctions go, let me first say that we’re coordinating very closely with our European partners, and as we identify the appropriate targets, we will – we will seek in every possible way to act in concert with our partners in Europe to make a clear statement and also a clear response to those who are perpetrating the violence or who are responsible for the theft of the election on August 9th.

The United States currently has 16 individuals under sanctions, including the ruler of Belarus, as I said.  And we’ve never lifted those sanctions.  In fact, they’ve been in place for a number of years.  Our European partners are reinstituting sanctions that they had lifted in an attempt to draw Belarus into a closer relationship and perhaps moderate the behavior of the current ruler of Belarus.  But in addition to those 16 individuals, we and the European Union are exchanging information on a number of other names that we will be prepared to announce in the very near future.

Separate from these targeted individual sanctions, the United States does have also a number of sanctions against enterprises, some of which have a limited licensing ability for very specific purposes.  We definitely will be reviewing the entire range of sanctions, including the existing sanctions and some of the general licenses that are – have been put in place over the past few years.  We will be announcing all of our steps on sanctions in the very near future, and you’ll see then the ultimate decisions we’re going to make. 

Question:  What are the effective ways of helping the opposition in Belarus?  In the case of Solidarity in Poland in the 1980s it was international support, sanctions, and funding of the opposition.  Is this scenario possible here 40 years later?

Deputy Secretary Biegun:  I want to be very careful to say that first and foremost, the United States is going to fully respect the sovereignty of all the Belarusian people.  We’re not seeking to steer the opposition.  We’re not seeking to control the opposition.  And in fact, we don’t and it’s not ours to do.  When I met with Ms. Tsikhanouskaya in Vilnius just a couple of weeks ago, she very specifically asked that the United States, and all other countries as well, respect the sovereignty of Belarus, and that’s our intention.  Of course, we remain in contact with the breadth of Belarusian society, including members of the Coordinating Council as well as those who inside and outside of Belarus are seeking to support the voice of the Belarusian people and the demands of the Belarusian people.

The United States, we’ll certainly use our international influence to create necessary space for the Belarusian people to achieve their ambitions for a free and fair election under independent observation.  We’ll do that by engaging with friends and countries with whom we don’t always cooperate.  I had a very important meeting just a week and a half ago where we visited Moscow with a delegation to have deep and substantive talks on the issues related to Belarus.  At the time, my sense was that the Russian Government itself was looking for a constructive way forward, and it’s why I find it so disturbing to see increasing signs of overt Russian support to prop up the current regime in Belarus.  But also we’ll be working through international organizations like the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe, which has stood up very quickly a troika of the chairman-in-office willing to travel to Minsk to meet with both the government and the opposition to facilitate the dialogue that is going to be necessary in order to allow Belarus to move forward to a better future.

We will use our – the tools we have for leverage inside Belarus, including the sanctions that I mentioned a moment ago, to make clear that those who are subjecting their people to brutal violence or who are responsible for the theft of the election will face consequences even if they live inside a system that currently delivers impunity to them.  

So we will be using our influence in every way possible, carefully respecting the will of the Belarusian people themselves, and respecting the independence and the true voice of the Belarusian people that we see demonstrated in Ms. Tsikhanouskaya and the Coordinating Council.

Question:  why do you think we haven’t seen much messaging on Belarus or Navalny from the President?  And is there concern by the President that being more vocal will jeopardize the New START talks which he had mentioned on Friday?

Deputy Secretary Biegun:  Nobody in the United States is linking our positions on either the theft of the elections and the brutal violence in Belarus nor the tragic poisoning of Alexei Navalny to any other – any other matters, New START or negotiations or anything else.  In fact, the New START negotiations continue and if we are successful in achieving a new agreement, it will be based upon such a negotiation delivering an outcome that respects the interests of the United States of America, and I am sure from the Russian side they would say the same.

As far as the President’s comments, the President has in fact made comments on both of these issues, recognizing the tragic poisoning of Navalny and calling upon our German allies to consider this as the appropriate moment to suspend the completion of the Nord Stream 2 project that will only increase the dependency of Western Europe on Russian energy and reward the very economic interests that are responsible for much of the challenge that we face in U.S.-Russia relations around the world.  

As far as Belarus, the President and the Secretary of State have both spoken out on this issue, and in fact the Secretary has designated and delegated to me the responsibility to play a leading role at a very senior level to ensure that the United States is actively engaged in this issue.  He sent me to Europe just a couple of days after the election.  It was an incredibly important and productive visit, not only to talk to the Belarusian opposition but to have a candid discussion with our counterparts in Moscow and also to work closely with our friends and allies in the OSCE in order to generate a proposal which offers a way out for the Belarusian ruler and allows the international community to use its influence to push for a peaceful conclusion to this dispute.

Question:  The U.S. ambassador to the OSCE said last week in an interview with Foreign Policy magazine that the U.S. should try to persuade Lukashenko that he cannot be the president of Belarus under these circumstances.  Is this the U.S. administration’s position or some freewheeling diplomacy?  Who do you now recognize as the leader in Belarus, and judging by your comments, do you want to see a rerun?  And by the same token, was Mr. Gilmore speaking for the administration and the State Department when he blasted an open letter written recently by a large group of prominent Russia hands, including Thomas Pickering, Thomas Graham, Rose Gottemoeller, and dozens of others?  They were calling for the rethinking of the U.S.-Russia policy.  Do you believe it really was a, quote/unquote, “shameful document,” as Ambassador Gilmore put it?

Deputy Secretary Biegun:  In regard to your first question, the United States believes it’s not simply our belief but it’s also guaranteed to the Belarusian people by the Helsinki Final Act and the OSCE charter document, as well as by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights at the United Nations – the Belarusian people are entitled to a free and fair election in which they choose their own leaders, and they were denied that opportunity on August 9th.  There is no legitimacy delivered to the ruler of Belarus by the August 9th election.  The Belarusian people deserve and demand the opportunity to hold such an election under independent observation, and the United States strongly supports their desire to do so.

As far as the U.S.-Russia relationship and the – and differing views across the spectrum of nongovernment individuals regarding the appropriate course with Russia, I can only say that those of us in government have the responsibility to deal with the critical issues in front of us, and on matters like the tragic poisoning of Alexei Navalny or on ensuring a peaceful outcome in Belarus that gives the Belarusian people their entitled right to have a free and fair election, we do need to talk to the Russian Government about these issues because they are as much in the interest of Russia as the United States, and in the case of Navalny’s poisoning, the burden of an investigation falls entirely upon the shoulders of the Russian Government, which needs to respond with far more urgency to the use of a banned nerve agent – a chemical weapon on the territory of the Russian Federation – against a Russian citizen.  It is unbelievable to us that this would happen on the territory of any country and the government would not react with the appropriate urgency to investigate and hold accountable those who committed the crime.

And so in our relations with Belarus we will continue in our relations with Russia we will continue to engage and we will continue to have an honest dialogue and exchange of the views of the two countries.  I think that’s the appropriate responsibilities of our diplomats in the Department of State, and it is our intention to continue to do so.

Question:  Am I correct in understanding that the United States does not intend to impose additional sanctions on Belarusian figures for the election fraud and violence until it can do so in concert with the European Union?  Second, is the U.S. Government considering the possibility of imposing sanctions on Russia for what you just described as its increasingly overt interference in events in Belarus?  And finally, as I’m sure you’re aware, Lukashenko is to meet with Russian President Putin in Sochi on Monday.  Is – would you like to see that meeting canceled?  Is that the kind of Russian involvement that you feel is deleterious to a resolution of events in Belarus?

Deputy Secretary Biegun:  On your first question, the United States and the EU are not linking their efforts on sanctions; we’re coordinating, and neither would be held up by the other.  The reality of targeted sanctions against specific individuals is that a certain amount of investigative work and documentation needs to take place in order to be able to effectively implement the sanctions.  We are actively doing that in coordination with the United States Department of Treasury, who has the lead on sanctions implementation here in the United States, and I expect in just a few short days we will be in a position to be able to definitively identify the additional list of sanctions that we will be imposing in parallel with those that are being enacted by the European Union.

I don’t speak for the European Union or for the European Commission, but I know they too have their evidentiary process that they need to complete before the final designation of sanctions, and we’re working closely in cooperation with them to ensure that both of us are prepared in the near future.

Deputy Secretary Biegun:  As far as sanctions on Russia goes, I am not at this point going to forecast any specific actions the United States will take in relation to the challenges we have with Russia.  The reality is that a substantial amount of the commerce between the United States and the Russian Federation is already covered by broad and sweeping sanctions dating back to approximately five years, six years ago, when most of these sanctions were enacted, and those remain in place today.  

Regarding the visit on Monday between Presidents Putin – President Putin and the ruler of Belarus, I would only say that it would be our hope that the Russian Government gives full voice to the concerns that all of us share regarding the brutality on the streets of Minsk that we have seen play out in front of us.  I would hope that the president of Russia raises the concerns that we raise about the unjust detention of so many Belarusian people, and also the brutal violence that’s been used against Russian citizens, and especially Russian journalists, by the regime in Belarus.  Of course, ultimately, we hope the message from Moscow to Minsk is that the ruler needs to give way to the will of his people.  A free and fair election will allow the Belarusian people to select who will be the next president of Belarus, and we strongly support their wish to do so, and we very much hope and expect that the Russian president will convey the same message that the regime in Belarus is hearing from so many other nations around the world.

Question:  Yeah, so it’s Iurii Sheiko from Deutsche Welle.  So I have a question, additional question on sanctions.  You spoke about personal sanctions against officials.  So do you consider economic sanctions on Belarus to convince Belarusian authorities to change their policies, or you do not consider these sanctions? 

Deputy Secretary Biegun:  we are looking at targeted sanctions aimed at the individuals who are most responsible for the circumstances, both the violence as well as the theft of the election.  The message will be very clear to them that their assets and their freedom to travel will be affected by the conduct that they – how they comport themselves at this moment in relation to their own people.  It is just unbelievable to me, as an American citizen, to see that level of violence imposed by Belarusian authorities against their own people, and I know it has shocked many Russians and many others in Europe as well to see that.  That behavior will not be treated with impunity by us or our European partners.

As far as sectoral sanctions or enterprise sanctions, I suppose that as events play out it’s possible that additional measures would be considered, but we also are mindful that the people of Belarus need to work and need to earn a wage and need to live.  We certainly, of course, support and admire the courage of those who have chosen to lay down their tools or walk away from their machinery in the factories and in the shops of Belarus.  It’s a clear statement that the Belarusian opposition is united across all strata of Belarusian society.  But we do not also want to impose upon the citizens of Belarus any additional punitive measures unless absolutely necessary in support of the goals that we’re seeking in Belarus.

I will say that, as I said at the beginning, the United States has no animosity towards the people of Belarus, and we want to find a way to tailor our policies to best protect their interests, the stuff that is sorely lacking in the policies of their own government, unfortunately.  

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Farming

Norwegian-Sámi artist Joar Nango opens the Festival Exhibition 2020 at Bergen Kunsthall

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

The Festival Exhibition 2020 at Bergen Kunsthall presents Norwegian-Sámi artist Joar Nango. Initially trained as an architect, Nango constructs his exhibitions as laboratories, investigating traditions and experiences from his cultural background in Northern Norway, characterized by flexibility, pragmatism and adaptation to nature. 

The exhibition is less a finished product than an arena for a social process of creating places and situations with possibilities for improvisation and collective action. Nango’s work addresses indigenous identity and decolonialization, looking at these topics not in isolation, but as an expression of the ongoing dynamics between the so-called cultural centre and its peripheries. 

The exhibition is based on a theoretical framework that Nango has set up together with collaborators from different artistic or academic backgrounds, including art historian Mathias Danbolt, writer Candice Hopkins and anthropologist Dimitris Dalakoglou. Following Nango’s ongoing investigations of the history of Sámi architecture, his library of books on the topic is being utilized in the exhibition, as well as a series of re-appropriated historical images from the 1700s. This series of hand-coloured drawings was made in the mid-1700s and is among the first known representations of Sámi architecture. In Nango’s exhibition, the images act as an historical counterpoint, and a comment on the appropriation, circulation and representative power of images from indigenous cultures. 

For a large-scale projection screen, Nango makes use of dried halibut stomachs that are sewn together. The technique, called skievvar in the coastal Sami tradition, is a way of making transparent windows in outhouses and simple buildings. Several of Joar Nango’s previous projects are brought to Bergen, and re configured for the exhibition, such as the girjegumpi, a small building made as a nomadic library inspired by the Sami gumpi, a herder’s hut mounted on sleigh runners. Nango’s van, a Mercedes Sprinter which was used in the project European Everything at Documenta 14 in 2017, is also a central element in the Festival Exhibition. The physical infrastructure, and the travel itinerary between Bergen and Tromsø, form a geographical line between two site- specific landing points in the project. For European Everything he drove the same van from Tromsø to Athens – through the length of Europe – in an excursion in which themes of migration, relocation and the nomadic became a concrete experience. In May this year, the Sprinter doubled as a mobile TV studio during the production of Post-Capitalist Architecture TV. 

A book will be published on the occasion of the exhibition, featuring new texts by Dimitris Dalakoglou, Mathias Danbolt, Candice Hopkins, Sigbjørn Skåden and Axel Wieder. Published by Sternberg Press and Bergen Kunsthall. 

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Racism in Norway

Anti-Islam protests in Sweden and Norway spark debate on free speech

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

Recent anti-Islam protests in Sweden and Norway have sparked debate over the limits on freedom of expression.

Last weekend saw a night of rioting in the Swedish city of Malmo after members of a far-right group set fire to a copy of the Quran. 

Police in Sweden have tried to crack down on anti-Islam protests — not because they’re illegal, but for public safety concerns. 

Days later in Oslo, protesters outside the country’s parliament tore up pages of the Muslim religious text and spat on them.

Norway’s prime minister denounced the actions as “hurtful” to people living in the country but defended the group’s right to express their views.

But what are the limits of free speech and freedom of expression? Our reporter Per Bergfors Nyberg in Stockholm says that’s a question authorities are still trying to answer.

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Terrorist

Nazi warship found off Norway coast after 80 years

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

A World War II Nazi cruiser which was torpedoed and sunk off the coast of Norway in 1940 has been found by chance at a depth of 490 metres (535 yards) during a subsea power cable inspection, the engineers who discovered the wreck said Thursday.

“Sometimes, we discover historical remains. But I’ve never found anything as exciting as this one,” Ole Petter Hobberstad, a chief engineer at Norway’s power network operator Statnett, told AFP.

The German navy ship Karlsruhe, measuring 174 metres (571 feet), took part in the World War II invasion of Norway.

After troops had disembarked on April 9, 1940 the ship was hit by Norwegian artillery then torpedoed by a British submarine. Badly damaged, it was finally ordered sunk by the German captain off the port of Kristiansand, at Norway’s southern tip.

Three years ago, Statnett’s sonars detected an unidentified wreck close to a high-tension cable between Norway and Denmark, but the company’s engineers did not have time to investigate further at the time, Statnett said.

But on June 30, after a storm in the area, a team was sent out to inspect the wreck with a remotely-operated vehicle (ROV).

About 15 metres from the underwater cable, the ROV “showed a huge shipwreck that was torpedoed. But it was not until the cannons — and Nazi symbol — became visible on the screen that Ole Petter Hobberstad and the crew understood it was from the war,” Statnett said in a statement.

Norway’s Maritime Museum later confirmed that there was no doubt: the wreck was indeed that of the Karlsruhe, which had never been found.

The sunken ship is located 13 nautical miles off Kristiansand. It lies upright on the seabed, a rare sight for warships with a high centre of gravity which normally list over, according to experts.

Built in Kiel in northern Germany, the cruiser was launched in 1927.

© 2020 AFP

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Terrorist

Norway arrests suspect in 1982 attack on Jewish restaurant in Paris

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

Norwegian police arrested a suspect in a 38-year-old terrorist attack on a Jewish restaurant in Paris that left six people dead and at least 20 wounded.

The suspect, a man who had been sought by French prosecutors for the Aug. 9, 1982 bombing of and shooting at the Jo Goldenberg restaurant, was arrested on Wednesday, reported Reuters.

He was among three former members of the Abu Nidal Organization, which split from the Palestinian Liberation Organization, for whom arrest warrants were issued in 2015, according to Reuters.

Now in his 60s, decades ago he immigrated to and became a citizen of Norway, which prohibits the extradition of its nationals but allows for their prosecution in Norway for offenses committed abroad.

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Economics

Visa and Vipps announce partnership to accelerate mobile payments

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

Visa and Vipps, the leading digital wallet in Norway, have announced a strategic partnership to accelerate mobile payments in Europe.

Visa’s clients and partners will now be able to take advantage of the Vipps platform to create their own digital wallets and offer customers new ways to pay, be paid and manage their money.

Covid-19 has accelerated the demand for secure, digital commerce solutions worldwide with more consumers and businesses than ever embracing digital payments as the preferred way to manage their everyday spend.

In Europe, over 75 percent of Visa payments are now contactless and June 2020 saw ecommerce transactions increase by more than 25% year-on-year in twenty European countries.

Antony Cahill, Managing Director European Regions at Visa said: “Today, the ability to pay digitally and make cashless payments in-stores, online, in-app, is no longer just a convenience but a necessity. We’re keen to make sure consumers and businesses have access to secure, digital commerce, regardless of where they live or what mobile device they have.

“Our partnership with Vipps will make it possible for our bank partners to develop and create easy to use digital payment products and wallets, meeting the growing demand for contactless, online and mobile payments.”

Vipps is a Norwegian payments app that allows people to send, pay and receive money at a touch of button. Since launching in 2015, it has achieved 85 percent market penetration, attracting 3.7 million users in Norway. Over the last year Vipps has experienced 145 percent increase in transactions in Norway.

Rune Garborg, CEO at Vipps, said: “Our approach to international expansion is through collaboration. We believe a collaboration between Visa; the world leader in digital payments and Vipps; the world’s most successful bank-backed wallet will create magic. Together we are enabling issuing banks to offer smarter and simplified digital payment services to their customers in Europe and beyond.

“Together with Visa we will use our best practices, expertise, and experience, to create services that will excite people through world class simplification.”

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Russia and Norway

Russian aircraft intercepts Norwegian plane in international airspace

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

A Russian military leader said Saturday that Russian fighter planes intercepted a Norwegian patrol aircraft over the Barents Sea for the third time in a row.

The Russian state-run news agency TASS reported that on Saturday, Russian radars detected a target in international airspace headed toward Russian airspace and a fighter jet was scrambled to intercept it.

A Russian military MiG-31 plane reportedly intercepted a Norwegian aircraft Saturday as it neared Russian airspace. File Photo by Dmitriy Pichugin/Wikipedia 

According to the Russian National Defense Control Center, an MiG-31 fighter with the Northern Fleet’s air defense units identified the aircraft as a P-3S Orion maritime surveillance aircraft belonging to the Royal Norwegian Air Force.

After the Norwegian aircraft turned away from Russian airspace, the MiG-31 returned to its home airfield, according to the Russian government.

According to TASS, Saturday was the third consecutive day Russian planes had intercepted Norwegian aircraft, and last week, an Mig-31 fighter jet intercepted a Norwegian Orion aircraft over the Barents Sea.

Last week two Russian Su-27 Flanker pilots intercepted a U.S. Air Force B-52 bomber over international waters in the Black Sea, and F-22 fighter planes associated with North American Aerospace Defense Command interceptedthree groups of two Russian patrol aircraft near Alaska before they entered U.S. or Canadian airspace.

And in March Norway used an F-35A fighter plane to intercept two Russian Tu-142 anti-submarine aircraft, with MiG-31 fighter planes escorting them, as the Russian crafts came near Norwegian airspace.

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Terrorist

European female ISIS feel like strangers in their own country

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

They call themselves the «mothers of holy war» and have profile pictures showing women in niqabs, the ISIS flag, paradise-like landscapes and quotes by extreme Islamists.

Young European women discuss online how they can live according to the demands of the terrorist organization ISIS.

«They’re very concerned with things that may not be that important for most people. Can you use coloured shoelaces? No, they have to be black. Can you pluck your eyebrows? No, you can’t,» says linguist Anne Birgitta Nilsen, a professor at OsloMet.

Nilsen has studied about 250 Facebook profiles of women who expressed their support for ISIS between 2014 and 2017.

The young sympathizers are motivated by a literal interpretation of religion that regulates the minutiae of their lives. Maybe it feels safe and comfortable not to have to make the decisions that we have to make every day. And the strict guidelines create a community where everyone agrees on how things are done.

No Norwegians

The ISIS supporters’ lists of Facebook friends are limited, which may indicate that the profiles were created to find others of similar persuasion. They do not accept friends of the opposite sex.

Based on their language choices, the women probably lived in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and the United Kingdom.

One woman said hello from Antwerp and asked if anyone there wanted to meet up.

None of the women appeared to be in Norway.

«There are very few such Norwegian profiles, and it would be difficult to anonymise them,» Nilsen says.

A stranger at home

The Arabic word ghurba – translated as estrangement or separation – comes up repeatedly in the Facebook profiles. The term has been used by ISIS to portray a stranger among unbelievers.

Women may feel alienated from the societies in which they live, which are built on values and norms different from their own.

«They talk a lot about how difficult it is to live in the countries where they reside, due to the niqab ban and hospitals where men and women are in the same spaces,» Nilsen says.

But the researcher believes the women’s experience is about more than religion.

«Some of the women who are attracted to extreme groups feel a lack of belonging or that they are different from their peers. They don’t feel fully accepted by society,» she says.

Online they find others who also feel this way. Together they cultivate their social exclusion.

«I think that [shared estrangement] attracts these women. If you somehow feel that you’ve failed a little in society, you might be told that’s completely normal for most of us. It gets redefined as something that’s good,» says Nilsen.

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NATO and Norway

NATO Mine Countermeasures Group-1 participates in Sandy Coast exercise

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

After several weeks operating in the most Northern part of Europe and on completion of a successful historical ordnance disposal operation in Norwegian waters, Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group One (SNMCMG1) is taking part in the mine countermeasures exercise Sandy Coast 20 off the coast of Belgium, NATO MARCOM announced.

From September 1 to 11, 2020 SNMCMG1 including flagship LNS Jotvingis, HNLMS Schiedam, BNS Crocus, LVNS Imanta, FGS Groemitz, HNoMS Maaloy, and ENS Admiral Cowan will participate with a NATO partner Finnish vessel Vahterpaa in the international mine countermeasures exercise.

The exercise is led by the Admiralty Benelux (ABNL). This is a unique collaboration between the Belgian and the Royal Dutch Navies.

The Sandy Coast exercise provides a unique opportunity to challenge participants by exercising experimental tactics, and explosive ordnance device (EOD) techniques and procedures. The 2020 edition equally focuses on harbour protection, and shore-based mine countermeasures operations.

“Time spent together up in the North unified our Group’s actions and procedures which empower Group staff in certain situations to make a fast decision and delegate tasks in the limited time provided. I am looking forward to the challenges ABNL has prepared, and I have full confidence in the units and staff members under my command,” said the Lithuanian Commander Audrius Venckunas, Commander of SNMCMG1.

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Crimes

Person stabbed in Oslo

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

A person has been taken to hospital after being stabbed several times near Holbergs plass in Oslo. Police have arrested two people not far away.

The Oslo police were notified of the incident, which took place in Sven Bruns gate, at 3.36 on Sunday night.

Holbergs plass.Stabbing in Oslo.Photo: Fredrik Varfjell / NTB scanpix

After the incident, the police came out with a description of a possible perpetrator. According to the police, it is a man of around 25 years, who is dark in the skin, has black caps and a bag over his shoulder.

Police have found a knife not far from the scene.

It was also reported that a person who was involved in the fight was hit, but the police have so far not found anyone who is injured in such a way. Police are still looking for a white car that may have been involved in this, probably a Toyota.

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Economics

Norway’s PSA Investigates Welding Problems on New Equinor FPSO

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

Norway’s Petroleum Safety Authority is launching an investigation into the problems with the construction of the giant FPSO for Equinor’s new Johan Castberg offshore development. 

“The PSA became aware on 25 June 2020 that Equinor had identified major challenges with the quality of welds in the hull of the Johan Castberg floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) unit. In addition, the authority became aware that errors had been found in the analysis program used for fatigue calculations,” the agency wrote in an announcement Wednesday. “Corrective work means that the FPSO hull will be delayed . . . Furthermore, efforts to correct weld and fatigue-analysis errors create uncertainty about the structure’s integrity over the producing life of the field.”

The PSA has appointed a team of experts to look into why the project team for Johan Castberg did not identify the analysis mistakes and faulty welds earlier in the process. It will aim to establish the decisionmaking timeline, assess the consequences of the weld issues for safety, analyze causal factors and find any potential regulatory breaches. 

According to environmental NGO Bellona, the problems with the Johan Castberg FPSO became known in October 2019 and the software fatigue analysis issues have been known since April. The software’s designer says that the calculation errors are manageable and will not force a major rework of the project. “The issue is mainly seen on FPSOs with weather-vaning capabilities and may impact the estimated fatigue life of the vessel, which has no immediate consequence for its structural safety,” the firm wrote. 

Morten Ruth, the project director for Johan Castberg, told E24 that the shipyard will have to redo about 3,000 linear meters of welding and change four seawater intakes, but it will not require not a major rebuild of the vessel.

“To put this a bit in context, we estimate that the [time] to repair the welds in Singapore, it corresponds to about five percent of the remaining hours [of work], roughly speaking,” Ruth said. “This is a lot about organization and getting this done in the right sequence. It is not the volume as such that worries us.”

The repair work has been substantially delayed by coronavirus-related slowdowns at Sembcorp, the Singaporean yard building the FPSO, he said. These challenges will likely set Johan Castberg’s deployment back by about one year. 

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Environment

Hybrid wellboat named Norway’s Ship of the Year

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

The world’s first hybrid-power wellboat, Rostein’s Ro Vision, has been named Norway’s Ship of the Year 2020.

Norway’s fisheries and seafood minister, Odd Emil Ingebrigtsen, announced the prestigious award in Bergen today.

“The wellboat fleet continues advancing, and this year’s winner shows that there is a focus on lower emissions and increased safety,” said Ingebrigtsen, who praised the founder of the shipping company Rostein, Odd Einar Sandøy, as one of the industry’s pioneers.

Battery pack

The Ro Vision was ordered by Rostein AS, designed by Skipskompetanse AS (Ship Competence) and built by Larsnes Mek. Verksted AS (Larsnes Mechanical Workshop). Rostein is a subsidiary of Sandøy’s company Rofisk AS, which also has a 69% share in Larsnes Mek.

Instead of having four 1300 kW diesel generators that would normally be on board a vessel of its type, the Ro Vision has only three, with the fourth replaced by a 600 kW battery pack.

The vessel is in service withScottish Sea Farms’ co-owner SalMar.

Adventurous development

“We have operated with wellboats for 32 years, and in those years have built 25 new-builds. It has been an adventurous development for us. Topping this by first being nominated, and then winning, is absolutely fantastic,” said Sandøy.

Candidates for the award are nominated by readers of the ship magazine and website Skipsrevyen (Ship Review), which belongs to the same company as salmon farming publications Fish Farming Expert, Kyst.no and Salmonexpert.cl.

The jury which decides the winner is made up of industry professionals led by Skipsrevyen editor-in-chief Gustav-Erik Blaalid.

Setting the standard

This year’s Ship of the Year is equipped with the latest technology for wellboats, said Blaalid.

Ro Vison will be the standard for the company’s new-builds. Later, it may be relevant to refit existing vessels in accordance with this standard. Thus, the total environmental benefit will be great, said Blaalid.

At the same time, the award is a great recognition for the wellboat industry, which has produced Norwegian ship technology and design to become a world leader, he added.

‘High time a wellboat won’

“For us at the yard, this is incredibly nice. It shows that our employees build world-class boats,” said Larsnes Mek chief executive Jarle Gunnarstein. “We have had a very good collaboration with Rostein for more than 11 years. But if it was great to be nominated, then it is even more fun to win.”

Per Jørgen Silden, general manager of Skipskompetanse AS, said: “It is a great recognition for us that a vessel we have designed wins this award. I personally think it was high time that a wellboat was nominated. Ro Vision shows what great development there has been in the wellboat industry.”

Skipsrevyen’s partners for Ship of the Year are NME (Norwegian Maritime Exporters, NTNU (Norwegian University of Science and Technology), the Norwegian Shipowners’ Association, Norwegian Industry, Maritime Bergen, Norwegian Shipyards and the Maritime Forum.

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Oil & Gas

Norway plans to drill for oil in untouched Arctic areas

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

Norway is planning to expand oil drilling in previously untouched areas of the Arctic, a move campaigners say threatens the fragile ecosystem and could spark a military standoff with Russia. EURACTIV’s media partner, The Guardian, reports.

A public consultation on the opening up of nine new Norwegian oilfields closed on Wednesday. The areas in question are much further north in the Arctic than the concessions the US president, Donald Trump, announced for Alaska earlier this month.

Experts say the area is regarded as risky both environmentally and in terms of profitability. They also say the decision risks antagonising other nations who are party to the 100-year-old Svalbard treaty, which regulates activity in the area concerned.

Ilan Kelman, a professor of risk, resilience and global health at UCL and Agder University in Norway, says there is no such thing as safe oil excavation in Arctic conditions. “Irrespective of changes in the environment, the Arctic is a very harsh place. A lot can go wrong, and when something goes wrong … it can cause extensive damage for a long time,” he said.

Helge Ryggvik, an oil historian at the University of Oslo, says Norway’s move is a result of the oil industry struggling, a crisis which has worsened during the coronavirus pandemic. “When prime minister Erna Solberg’s government announced the lease auction would go ahead, it was the culmination of a decades-long process that has seen Norway slowly edging ever further north,” he said.

Norway set the expected southern limit of ocean ice, also know as the “ice edge” south of Svalbard in June. Oil exploration north of the edge is not permitted.

“In the recent ice-edge compromise, which redrew the zone, Norway is approaching the absolute limit of where oil exploration would be accepted by other nations,” said Ryggvik.

WWF, Greenpeace and Nature & Youth sent the Norwegian government an open letter on Monday, pointing out that in all 24 previous concession rounds between 2002 and 2019, the government had granted licenses in areas where the state agency responsible for the regulation of petroleum resources advised against exploration.

“Given that we don’t yet have the technology to clean up spills in an Arctic environment, it really doesn’t make any sense to continue with offshore extraction there,” said Kelman.

Erlend Jordal, a political adviser in Norway’s ministry of oil and energy, said: “A broad parliamentary majority opened most of the Barents Sea to petroleum exploration more than 30 years ago. The exception is the south-east Barents Sea, which was opened by broad parliamentary consensus in 2013 following an agreement with Russia on the maritime lines drawn in that sea. In Norway we have a long experience with sound and secure petroleum activity in the Barents Sea.

“We have the strictest health and safety regulations in the world and a proactive policy for coexistence with the fisheries and other parties who use the sea.”

According to the Svalbard treaty, which has 46 signature states, Norway holds sovereignty over the island with some stipulations. It regulates the militarisation of the archipelago and allows all signatories to engage in commercial activities there, although only Russia and Norway have done so thus far. As the sovereign state, however, Norway is responsible for the environment and so could veto any oil extraction.

“If Norway wanted to, they could take a stance here,” said Kelman. “We know that fossil fuels are a finite source, so we need to get ourselves off that. Norway and other countries now have the opportunity to reduce their use and extraction of fossil fuel. By looking to the future, Norway could exercise their sovereign right and make it better for the people.”

Norway’s move also risks increasing tensions with Russia, for whom the area has huge strategic importance. “In the past few years, Russia has modernised its northern nuclear submarine fleet and expanded their military presence on the nearby Franz Josef Land archipelago,” says Ryggvik. “Formally Russia supports the treaty, but Norway’s move into previously untouched territory could be perceived as aggressive.”

Kelman said: “Irrespective of what Russia is doing in the south, a lot of the analyses we are looking at and incorporating show that Russia does not want provocation in Svalbard or elsewhere in the Arctic. It is to Russia’s advantage to cooperate and keep people on side.

“So when Norway suddenly comes in and says ‘we’re going to exercise our rights and go for this exploration’, the open question is: is it really for the fossil fuel or is it to provoke Russia, or a combination of both?”

The deadline to apply for concessions is early 2021, with the aim of their being granted soon afterwards.

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Srilanka and Norway

Norwegian Ambassador calls on the Speaker of SL

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

The Norwegian Ambassador to Sri Lanka Trine Jøranli Eskedal called on the Srilankan Parliament Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena at the Parliament this morning.

She congratulated Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena on being elected as the Speaker of the 9th parliament and they discussed the importance of parliamentary diplomacy.

Ambassador Eskedal and the Speaker also exchanged their views on potential exchanges between parliamentarians in the future.

The Norwegian envoy pointed out that previously as part of a program by the Oslo Centre, a group of Sri Lankan MPs visited

the Norwegian Parliament and met with representatives from various political parties, with the aim of identifying valuable and parallel lessons from the Norwegian context in consensus and coalition building. 

She underscored the importance to learn from practical experiences of various countries and to get exposure to addressing challenges faced in different parliaments and expressed Norway’s willingness to share learnings from their parliamentary experience. They also discussed economic development, the maritime sector, female representation in parliament, and ways to further the bilateral ties between Sri Lanka and Norway.

Deputy Head of Mission of the Norwegian Embassy Ms. Hilde Berg-Hansen, Secretary-General of Parliament Mr. Dhammika Dasanayaka, and senior officials from the Parliament were also present at the meeting.

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