* The nonviolence party The Greens are making a full turnaround: After first saying no to contributing with staff officers, MDG is now supporting the government in sending 120 soldiers to Iraq and the war against ISIS.
* – We are not going any way with dialogue, says spokesperson Hilde Opoku. Election researcher believes MDG has come into conflict with itself for the first time. The center party has also turned.
(THIS ARTICLE IS MACHINE TRANSLATED by Google from Norwegian)
War Participation. Thursday 30. October it became clear that Norway will step up its contribution to the war against the terrorist group Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Only the SV and the Center Party voted against a military solution, sending 120 soldiers to northern Iraq. 75 Norwegian soldiers are sent to Afghanistan.
The only news compared to September is that the Center Party has turned and is moving towards the increased military effort, which the US will in practice lead. The other new political development is that the Green Party now turns and supports a military solution, despite the wording of the party's principle program.
Then the Right-Frp government 18. September declared that they would send five staff officers to the United States to help fight ISIS, MDG and SV voted no. "Does not support Norwegian war participation without a UN mandate," the Greens wrote on their website.
But 30. October turned the party, which now supports that Norway sends 120 Norwegian soldiers as military instructors in the US-led alliance. Half of the soldiers are sent to Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan, as instructors at a training center for Kurdish forces, under German command.
The rest of the soldiers will provide advice and support to an Iraqi security force in the Baghdad area, under US command. This makes Norway one of the first countries to contribute directly in the war against ISIS.
Not UN mandate
The Green principle program, adopted in 2013 and what the party went to for election last year, states:
"The use of military methods is based on violence which, in itself, is harmful and degrading. Military resources must therefore, in line with the UN Charter, be the absolute last resort, and be combined with civil, non-violent and humanitarian efforts, also in hindsight. Norwegian participation in international military operations must be prompted by a UN mandate and there must be agreement that the purpose is to save and protect lives by preventing further violence. "
The UN has condemned ISIS, but there is still no UN mandate for war on terrorist groups. Nor any NATO mandate.
- The Green Party is basically a non-violent party, and we do not want Norway to participate in war without a clear UN mandate. We believe our strongest contribution is humanitarian, said Hilde Opoku, spokesperson for the Green Party, to Ny Tid when it became clear in September that Norway is sending staff officers to the United States.
But now the Greens have chosen to support Norwegian war participation. Hilde Opuku
- We are on the non-violence line, but here we are talking about saving lives in an emergency situation. We have no way of dialogue, says Opoku to Ny Tid now
The former SV politician rejects that the last week's decision is a change of course for the Greens. She explains that the party interprets it as meaning that the Iraqi and Kurdish authorities are acting in self-defense and want help from the international community. She fears that Iraq could become a new Rwanda or Srebrenica. After Ny Tid got in touch, MDG and Rasmus Hansson posted a case on the website under the title "Iraq-yes under strong doubt".
Hansson states: “The Greens' primary position in a conflict will be to contribute non-violent relief work. IS's brutality makes this impossible. Therefore, the Greens support a Norwegian contribution with military instructors to train Iraqi and Kurdish personnel in the fight against IS.
Disagreement within the party
Traditionally, the Greens have settled on a nonviolence line. This is also reflected in the party's work program for 2013 to 2017:
“The use of military methods as a means of creating peace and resolving conflicts should be avoided as far as possible and done with the least amount of violence. The Greens believe in negotiation, conflict resolution and nonviolence both because of our human view and because we believe nonviolent methods are often most effective. ”
The party's parliamentary representative and spokesperson, Rasmus Hansson, said in the parliamentary debate on Wednesday 5 November that it is with a heavy heart that the Greens advocate war participation. He said the contribution was a poor solution that "could bring us into a new hammock in another part of the world", but that he was afraid to stand with the blood of civilians on his hands by doing nothing. Hansson said that there is considerable disagreement within the party about Norway's military contribution.
Opoku confirms that there are votes in the Greens who do not agree with the decision to support Norwegian war participation, but says she does not feel the party is divisive.
- It has been a very difficult process. We do not have a change of basic attitude, but as humanists we can not sit still and watch what happens, says Opoku.
Green Youth, the Greens' youth party, tells Ny Tid that they have not yet taken a position on the question of Norwegian war participation. Nevertheless, spokesperson Lage Nøst supports Hansson's interpretation of the party program.
- We have decided to address this at our national board meeting, where we will discuss this more broadly, says spokesperson for Green Youth, Lage Nøst.
- But does Green Youth support the party's decision?
- So far we have not taken a position on the question, but I can say as much as that we understand that Rasmus Hansson in this situation interpreted the party's program in the way he did, says Nøst.
SU: – MDG lite parti
Of the parties in the Storting, only the Center Party and the Socialist Left Party voted against Norwegian participation in the military operations.
- SV believes it is wrong of Norway to send forces to Iraq, says foreign policy spokesman Bård Vegar Solhjell to Ny Tid.
He believes MDG itself must answer for its full turn around the question of Norwegian participation.
- When it comes to MDG's decisions and reasons for these, they must comment on these themselves, Solhjell says.
Socialist Youth leader Nicholas Wilkinson is disappointed with the other parties' yes to war participation.
- I think it is bad that all parties except SV and Sp want a western invasion of Iraq, he says to Ny Tid.
He also does not want to go into the Green War – yes.
- I really have no need to comment on the MDGs beyond that. They are a very small party in Norwegian politics. The interesting, and problematic, is what the Labor Party votes for, says Wilkinson.
Little to pick up on war no
Anders Todal Jenssen, professor of political science at NTNU, believes that the parties have little to gain from marking themselves against Norwegian war participation.
- The Greens are in favor of a conditional yes to soldiers to Iraq, while SV and Sp say no. How do you interpret that?
– An argument for saying no to the staff officers in September was precisely that it would lead to further escalation. Once inside, it is the logic of war that decides. It is also the case that the longer conflicts last, the more unpopular they become the population, says Todal Jenssen to Ny Tid.
He points out that public opinion in Norway does not focus enough on foreign policy, and that there is little to be gained for the parties to oppose this.
- But all the parties see it as problematic, and in recent days it has emerged that there has also been a lot of discussion within the government about this, especially with regard to the terrorist threat, says Todal Jenssen.
- Why is the MDGs turning from no to five staff officers in September to yes to more troops now?
- Few of the Green Party's voters came there due to foreign policy. The party has not had major foreign policy discussions, and the MDGs do not really know where they have their voters on this point. This means that they now have to feel ahead, and it can make the management appear insecure, says Todal Jensen.
Press on the Greens
He adds that in Norwegian foreign and security policy there is an expectation that the parties will follow the government's decisions.
- MDG has not felt this before. There is considerable pressure for conformity in Norwegian foreign and security policy. One must follow the government. There has always been a stigmatization of those who do not support NATO cooperation and alliance policy. MDG is not untouched by this, says Todal Jenssen.
- SV will not comment that MDG has changed sides, why do you think they choose that strategy?
- It may well be that they do not want to lend MDG more attention than they already get, and that in this question they have bigger fish to catch. They may think that if this does not go as planned, it is the left in the Labor Party that should be the target of criticism from SV, Todal Jenssen concludes.
IRAQ AND THE ISIS WAR
• The terrorist group the self-proclaimed Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) conquered large areas of northern Iraq in 2014. In recent months, Kurdish and Shiite militias have fought a defensive war against ISIS.
• In August, the United States began to form a coalition to support Iraqi and Kurdish authorities in the war against ISIS. On September 18, the government announced that Norway will participate in the coalition.
• On Thursday, October 30, it became clear that Norway will send around 120 military instructors to Iraq in the war against ISIS. The assignment will initially last for one year.
• The mission has neither the UN nor NATO mandate. The additional expenses for the contribution are estimated to be about NOK 210 million.
THE GREEN ON MILITARY POWER
Use of military force: "The use of military methods is based on violence which, in itself, is harmful and degrading. Military resources must therefore, in line with the UN Charter, be the absolute last resort, and be combined with civil, non-violent and humanitarian efforts, also in hindsight. Norwegian participation in international military operations must be prompted by a UN mandate and there must be agreement that the purpose is to save and protect lives by preventing further violence. In cases where the world community intervenes militarily, we are committed to following up efforts to ensure peace and stability. "
From the Green Party principle program (overall), the section "Use of military force".
Also read what the Center Party says
