(THIS ARTICLE IS MACHINE TRANSLATED by Google from Norwegian)
On Friday next week, the Storting will arrange a hearing on Norwegian arms exports. As it appears in this week's main article in Ny Tid, several parties will then demand that Norway introduce an end-user declaration from all countries to which arms are exported, including allied NATO countries and the Nordic countries.
Something else should then also just be missing. As it is today, the United States and other NATO countries can easily resell Norwegian weapons. An end-user declaration may require the buyer of Norwegian weapons to state what the buyer plans to use the material for. In these times of war – and Norway and its allies are or have been involved in two major wars, Iraq and Afghanistan – such a declaration will help ensure that bullets, gunpowder and torpedoes do not go astray.
But in the bigger picture, not even an end-user statement will help. Norway is already part of a controversial military alliance that is carrying out increasingly controversial operations around the world. All this does not help the children in Afghanistan if they are killed with Norwegian-made weapons by American soldiers. Laser marking or end-user statements do not bring to life dead Afghans, and they are becoming increasingly prevalent during the careless attacks on the Taliban and al-Qaeda. We are already part of the military alliance waging the most controversial wars in the world.
The fundamental question thus becomes whether it is right that the alleged peace nation Norway should also be the world's largest arms exporter in terms of population? So was Norway in 2006. Or one of the seven largest in the world in real numbers, as the country has been for years. The industry is formidable. Last year, defense equipment exports increased to an incredible NOK 3,6 billion. There is a considerable number of jobs at Kongsberg and Raufoss. Kongsberg Defense and Aerospace, for example, has about 1500 employees. That is, much of the city relies on a company known worldwide for the brutal Penguin missile. Last year, the company received a billion arms deal agreement for US Army vehicle programs. The Norwegian state is the largest shareholder with more than 50 percent ownership.
The question is whether this is the kind of weapons production we want Norwegian tax money to be spent on or invested in. If the weapons production was only for our own defense, then that was one thing. But when Norwegian weapons, including Nammo Raufoss' stupid bullets that even Arnold Schwarzenegger forbids, are spread over large parts of the world, just to provide the greatest possible return for the owners – and to create ever new jobs in Norway – we are in on basic ethical issues. The unpleasant fact is that Norwegian citizens indirectly contribute to spreading death and depravity in the world, and then often with children or civilians as victims, with today's state arms exports.
It is not surprising that Secretary of State Raymond Johansen in today's edition answers that it is more important for Norwegian jobs than to make money on other deaths: "This government has no plans to shut down jobs in the Norwegian arms industry." But our goal now should be to get Norwegian arms exports discontinued. It is possible to apply technology knowledge to more sensible and more profitable things. As aerospace or environmental solutions. Today's arms exports are not worthy of Norway.