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Archive for September 5th, 2007

Raila says, he will not allow Kalonzo to be vice president if he returns to his splinter group

Posted by African Press International on September 5, 2007

Raila thinks Kalonzo Musyoka might decide to return to ODM splinter group that he leads. One thing he is forgetting is the fact that Kalonzo leads the much more larger ODM-K and may instead want to see Raila join him if Raila has to have a chance to be elected to any position of noticeable state.

Kalonzo will use his ODM-K as bargaining power to work with KANU and Kibaki, a step that will enable Kibaki to get his second term in Office.( API/APN editorial)

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Story by DAVID MUGONYI and LUCAS BARASA
Publication Date: 9/5/2007
 

ODM presidential candidate Raila Odinga chose Mr Musalia Mudavadi as his running mate because the former vice-president is honest, cautious and experienced in Government. 

Mr Odinga said the decision would not be changed even if ODM Kenya presidential candidate Kalonzo Musyoka teamed up with ODM.

“Mudavadi represents a very large constituency. Musyoka also has some following. If he comes back that does not mean we will dump Mudavadi,” the Lang’ata MP said.

According to him, his decision to have Mr Mudavadi as his running mate had been endorsed by ODM delegates and was therefore “a covenant”. It was also reached after consultations with other ODM leaders, including MPs William Ruto, Najib Balala and Joseph Nyaga, who had been eyeing the ODM presidential ticket before they were defeated by Mr Odinga in the  nomination. Mr Mudavadi was the runner-up.

The Lang’ata MP further said that Mr Balala stepped down in his favour during the Saturday nominations after being asked to do so by Coast residents and the Council of Imams.

He said in an interview that it was too early to predict how the General Election will be because President Kibaki was yet to identify his party of choice.

ODM had also not made any arrangement to ask Health minister Charity Ngilu to join the party.

However, the party was interested in working with Ford Kenya but chairman Musikari Kombo was yet to make up his mind over the matter.

Criticised police

On Kanu chairman Uhuru Kenyatta, who led his supporters out of ODM, Mr Odinga said he understood his predicament, which he attributed to “ethnic bashing”.

At the same time the MP criticised the police for failing to turn up at last weekend’s ODM conference to maintain law and order despite being notified.

He said in a statement that police were supposed to carry out their official duty of maintaining law and order at public functions and their failure to turn up at Kasarani, where the conference was held, was an attempt to subvert the democratic process.

Mr Odinga is set to leave the country for a tour of the US today. While there, he will addresses conferences in Denver, Houston and Kansas cities before returning after a week

Lifted and published by Korir, API*APN africanpress@chello.no tel +47 932 99 739 or +47 6300 2525 source.nation.ke

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API*APN Correspondents/Reporters

Posted by African Press International on September 5, 2007

pauline.jpgMrs Pauline Onyango

murithi-itunga-photo.jpgMr Japheth Murithi Itunga

ikunda.jpgMr Harrison Ikunda

wilfred-photo.jpgMr. Wilfred Zulu 

corrnigeria.jpgMr. Muhammad Hassan-Tom

cholobcholob.jpgMr. J.Cholo Brooks

Mrs. Kasang Dedi (Awaiting Photo)

Mr. Clement Iloba (Awaiting Photo)

 

African Press International (API)/ African Press in Norway (APN) africanpress@chello.no tel +47 932 99 739 or +47 6300 2525

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Life achievements by the Director Kenya Medical Research Institute – A shining star

Posted by African Press International on September 5, 2007

dkphoto.jpgDavy Kiprotich Koech

Bsc, MS, PhD, CuD, DSc, CBiol, FIBiol, FInstPM, SS, OGW, MBS.

Chief Research Officer, Director,Chief Eecutive: Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI).

He is also a Professor of Immunology & Molecular Medicine.

DAVY KIPROTICH KOECH (born 1951) is a founder member, Chief Research Officer, Director and Chief Executive, Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI), a state-owned organization charged with the responsibility of carrying out health sciences research in Kenya.

He has been a member (1985-90), the Vice-Chairman (1990-95) and the Chairman (1995-2003) of the Commission for Higher Education; and the Vice-Chairman (1993-2003) of Council of the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Kenya.

In addition, he is a visiting professor of Immunology and Molecular Medicine (1989-date) in a number of universities. Also, Dr. Koech was the Chairman of the Commission of Inquiry into the Education System of Kenya (1998-1999), that came up with a report titled Totally Integrated Quality Education and Training (TIQET) recommending major changes in Kenya’s education system. 

Education, Research and Professional Interests:

 Dr. Koech holds three doctorates: Doctor of Science (DSc) from Moi University, and Cultural Doctorate (CuD) in Therapeutic Philosophy (1988) from the World University in the USA; a PhD degree in Medical Pathology (1980) specializing in immunology awarded by the University of Nairobi but partly undertaken at the Harvard University Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA while he was a Fulbright-Hays Scholar; an MS degree in Pharmacology (1977) specializing in Clinical Pharmacology from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA and a BSc degree (1974) obtained from the University of Nairobi. Dr. Koech is also a Chartered Biologist (CBiol) (1984), a member (MIBiol)(1984-96) and a Fellow of the Institute of Biology (FIBiol) (1997-date) of the UK, and a Fellow of the Institute of Professional Managers (FInstPM) (1985-date) of Great Britain. In addition, he is a member of several professional societies including the Kenya Society of Clinical Pathologists, the Kenya Society for Immunology, the British Society for Immunology, the British Transplantation Society, the Royal Society of Medicine and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.  

For his postdoctoral work, Dr. Koech worked on the biology of parasitism at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) at Woods Hole, Massachusetts, USA (1980) and at the Institute of Cytology and Genetics, Siberian Department of Academy of Sciences of the (then) USSR, Academgorodok, Novosibirsk, (then) USSR (1981). 

Dr. Koech was among a group of scientists who in 1979 helped to set up KEMRI. He has developed an academic and health sciences research career investigating several immunological and other aspects of tropical and infectious diseases and has published widely in these areas with more than 260 published papers, in peer reviewed scientific journals and those presented in conferences, to his credit. In addition, he has authored books and co-edited several others. 

He is best known for his direct contribution in research that, in 1990, led to the novel development of the drug, based on a formulation of a low-dose interferon alpha, for oropharyngeal use in the clinical management of HIV infections and AIDS as well as of viral hepatitis and related viral infections. He is also known for his pioneering work in the perfection of HLA tissue typing technique that led to the first living donor-related kidney transplant in Kenya in 1985. He has further introduced the DNA technology for this purpose. Since then, renal transplants have been routinely undertaken in Kenya. Recently, he has participated in the development of an insulin formulation, which is potential for oropharyngeal use in the clinical management of insulin-dependent and non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. He is also spearheading research into the clinical use of trioxolane in HIV/AIDS, rheumatoid arthritis, respiratory infections as well a number of cardiovascular diseases.

Dr. Koech has served as the Head of the Division of Vector-Borne Diseases in the Ministry of Health (1981-84), Director of Clinical Research Centre of KEMRI (1982-84) and Director of the Biomedical Sciences Research Centre (1984-89) of KEMRI. He has supervised and/or examined more than 35 students for postgraduate (MMed, MSc, PhD) degrees of local and  overseas universities and has been an external examiner in others. 

Dr. Koech has also served in various committees of several international bodies including the World Health Organization, Commission of European Communities and the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency. He has been a Member (2001-date) of the Data Monitoring and Ethics Committee (DMEC) of the Kenya-Oxford-London HIV Vaccine Trials sponsored by the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI). He is also a founder member and a member of the Board of Directors of the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDi), a Geneva-based international NGO.

National and International Honours and Awards: 

Dr. Koech has been decorated with many national and international honours and awards and holds office in several professional societies. Some of the awards are the Distinguished Leadership Award (1986), the Commemorative Medal of Honour (1987), The World Lifetime Achievement Award (1998) and The 2000 Millennium Medal of Honour issued by way of Warrant of Proclamation given in honour of his outstanding achievements and dedication to personal and professional goals, all by the American Biographical Institute (ABI); and three Presidential awards (State investitures): the Silver Star (SS) of Kenya (1984), the Order of the Grand Warrior (OGW) of Kenya (1989) and the Moran of the Order of the Burning Spear (MBS) (1998), for his distinguished service to the nation. He is also the National Chancellor for Kenya (1993-date) representing the International Association for Educators for World Peace (NGO, UN and UNESCO). He is also cited in the International Register of Profiles and in the International Who is Who in Medicine, International Biographical Centre (IBC), Cambridge, England, from where he received a Certificate of Merit (1986). He is also one of the IBC nominees for the 1998 International Man of the Year and Most Creative and Successful Personalities of the World. In addition, Dr. Koech is a permanent Deputy Governor (DG)(1997-date) and Board Member of the American Biographical Research Institute Association. Dr. Koech was also selected by the Governing Board of Editors of the ABI as a great mind of the 21st Century due to significant accomplishments within the area of Health and Education, and listed in the reference premier edition of Great Minds of the 21st Century. Dr. Koech is also the 2002 nominee for the United Cultural Convention’s International Peace Prize, and the basis for nomination being his impact on the international level of understanding and willingness to share his talents with others. In addition, Dr. Koech is the nominee of the International Who’s Who of Professionals and the Ultimate Professional Directory has announced his selection as an Honoured Member of the WHO’S WHO Historical Society for the Year 2003. Dr. Koech is listed in the East African Standard’s Century Magazine (15 November 2002) as one of the Top 100 Achievers of the Century who influenced Kenya most. He is listed in the category of Teachers, Academicians and Educationists. Because of his commitment to excellence in public service, Dr. Koech is a recipient of a Gold Medal from the Geneva-based Foundation for Excellence in Business Practice.

Through Dr. Koech’s efforts, KEMRI received the Kenya Institute of Management’s Company of the Year Awards (COYA) for Creativity and Innovation for four consecutive years (2001-2005) and the Parastatal of the Year Award for 2003 and 2005. 

Professionally Related Humanitarian and Voluntary Activities:

Dr. Koech is the Editor-in-Chief (1994-date) of the African Journal of Health Sciences, a premier publication to disseminate scientific discoveries and innovations and to provide a forum for communication of research results and policy issues in the health sciences and related disciplines. Dr. Koech is the founding President (1994-date) of the African Forum for Health Sciences (AFHES), a continental body whose aim is to promote health care delivery, research and training in Africa. He is also the founder Chairman and trustee (1995-date) of the African Medical Services Trust (AMSET), a charitable trust whose mission is to bring appropriate medical service close to communities requiring such a service. Dr. Koech is a member (1988-date) of the International Council for Infectious Diseases, and a member (1995-date) of the Editorial Advisory Board of the International Journal of Infectious Diseases. In addition, he is a Trustee and Vice-President for Africa (1998-date) of the New York-based Global Health and Education Resources whose mission is similar to those of other charitable trusts in which he is a trustee plus additional attention to providing education and educational facilities and services to the less endowed members of the society especially in Africa. In November 2002, while at the WHO in Geneva, Dr. Koech was unanimously voted to be the Secretary of Africa-based Forum for African Medical Editors (FAME), a new continental body whose aim is to collaborate with the WHO in the promotion and sustainability of good quality medical publications coming out of Africa

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API*APN is proud of this brilliant man’s achievements in life: Chief Editor Korir.

Lifted and published by Korir, African Press International (API)/ African Press in Norway (APN) africanpress@chello.no tel +47 932 99 739 or +47 6300 2525 source. Kemri/African Journal of Health Sciences

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The Kipsigis – Kalenjin group of Kenya and customary laws governing marriage

Posted by African Press International on September 5, 2007

LAW REPORTS: Burial under customary law

Story by Timon Kosgei
First Publication Date: 12/25/2006
Once a man marries a woman, she is considered to be his wife until he divorces her, or she dies, according to Kipsigis customary law. It will not matter that she separates from him and conceives children with other men. These children are said to belong to the husband. But a special ceremony called keeturum saandet must be performed to reconcile such a couple. The ceremony is not imposed on an unwilling party, nor is it to reconcile an adulterous wife. It can be performed only for a woman who has been separated from her husband for a short time. Kiplangat Korir versus David Kipngeno Mutai [2006]eKLR ( www.kenyalaw.org ), High Court at Kericho, (Justice L Kimaru), February 22, 2006.

Kiplangat Korir (the appellant) and David Kipng’eno Mutai (the respondent) had a dispute on where Esther Chepkemoi Mokwony, also known as Esther Chepkemoi Mutai, who died on September 8, 2005, would be buried. Kipng’eno wanted Kiplangat to bury her, saying he married her under Kipsigis customary law and, therefore, should perform all the funeral rites. But Kiplangat declined the request.He said that although he married Chepkemoi more than 31 years ago, she ran away from their matrimonial home after less than a month. He said she did not return to the home.

Kipng’eno filed a suit in the resident magistrate’s court at Sotik, seeking orders to compel Kiplangat to bury Chepkemoi under Kipsigis customary law. Kiplangat filed a defence, denying any responsibility to bury her. 

The trial magistrate told Kiplangat to bury Chepkemoi at his farm at Soymet. He was aggrieved by the decision and appealed to the high court. In his memorandum of appeal, he faulted the trial magistrate for ruling in favour of Kipng’eno. 

He raised several grounds of appeal: that the trial magistrate had heard and determined a burial dispute whereas, in law, he lacked the requisite jurisdiction to do so.

Kiplangat was further aggrieved that the trial magistrate had failed to appreciate Kipsigis customary law as relates to burials and, therefore, arrived at the said erroneous decision.

He urged the court to allow the appeal, set aside the magistrate’s judgment and substitute it with an order dismissing the respondent’s suit.

A brief history of the case is that the appellant, Kiplangat Korir, married Chepkemoi under Kipsigis customary law in 1974 and paid dowry. On celebrating the marriage, Kiplangat said she ran away from his rural home after about a month.

While separated from the appellant, Chepkemoi conceived out of wedlock and gave birth to three sons. One of them, called Cheruiyot, died and was buried at his maternal uncle’s parcel of land at Kabajet. The other two sons include the respondent, who was born in 1984, and Kimutai (1994). 

The three children were not sired by the appellant. According to Kipsigis customary law, the appellant (Kiplangat) and Chepkemoi were not divorced at the time she died. They were only separated.

Two issues came to the fore for determination: whether the trial magistrate had jurisdiction to hear matters relating to customary burial disputes; and interpretation and applicability of Kipsigis customary law to this case.

The counsel for the appellant, Mr Ong’anyi, said under Section 3(2) of the Judicature Act, as read with Section 2 of the Magistrate’s Courts Act, the magistrate did not have jurisdiction to hear a burial dispute. This jurisdiction is exclusively reserved for the High Court, he said.

Mr Rono, counsel for the respondent, disagreed. He said the appellant had submitted himself to the jurisdiction of the trial magistrate and participated in the entire trial. He said the appellant was stopped from raising the issue of jurisdiction at that stage of the trial.

The high court considered both arguments, and agreed with the appellant’s counsel that a resident magistrate’s court can hear customary law disputes only as specified in Section 2 of the Magistrate’s Courts Act. A magistrate could not extend jurisdiction and hear matters which are not specifically provided for under the said section. 

The judge was emphatic that customary burial disputes shall be heard by the High Court only. But the court said the appellant was stopped from raising the issue of jurisdiction of the trial magistrate’s court at that stage of the appeal.

On whether Kipsigis customary law requires the appellant to bury Chepkemoi, the court referred itself to provisions of the law under Section 51 of the Evidence Act.

This requires any person who asserts a custom to adduce evidence on the existence of such a custom. The respondent called three witnesses, who testified on the existence of a Kipsigis custom that requires a man to bury a wife whom he had not divorced but was separated from for many years.

On his part, the appellant called witnesses who said that under Kipsigis customary law, a man was not compelled to bury a woman who had deserted the matrimonial home for the length of time admitted in the suit.

Once a man marries, the woman is considered to be his wife until he divorces her or she dies. It will not matter that she was separated from him and conceived children with other men. Such children would be said to belong to the husband. The only caveat is that a special ceremony, keeturum saandet, must be performed.

“The Kalenjin Heritage: Traditional Religious and Social Practices” by Burnette C Fish and Gerald W Fish, published by Davy Koech Foundation and the African Gospel Church, 1995, on page 129 says: keeturum saandet was to reconcile a couple who had separated. The ceremony could not be imposed on an unwilling party.

The respondent testified that since the appellant was married to Chepkemoi under Kipsigis customary law, and since he had not divorced her in a ceremony called keepet-lool or kiilgee, then the respondent and his younger brother were his sons.

The respondent conceded that Chepkemoi made no effort to return to her matrimonial home until a few weeks before her death. Keeturum saandet was, therefore, not performed. The ceremony could not be performed once one of the parties had died.

The court said since keeturum saandet had not been performed, then the appellant could not be compelled to bury Chepkemoi. It said marriage between the two had ceased to exist and that the duty of burying Chepkemoi fell on her representatives.

The court relied on the case of Sakina Sote and Anor versus Mary Wamaitha C.A. Civil Appeal No. 108 of 1995 (Nairobi where the court held that… the custody of the body and the duty of disposing it falls primary on the executor.

The high court granted the appeal.
Lifted and published by Korir, African Press International (API)/ African Press in Norway (APN) africanpress@chello.no tel +47 932 99 739 or +47 6300 2525

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His face says it all! Mr Mudavadi has a strategy to de-camp within a month, an act to shock his supporters

Posted by African Press International on September 5, 2007

Story by LUCAS BARASA
Publication Date: 9/4/2007
 

Former Vice-President Musalia Mudavadi with Nambale branch ODM chairman Sakwa Bunyasi after addressing journalists at United Club in Nairobi yesterday. He announced that he will not quit the party after failure to capture its presidential ticket. Photo/ANTONY OMUYA

Former Vice-President Musalia Mudavadi yesterday declared he was in ODM to stay and that his failure to capture the  presidential ticket will not sway its support in Western Province.

Addressing journalists in Nairobi, Mr Mudavadi who was accompanied by ODM officials, aspirants and supporters from the province, said he had accepted nomination of Lang’ata MP Raila Odinga as the party’s presidential candidate.

He also welcomed Mr Odinga’s invitation to be his running mate.

The former Sabatia MP said Mr Odinga named him his running mate as the Constitution only provided for positions of President and VP “but we are a team and each will have a role to play to ensure ODM victory and how the country is governed.”

“Delegates have spoken and it is now all systems go for entire ODM to capture the country’s leadership. We are committed to ideals of ODM and we will forge ahead as a team to secure victory,” Mr Mudavadi said.

He described Western Province leaders such as Kaddu chairman Cyrus Jirongo who had said they would only support him if he became ODM flag-bearer, as insincere.

He said issuance of conditions for support was a political strategy by people who had not supported his decision to vie for presidency.

“We should dissuade Kenyans from those notions. If Musalia is not the one, is (President) Kibaki one of their own. We should cultivate a process where people work for party ideals and principles to strengthen democracy,” Mr Mudavadi said.

Under  pressure

“We urge our supporters throughout the country not to look at nomination events. 

“Our energy should now be focused on the ultimate prize. There could be people who would have preferred me to be flag-bearer but they are committed to ODM membership and leadership,” Mr Mudavadi said.

He added that ODM leaders in Western will reach out to Mr Jirongo and Ford-Kenya chairman Musikari Kombo for support. 

He denied being under  pressure from Luhya elders to decamp from the party.

Mr Mudavadi added that had he won, people from other areas would also have complained and that he would have needed their support.

Lifted and published by Korir, API*APN africanpress@chello.no tel +47 932 99 739 or +47 6300 2525 source.nation.ke

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A Norwegian political party accused of tax evation

Posted by African Press International on September 5, 2007

Confusion was running high Friday afternoon, after the Progress Party finally released a statement responding to charges that it had failed to fully report taxable income. The party, however, quickly sent a second “corrected” statement leaving out all the actual money figures, and then refused to answer questions.

Progress Party leader Siv Jensen was under pressure to reveal the tax office claim.

PHOTO: TOR ERIK SCHRØDER / SCANPIX

The party, which only released the statements after pressure from political rivals, first said it may owe as much as NOK 700,000 in back taxes and penalties. Party officials, however, don’t agree with the Oslo Tax Office’s claim that they failed to report as much as NOK 2.7 million in taxable payments made on behalf of party politicians.

That’s the reason the Progress Party (Fremskrittspartiet) is giving for its initial decision to withhold a report from the tax office. Party leader Siv Jensen said the party always intended to publicize the tax authorities’ conclusion, but not until the party’s appeal had been heard and the case settled.

More cynical observers, not least including rival parties, noted that would have allowed the party to delay release of the report on taxes owed until after the September 10 election.

Jensen apparently gave in to pressure to reveal the tax authorities’ demands. But then the first press release, containing the amount of alleged tax evasion, was replaced with a new version in which the amount was left out.

Tax authorities claim the party underreported taxable income connected to a trip that the party’s members of parliament took to northern Norway, transport of the politicians’ spouses to various arrangements, and use of mobile telephones.

The initial statement from the party said there “should be no doubt” that the party members involved would pay any taxes owed, and that the party “would clean up after itself.”

The tax demands on the Progress Party closely follow tax evasion admitted by the mayor of Oslo. He resigned, and his party, the Conservatives, took a dive in public opinion polls.

By Nina Berglund

Lifted and published by Korir, API*APN africanpress@chello.no tel +47 932 99 739 or +47 6300 2525 source.aftenposteneng

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Disappointed veteran politician drops efforts for a military pact

Posted by African Press International on September 5, 2007

A veteran politician’s efforts to usher in a military cooperation between Sweden and Norway crash-landed this week after a dinner he had with Swedish lobbyists.

Stein Ørnhøi was upset that his efforts to form a military pact with Sweden were, in his opinion, incorrectly portrayed.

PHOTO: OLAV OLSEN

Newspaper Dagbladet reported the dinner on its front page, with a photo showing Stein Ørnhøi of the Socialist Left (SV) party accepting an envelope from the lobbyist for the Swedish Wallenberg firm Investor AG. It’s the main investor in SAAB AB, which in turn produces the Gripen fighter jet that Swedish industrialists and military officials hope Norway will buy.

Dagbladet indicated the envelope contained “secret fighter jet information,” and that the dinner meeting at the post Statholdergaarden restaurant in Oslo also was secret.

In fact, the envelope contained information on Swedish-Norwegian cooperation on environmentally friendly energy issues, and Ørnhøi wasn’t on official party business. But the damage was done, and he was criticized by both the president of Norway’s parliament, Thorbjørn Jagland of the Labour Party, and the head of the parliament’s defense committee, Jan Petersen of the Conservatives. They clearly believed Ørnhøi’s dinner meeting was improper.

The head of SV who’s also currently Norway’s Finance Minister, Kristin Halvorsen, claimed the criticism against Ørnhøi was blown way out of proportion “There wasn’t anything secret about that meeting,” she told news bureau NTB.

Ørnhøi, though, feels compelled to drop his own efforts to bring about a military pact between Norway and Sweden. “Dagbladet made it look criminal,” he said. “That’s sad.”

By Thomas Spence and Nina Berglund

Lifted and published by Korir, API*APN africanpress@chello.no tel +47 932 99 739 or +47 6300 2525 source.aftenposteneng

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US scoffs over Norway’s weak anti-terror law

Posted by African Press International on September 5, 2007

US officials are urging Norway to toughen up a proposed anti-terror law. While some politicians have reacted angrily to what they consider meddling by the Americans, most others are taking the US lobbying in stride.

Norwegian Justice Minister says the US criticism won’t influence Norway’s proposed anti-terror law.

PHOTO: ANNE-STINE JOHNSBRÅTEN


US Ambassador Benson Whitney was keen to present the US view on Norway’s proposed legislation.

PHOTO: TRYGVE INDRELID

Newspaper Aftenposten reported over the weekend that the US ambassador to Norway met with Norway’s Justice Minister in June, to discuss the Americans’ “interest in the Ministry of Justice’s proposed terrorism legislation.”

The meeting was followed up last month with a letter from US Ambassador Benson Whitney, to which he attached a five-page, admittedly detailed “summary of observations, comments and questions from experts in Washington who have had the chance to examine the proposed legislation.”

The summary, Whitney wrote, was also “shared” with Norway’s Foreign Ministry.

In it, the American experts make it clear that they don’t think Norway’s proposed legislation is tough enough. They criticized the Norwegian government’s proposal that it won’t be illegal to be a member of a terrorist organization. The Norwegians think penalties should only apply if a suspect can be linked to the planning of a specific terrorist act.

The American experts also don’t think proposed rules against fund raising for terrorism are strong enough, and they raised many questions about how Norway would react to such events as hostage-taking, terrorist recruiting and threats.

Justice Minister Knut Storberget of the Labour Party says the Americans themselves took the initiative to express their views. Asked what he thought of the US’ objections, he said he believes the proposed Norwegian legislation is “very good and balanced.” He made it clear no changes would be made because of the American criticism.

Olav Gunnar Ballo, a member of Parliament for the Socialist Left (SV) party, didn’t appreciate the Americans’ input in the Norwegian legislative process. “I think Americans would have reacted as well, if Norway’s ambassador in Washington had written a letter to American authorities and said they shouldn’t go so far in their own terror laws,” Ballo said.

Storberget, whose Labour Party shares government power with SV, said he had no problems with the US initiative. Representatives from the Center Party, the Conservatives and the Progress Party had no problems, either. Elisabeth Aspaker of the Conservatives said it was “important that we learn from those in other countries, so that the law won’t be worthless before it’s passed.”

By Nina Berglund

Lifted and published by Korir, API*APN africanpress@chello.no tel +47 932 99 739 or +47 6300 2525 source.aftenposteneng

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