STORTING (Dagbladet): On Wednesday 11 October, activists Sami Fosen sat on the polished stone floor of the promenade. They refused to move and remained seated and merry until late at night.

The incident received a lot of attention, and was a breach of the Storting’s visiting rules. Finally the police had to take them away.

– The Storting is the most important arena of democracy in Norway. It is not good to make the Storting a battleground for political activism, said justice committee leader Per-Willy Amundsen (Frp).

He now wants action to prevent something similar from happening again.

Internal meeting

At an internal meeting in mid-October, Storting politicians raised the issue. At a user council meeting, the administration at Storting explained what happened. The user council also made several considerations, according to the meeting minutes.

“The government will take into account user council comments when considering specific changes to access regulations,” he said.

The leader of the users’ council, Heidi Greni (Sp), told Dagbladet that there were discussions about whether politicians in the Storting could feel safe at home.

– The main thing is that the safety of parliamentary representatives, ministers and visitors is always considered. Some worry they are not safe, Greni said.

He stressed that the security department at the Storting assured that they had control over security.

– We have to endure this

– Harassing

It was politician Rødt Geir Jørgensen who invited Fosen activists to take part in the debate on the controversial case at the Storting.

– Red has abused the scheme. This is not the goal. The Storting should not be a place for illegal activism and demonstrations, said Per-Willy Amundsen of the FRP.

Greni at Sp supports the criticism.

– The representative’s responsibility is not to invite groups that do not comply with the regulations. Challenging visitation arrangements would create uncertainty and thereby destroy all representation.

Amundsen was among those who now wanted to establish rules for inviting guests to the Storting.

– It is a trust based system. When someone is unable to live up to the trust placed in you, you have to toughen it up. You have to see what the purpose of the visit is. If guests will be attending the meeting, that’s fine.

The former justice minister also emphasized that Rødt had recently invited Palestinian sympathizers who Amundsen also believed to be activists.

Afraid of another cold shock

Want punishment

The FRP profile even wants punishment for Storting politicians who do not respect the established rules.

– There must be consequences for those who abuse the institution. There must be consequences. Quarantine must then be imposed – you must not have visitors for the next six months – or a year. This is an assessment that the presidency must make.

Guests received at the Storting building by a representative must be accompanied at all times, and must also leave the building within a certain time.

Amundsen was sure that Jørgensen and Rødt knew very well who the people they invited to the parliament building were.

Jørgensen at Rødt rejected this.

– I don’t know where to start. Rødt has not invited anyone to campaign in the Storting. They are representatives of Sami organizations, reindeer husbandry and Sami cultural life who will take part in the question and answer session. This is completely normal practice. So do all the other parties.

Jørgensen said he asked his guests to leave when visiting hours were over, but they did not want to do so.

– This is not something I can take responsibility for, Jørgensen told Dagbladet.

– You didn’t know that they were well-known activists who wanted to campaign inside the Storting?

– No, we had no prior clue about that. We respect Storting regulations.

– Making a fool of himself

Heidi Greni on the Storting user board supports Amundsen’s proposal.

– It is very inappropriate for a deputy to invite a group to campaign in a pedestrian area. I believe quarantine for visits is something the presidency will have to consider if the rules are not followed.

Jørgensen at Rødt reacted to the proposal

– Amundsen was guilty of proposing serious restrictions on the rights of elected officials to engage with people who were essential to the working of democracy. This is a complete joke, said politician Rødt.