The hunger strike in Oslo

[martinemonster]

This horrible thing is happening. Our new government has shown itself to be just as bad as the old one in showing mercy to suffering people. For those of you who don't know: About thirty afghan refugees are going to be forced back home to Afghanistan because it is now deemed safe to send them home. I for one believe that it is only common sense that before we deem it safe that refugees go home, we send back our special military forces that are doing "classified work" in said country. Obviously our new social democratic government do not share that belief because their asstards! These afghan refugees have now been on a hunger strike for three weeks and now the police came and removed the sickest of them (apparently to the police station where they dumped them so they could walk back to the church they're living outside of) and destroyed their tents. This is horrid. The government needs to be made to understand what's going on here. This is not acceptable.

Comments

[fnisu-oo.livejournal.com]

helt, helt enig.
This is not acceptable.

[martinemonster.livejournal.com]

Kommer dere til å være der i morgen natt også?

[fnisu-oo.livejournal.com]

vi kommer til å fortsette å være der med de
helt til noe skjer sånn at vi ikke får vært der med de.
jeg skulle nedover i kveld,
men rakk ikke banen.
blir antageligvis å sove over i morra natt.
utrolig fint hvis du og venner også gjør de.
de føler seg tryggere når vi er der med de.

[reve-lucide.livejournal.com]

Wow. Sounds like things are just as screwed up where you live as where I live. It's sad, really.

[martinemonster.livejournal.com]

I know! And I actually had this naive belief that governments are there to help and protect people...sad and disillutioned now!

[reve-lucide.livejournal.com]

Well, they should be there to help and protect the citizens, but I guess that's just a little too much to ask. They'd rather just regulate the shit out of us, and spend our money on stupid and hurtful things.

[akselwestlund.livejournal.com]

Things usually aren't as fucked up as this. Or they didn't use to be, anyway. This really came as a biot of a nasty shock to me. The thing I don't get is this: if it's all safe and cozy for them to return to Afghanistan, then WHY THE HELL HAVE WE STILL GOT SPECIAL FORCES STAITIONED THERE?

That makes no fucking sense.

[martinemonster.livejournal.com]

Agreeing with aksel here...they're usually not this bad. But I am shocked that our new government, that I helped bring into office, is doing this. It actually hurts.

[mirazandar.livejournal.com]

Well. I look at it as a clumsy way of trying to handle a difficult situation. That they tried to break it up hoping that the people magically would change their mind. Not too bright though. That they are talking about removing the loos too is horrible. Anyway. Hunger strikes show the fact that people are desperate. I don't get how the government can not agree to review the situation.

I sympathise with the people who are striking, but I have a hard time showing sympathy with those who are there to show sympathy, but who don't take part. It gives me a feeling of "I agree with your cause, therefore i cheer on the fact that you are starving yourself, probably destroying your health forever, possibly killing yourself, while I sit by the sideline".

[mirazandar.livejournal.com]

and uh.. according to all the interviews, they brought them to the police station to talk to them, do more health checks and try and persuade tehm to give it up... it's clumsy and not working, but I don't think that was a 100% evil thing to do. No matter how this situation is being handled, it will be problematic.

The removal of tents on the other hand..

[martinemonster.livejournal.com]

agreed! But they could have driven them back as well...

...

[(Anonymous)]

Two things:

1. The people supporting the Afghans are doing two things: First of all showing support. Secondly, helping the afghans keep up their spirits by for example making the cultural arrangements that has been going on every night. I've been there several times this weekend, and the Afghans are thanking everyone (and especially AKP-leader Jorun Gulbrandsen) very much for helping them.

2. Get the fuck out of SV. SVs national board have decided that
a) Everyone from Kabul is to be sent back (becaus the UN sais its safe).
b) The refugees gets to try their case again. But not with national authorities (UDI), but with volunteer organizations like Noas (Norwegian associasjon for refugees) and Flyktningehjelpen (Refugees Help). These organizations do not have the authority to stop the government from sending the afghans home. The best they can do, si to ask the government to stop the deportations, wich
1. Minister Bjarne Håkon Hanssen has said is unlikely because "they need new evidence"...
and 2. they won't, Flyktningehjelpen has already decided that they are against letting the afghans stay here. Noas might help, but the government won't do shit if only one of the organizations ask them to.

SV's national board knew this when they decided on this rotten "compromise". SVs internatonal spokesperson Reza Rezaee (who suggested that SV should decide in favour of the Afghans) sais this government has the same policy as Erna Solberg (leader of conservative-liberalist party Høyre (right), who was the minister dealing with refugees in the last reactionary government in Norway).

So. Get out, will ya?

In 2001 member of Parliament for the SV, Olav Gunnar Ballo called USA "Satans mordere" (Satans murderers) for bombing Afghanistan. Who are "Satans murderers" now?

-You know who

[martinemonster.livejournal.com]

The people are there to show support, but more importantly to make sure that there are witnesses to this process. If we are there as onlookers then what happens here will be documented, photographed and shown to the public. This to make sure that nothing really bad happens to these people. I wouldn't usually think that should be neccesary, you know I am a fan of Norwegian police, but this time they seem to go a bit overboard (understatement)