NORWAY: Asylum and immigration
01 January 1991
NORWAY: Asylum and immigration
artdoc August=1994
Tough stance on Kosovo-Albanians
The Chief of public relations at the Ministry of Justice, Dagfinn
Aanonsen, says that 1,100 Kosovo-Albanians who came to Norway via
Sweden will be sent back. This follows a decision by the Swedish
government to grant asylum-seekers and refugees from the former
Yugoslavia residence permits on humanitarian grounds. It has also
been announced that ethnic Albanians who refused to serve in the
Serbian army are also to be refused asylum in Norway (Aftenposten
15, 27.4.94, Vart Land 21.4.94).
Kosovo-Albanians refused church sanctuary
A church congregation in Oslo have refused to take in two ethnic
Albanians because they believe it would be wrong to open their
doors to refugees rejected by the Norwegian authorities. In
Hundvag, a priest called the police when an ethnic Albanian
family asked for asylum there (Vart Land 6.4.94, Klassekampen
7.4.94).
In Oslo, a 34-year-old Kosovo-Albanian man was allowed to leave
sanctuary for urgent medical treatment for a severe psychological
disorder. But police officers who accompanied him to the
examination deported him to Sweden the next morning (Vart Land
11.5.94). A professor in law, Henning Jakhelln, has criticised
the Norwegian justice minister for telling Kosovo-Albanian
asylum-seekers to end sanctuary while their applications are
reconsidered (see bulletin no. 7).
Mr. Jakhelln says the junior minister has contravened paragraph
141 of the Alien law (Vart Land 21.4.94).
Residence tied to rights
Chief constable Arnstein Overkil has said that asylum-seekers
should not be allowed to marry Norwegian nationals unless they
have a residence permit. Although Overkil stated that the number
of such marriages was high, he could not produce figures to back-
up his argument (Vart Land 6.4.94). An Oslo school city
councillor, Gro Balas, says that refugees and asylum-seekers
should promise to learn Norwegian and `acquaint themselves with
Norwegian standards' (Aftenposten 4.3.94).
Despite criticisms from the United Nations Committee for
Childrens' Rights, the Ministry of Education is pressing ahead
with its policy not to allow Bosnian refugees to apply for a
scholarship or loan from the State Education Loan Fund to get
education in Norway unless they are granted residence. Out of the
10,500 Bosnian refugees living in Norway, 3500 are under 18 and
need schooling (Vart Land 25,27.4.94).
New research on immigrant youth crime
A report issued by `Youth Research' deviates from the official
view of the juvenile authorities that links immigrant youth to
disproportionately high levels of crime. Youth Research findings
show that most immigrant youth are more law-abiding than their
Norwegian counterparts. They have stronger religious beliefs,
which means that they drink less alcohol, seldom use drugs, are
less rowdy and tend to study more (Aftenposten 4.5.94).
Protest
Halden basketball team withdraws from Scandinavian contest
A boy's basketball team from Halden withdrew from the unofficial
Scandinavian basketball championship in Sweden after Swedish
authorities refused permission for two asylum-seekers, a Croatian
and a Kosovo-Albanian, both 13-years-old, to enter the country.
As asylum-seekers, the boys do not possess passports, but the
Swedish authorities refused to relax the rules (VG 6.3.94).
Women's group protests visa refusal
A member of the Afghanistan Women's Organisation, Maryam Azimi
was initially denied a visa to enter Norway to take part in an
international women's day lecture in Stavanger. The committee
organising the event asked the Justice minister to reconsider his
refusal which was made on the grounds that, in the past,
political invitees to the event did not return home (Klassekampen
8.3.94).
IRR European Race Audit no 9, July 1994. Contact: Liz Fekete
Institute of Race Relations, 2-6 Leeke Street, London WC1X 9HS
Tel:<