The Norwegian Support Committee for Chechnya ( no, Den norske støttekomiteen for Tsjetsjenia) is a Norwegian

advocacy group Advocacy groups, also known as interest groups, special interest groups, lobbying groups or pressure groups use various forms of advocacy in order to influence public opinion and ultimately policy. They play an important role in the developm ...

supportive of Chechen autonomy.

Organization

Non-

partisan Partisan may refer to: Military * Partisan (weapon), a pole weapon * Partisan (military), paramilitary forces engaged behind the front line Films * ''Partisan'' (film), a 2015 Australian film * ''Hell River'', a 1974 Yugoslavian film also know ...

, its purpose is to "work for immediate, total and unconditional withdrawal of all

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

n military forces rom Chechnya">Chechnya.html" ;"title="rom Chechnya">rom Chechnya/nowiki> and for the right of the Chechen people to autonomy". In addition it works to spread information about the situation in Chechnya, to help organize developmental support within Chechnya, and to assist Chechen refugees in Norway and other countries. Its board of directors are chaired by Hilde Jørgensen. Members of the board include former national legislator

Ingvald Godal Ingvald Godal (26 October 1934 – 28 January 2019) was a Norwegian politician for the Centre Party and later the Conservative Party. For the former party he was a State Secretary as well as mayor of Vinje; for the latter party he served four t ...

and the

Norwegian PEN Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe *Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway *Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including the ...

chairman Kjell Olaf Jensen.

Attention

The committee has played a somewhat controversial role in Norwegian politics. Following the

Moscow theater hostage crisis The Moscow theater hostage crisis (also known as the 2002 Nord-Ost siege) was the seizure of the crowded Dubrovka Theater by Chechen terrorists on 23 October 2002, which involved 850 hostages and ended with Russian security services killing o ...

in October 2002, Ingvald Godal said of the terrorists that "I understand their action, even though I do not defend it". He later claimed that he failedly attempted to enlist Norway as a negotiator during the crisis. In November the same year, ahead of a

state visit A state visit is a formal visit by a head of state to a foreign country, at the invitation of the head of state of that foreign country, with the latter also acting as the official host for the duration of the state visit. Speaking for the host ...

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

in Norway, Ingvald Godal filed a prosecution request to the Police of Norway. He also suggested that the

Prime Minister of Norway The prime minister of Norway ( no, statsminister, which directly translates to "minister of state") is the head of government and chief executive of Norway. The prime minister and Cabinet (consisting of all the most senior government department ...

take initiative to an international criminal tribunal for Chechnya. The

Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs ( Norwegian (Bokmål): ''Det kongelige utenriksdepartement''; Norwegian (Nynorsk): ''Det kongelege utanriksdepartement'') is the foreign ministry of the Kingdom of Norway. It was established on June ...

replied that a police prosecution of a foreign head of state is not possible, and rebuffed the latter proposal. During Putin's visit, the committee held a demonstration together with

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...

, the Norwegian Helsinki Committee for Human Rights and

Norwegian Church Aid Norwegian Church Aid (NCA; Norwegian: ''Kirkens Nødhjelp'') is a Norwegian humanitarian and ecumenical organisation with headquarters in Oslo. It was traditionally affiliated with the state Church of Norway, but is now independent. Norwegian Chu ...

. The committee has engaged in other peaceful protests, such as a 2007 memorial of Anna Politkovskaya in cooperation with the Helsinki Committee, the Norwegian PEN, the Human Rights House, the

Norwegian Union of Journalists The Norwegian Union of Journalists ( no, Norsk Journalistlag, NJ) is a trade union in Norway. It consists of editorial personnel in newspapers, magazines, television and radio, as well as freelance journalists. A member organization of the Norweg ...

and

Nobel Peace Center The Nobel Peace Center ( no, Nobels Fredssenter) in Oslo, Norway is a showcase for the Nobel Peace Prize and the ideals it represents. The center is also an arena where culture and politics merge to promote involvement, debate and reflection around ...

. In 2004 the committee and the

Socialist Left Party of Norway The Socialist Left Party ( no, Sosialistisk Venstreparti, sme, Sosialisttalaš Gurutbellodat, SV) is a democratic socialist political party in Norway. Positioned on the left-wing of the political spectrum, it is opposed to European Union and th ...

invited Ahmed Zakayev, a separatist exiled in the United Kingdom, to visit Norway. The Norwegian ambassador to Russia

Øyvind Nordsletten Øyvind Nordsletten (born 1 June 1944) is a Norwegian diplomat. He was born in Time. He started working for the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1974. He was the Norwegian ambassador to Ukraine from 1992 to 1996, deputy under-secretary of ...

received a letter from the Solicitor General of Russia, who called the visit "blasphemous" and demanded

extradition Extradition is an action wherein one jurisdiction delivers a person accused or convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, over to the other's law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforcement procedure between the two jurisdict ...

. Another visit to Norway by Zakayev followed in December 2004. As a result, counsellor Paul G. Larsen at the

Embassy of Norway in Moscow The Embassy of the Kingdom of Norway in Moscow is the chief diplomatic mission of Norway in the Russian Federation. It is located at 7 Povarskaya Street (russian: Поварская ул., 7) in the Arbat district of Moscow. See also * Norway� ...

was summoned to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in what journalist Carsten Thomassen described as a "forceful diplomatic reaction".

References

{{Reflist Chechnya Political advocacy groups in Norway