Innlegget jeg holdt om reformen i Europarådet 25 januar 2011

Ms WOLDSETH (Norway) – I thank Mr Mignon for his excellent report. He has done a good job so far, but there is a lot more to do.

Reform is certainly needed for the whole of the Council of Europe. We support the Secretary General’s work on the reform of the Council of Europe as such, and we are looking forward to Mr Jagland’s second reform package. However, we also see the need to refresh and streamline the Parliamentary Assembly. That is of the utmost importance to ensure a relevant, efficient and visible Council of Europe and Parliamentary Assembly.

We must aim to focus our work on our core activities. Human rights, democracy and the rule of law are the fundamental values of the Council of Europe and our work should be limited to issues that clearly stem from them. However, that requires some self-discipline from all of us, as Mr Laakso said. At present, we are working on 150 different papers in various committees. I have counted them. Almost half of them have nothing to do with the core activities of the Parliamentary Assembly, so I encourage us all to be critical about what we sign and about the motions we propose. If there are fewer reports, the most important ones will get the attention they deserve.

We need to keep it in mind that our Organisation is European, so our work should be directly linked to issues in Europe. There are other international bodies to handle other regions and global issues.

There is a large number of committees and sub-committees. To reduce numbers, we should examine them closely to see if they are doing overlapping work. That is shown in several reports.

I am happy that the provision about the Congress was included. I was surprised to learn that the Council of Europe is paying for the Congress when my colleagues cannot travel to Paris for committee meetings. I recommend that we support Mr Chope’s amendments, because they are important to further our work on reform.

Last but not least, on behalf of the Norwegian delegation, I welcome Mr Mignon’s report. We support his work and we look forward to continuing the debate on reform of the Parliamentary Assembly.

Innlegget jeg holdt om krigskriminelle 26 januar 2011 i Europarådet

Ms WOLDSETH (Norway) – First, I thank the rapporteurs for their very interesting reports. I can assure Mr Marcenaro that both Mr Mignon and I as co-rapporteurs for Bosnia and Herzegovina are monitoring the country continuously, and we will continue to do so and return to you with a report on it later this year.

We must not let the perpetrators of war crimes go unprosecuted, but they do deserve to go through a just judicial process. We as members of the Parliamentary Assembly should work hard to ensure that no perpetrator of war crimes, genocide or crimes against humanity can escape prosecution. We must fight impunity.

A legal framework is already in place: the European Convention on Extradition is fundamental in respect of co-operating in the prosecution of war crimes. As Norway is mentioned in the reports, I will say a little about it. In Norway, we are working hard to reduce the impunity gap and to ensure that the perpetrators of war crimes are prosecuted. We have gone through a lengthy process to modernise our penal code. Making sure that Norway will not serve as a free haven for those who have committed war crimes is an important goal.

In the changes to the penal code that were passed unanimously in early 2008, legislation on the prosecution of war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity was introduced. As a result, those who are accused of these crimes can be prosecuted in Norway. War crimes attract a maximum sentence of 30 years – nine years longer than the general maximum sentence in Norway. Resources have been allocated to the police and state prosecutors in order to investigate and prosecute in accordance with the new legislation.

In Norway, we work hard to co-operate with other states in the prosecution of war crimes and also in relation to extraditions. Our first ever extradition based on a suspicion of war crimes was carried out in 2008, and it was to Serbia.

Today, we are debating several reports dealing with issues linked to conflicts in the Balkans and the former Yugoslavia. Conflicts and their spill-over effects are not contained within their site of origin. It is not only the countries in the region that need to co-operate to overcome the past and present challenges; we must all contribute. We must all do our best to ensure speedy and just processes in dealing with war crimes. Thank you.

Innlegget jeg holdt om Hviterussland 27 januar 2011

THE PRESIDENT – Thank you. I call Ms Woldseth, on behalf of the European Democrat Group.

Ms WOLDSETH (Norway) – On behalf of the EDG, I thank the rapporteur for this report. I agree with the previous speaker that the situation is not very uplifting.

The beginning of the draft resolution states the dismay of the Parliamentary Assembly at the situation in Belarus. I would use the word “appalled”. I was appalled by what I saw on the news in the days before Christmas. I do not associate arrests and demonstrators being violently dispersed with a democracy. Our debate today is timely and necessary. Democracy, human rights and the rule of law are our core objectives. The situation in Belarus after the presidential elections shows us that we must continue our struggle to achieve a European continent where the rights of each and every individual are guaranteed.

I think that many of us had hoped, even if we might not have believed, that the changes made to the electoral code in Belarus would be a step in the right direction. However, as the report states, the so-called free campaigning was completely dominated by the sitting president, and the voting, counting and resulting tabulation were seriously flawed. I would like to quote Secretary General Jagland: “President Lukashenko should accept that elections are an occasion for the people to choose their leaders, not the other way around.” Simply getting rid of the opposition is not something that can be accepted in Europe in 2011.

We must call on Belarus to release the political candidates, journalists and human rights activists who have been arrested, and to complete the reform of electoral legislation. We must stand firm on our suspension of special guest status for the Parliament of Belarus in our Assembly. Belarus must show progress. It needs to take steps forward on the road towards democracy. Only then can we consider lifting the suspension. Unfortunately, and sadly, the presidential election in December was a large step backwards.

However, I am very worried about what the lock-out of Belarus from all of Europe may result in for the people living in Belarus. I think that we should lift the suspension on high-level contacts. I would also like to point out the importance of contact with civil society in Belarus. The fact is that people are suffering, they are denied studies, and they are even denied having their own opinion. We should put pressure on Belarus through high-level contacts. We should help, not push the people of Belarus further into misery.

Uke 3

Mandag : møte med Plan og Redd Barna, ( gikk hjem etterpå fordi jeg var syk)
Tirsdag: 3 saker i salen ; om romfolket, om kvinners situasjon og til slutt om Burma. Seminar om Midtøsten og lukket høring om delelinjen.
Onsdag: Gruppemøte og spørretime, deretter komitemøte
Torsdag: formøte til Strasbourg , deretter seminar for Stortingsgruppen og til slutt middag.
Fredag: trening kl 7.00!! Deretter seminar hele dagen med Stortingsgruppen.

fra dag til dag ?

det er ikke så enkelt å komme med saker fra Stortinget dag for dag. Til det har jeg alt for mye å holde på med. Og dessuten så skjer det meste i komiterom, og i partigrupper, så det meste er bestemt når vi kommer så langt som til Stortingssalen.
Ikke er det så mange skandaler eller sladder heller.. og hvis det er det så fanger jeg det ikke opp iallefall.
Men jeg skal forsikre dere om at så snart det kommer noe så skal jeg legge det ut.

I dag har det vært spørretime og gruppe- og komitemøte for mitt vedkommende. Vi har som eneste parti gruppemøte kl.8.00 om morgenen, og det fungerer utmerket, selv om det enkelte dager KAN være vanskelig å komme seg opp. En vanesak ( for noen )men ikke når du har vært våken halve natten. Derfor kjenner jeg at jeg har litt sandpapir i øyene i dag.

Spørretimen i dag ble stort sett en reprise, men Ketil Solvik Olsen fra oss, spurte som rett var om strømprisene. Det ser ut som vi nordmenn bare tilpasser oss, ikke gjør vi store anskrik heller, når strømregningen er i ferd med å ta knekken på økonomien. Snille og veloppdragene er vi, og med en energiminister som heller selger strømmen og gassen vår ut av landet, ja da ender det med skyhøye regninger.

Uke 2 2011

Denne uken ble en relativt tøff åpning på det nye året :)

Mandag: Middag med assisterende direktør i UNDP Sigrid Kaag.

Tirsdag: Møte i Stortinget, fraksjonsmøte , og møte med Maritimt Forum Bergen, og Statoil.

Onsdag : Gruppemøte, spørretime, komitemøte og utenrikspolitisk forum

Torsdag: Møte i salen, møte med Serbias ambassadør, og deretter reiser jeg til Bergen.

Fredag: Møte med BT og med Olav Terje Bergo i Bergen.

Størst av alt er friheten

Vi er kanskje ikke enige der, Arne Garborg og jeg.Der han setter kjærligheten i høysete, setter jeg friheten enda høyere.
Friheten til å gjøre jeg hva jeg vil, når jeg vil, så lenge det ikke skader andre.
Men det skal det bli en slutt på, for myndighetene i Norge vil ha kontroll med alt det vi foretar oss, fra vugge til grav, fra morgen til kveld og aller helst døgnet rundt. I et overvåkningssamfunn er ingen mennesker fri. Og det er et om mulig enda verre overvåkingssamfunn vi får når vi muligens skal innføre DLD eller også datalagringsdirektivet.
Jeg er dundrende imot. Jeg har lest både den norsk og den engelske versjonen av direktivet, og det hjelper ikke om man bruker som argument at man skal ta de slemme gutta. Det hjelper ikke det så lenge VI må tilpasse oss, slik at myndighetene får tak i de store, stygge og slemme gutta.
Jeg har liksom akseptert at banken min ser alt jeg bruker penger på, og hvem jeg betaler, og hvor jeg handler. Selv om ikke det heller er med lett hjerte. Men når nå myndighetene i tillegg skal se hvem jeg ringer til, sender email til og får linker fra. Ja da går det alldeles over stokk og stein. Myndighetene skal ikke lagre innholdet står det fint i saken fra regjeringen, men hvis du er overvåket for en kriminell handling, så antar jeg at det ikke gjelder.For hva er ellers vitsen?

Jeg vil , selv om alt jeg gjør er stort sett innenfor de lover og regler som gjelder i Norge, likefullt følt meg krenket over å vite at noen satt på alle de opplysninger de måtte ønske om min person.
Dette er et brudd på personvernet som jeg ikke kan akseptere, så jeg kommer iallefall til å stemme nei til DLD.
Nettopp fordi størst av alt er friheten.......