Political Principles-EN – Fred og rettferdighet

Politics

FOR is a political party. The greatest atrocities, loss of life, oppression and degradation occur during war. Therefore, FOR has the fight against war as its main purpose.

Int.law 🇺🇳

NATO ⚔️

Ukraine 🇺🇦

Healthcare 🏥

FOR is based on the ideals of the international labor movement which promotes the perspective of the oppressed, solidarity, equality, and the struggle against war.

USA’s and NATO’s wars have ruined the respect for the UN Charter and have created the basis for the war in Ukraine

The UN Charter’s prohibition against the use of military force other than in self-defence is the most important protection small countries like Norway can receive. Nevertheless, Norway has participated in a series of wars in recent decades which are illegal based upon the UN Charter. We have only done this due to our alliance with the USA within NATO. The goal has been to defend the US position as the world’s only superpower, but the effect has been that other large powers also use military power to further their interests. If Norway is to be able to contribute to restoring international law, we must start with a reassessment of our own policies when it comes to war.

Restore International Law

No weapons to Ukraine

Norwegian weapons to Ukraine serve only to prolong suffering by postponing necessary peace negotiations. FOR will use the 180 billion kroner that the parties in Stortinget will use on furthering the war in Ukraine to improve human lives, not take more lives, The war was triggered by NATO’s aim to bring Ukraine in as a NATO member and can be stopped by shelving this aim.

Ban Nuclear weapons

All of humanity risks obliteration if there should be direct war between nuclear-armed powers. Nevertheless, NATO still has the use of nuclear weapons s part of its strategy. FOR demands that Norway abide by the UN Charter regarding the prohibition against nuclear weapons and take the lead in pushing for new international disarmament agreements.

No American bases in Norway

Even as a member NATO, Norway, up until recently, has sought to avoid being a target in a conflict between the great powers by not allowing the US to have bases on Norwegian soil, and to avoid military activity in Finnmark and Nord-Troms. That Norway has now agreed to surrender Norwegian territory for US bases, as well as opened for military activity right up to the Russian border, is a dangerous escalation that FOR wants to reverse.

Norway out of NATO

NATO’s close cooperation with Israel both before, during and after the genocide in Gaza, the NATO wars in Yugoslavia in 1999 and Libya in 2011, as well as NATO’s support for the USA’s occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq, shows that NATO is not a defense organization. NATO is an aggressive military alliance, completely without morals, that undermines international law. Therefore, FOR will take Norway out of NATO.

Stop illegal economic warfare

Together with other Western countries, Norway participates in economic sanctions against countries such as Venezuela, Syria and Iran, which have as their aim to topple national governments. The effect of such sanctions is that many, especially children and the elderly, die of malnutrition or lack of medicines. FOR demands that Norway cancels all such sanctions (contrary as they are to international law) immediately.

Stop the wars, not the refugees from those wars

The wars that Norway has contributed to have, in addition to killing of thousands of people, destroyed infrastructure and created poverty, political chaos and oppression that have forced millions to flee. Norway has no right to send refugees back to such circumstances. We must instead stop all contributions to war and destabilization and contribute to the rebuilding of ruined societies.

Norway must be a nation of peace!

FOR wants Norway to make itself worthy to give out the Nobel Peace Prize by working for the reduction of military forces, arranging of peace congresses, and for the fraternity of nations. For this, Norway needs a Department of Peace. Norway’s military budget, which today is the highest per capita in Europe must, as a first step, come down to the European average.

FOR is fighting against the jailing of whistleblowers, and against the transfer of power away from elected entities, and for the rights of minorities and indigenous peoples

In recent decades, democracy in Norway and in other western countries has been weakened in that a lot of power has been taken away from elected officials and transferred to supranational entities that are in large part controlled by large corporations. Instead, conventions that were meant to protect indigenous peoples and minorities become ignored. At the same time, we have seen increasing censorship in the public space whilst those who have blown the whistle on illegal surveillance and war crimes have been prosecuted. FOR is fighting to preserve freedom of speech and the public’s right to know, and to bring power back to those we have elected.

Defend democracy

Shut down the PST and E-tjeneste as they presently exist

Both PST and E-tjenesten have for decades worked together with the CIA and Mossad which, among other things, have organized coups and killings in very many countries, including the murder in Lillehammer in 1973. These organizations therefore pose a direct threat to democracy and to people in Norway. New organizations that employ new people must be built up to protect us against possible coups and other threats.

Give asylum to Edward Snowden and other whistleblowers

The principle of equality before the law, and that a country’s institutions abide by the applicable laws, is an absolute prerequisite for democracy. When it is revealed that western countries have perpetrated massive illegal surveillance and war crimes in occupied lands, all those involved must be prosecuted, while whistleblowers must be protected. Therefore, FOR demands that Norway give asylum to Edward Snowden and other whistleblowers.

Defend the freedom speech of those opposing racism

FOR is fighting so that Norway maintains freedom of speech in line with the UN convention on civil and political rights. If activists can be punished for shouting slogans in the public space at politicians who support genocide, while at the same time police are used to protect racist events from counterdemonstrations, then Norwegian case law is in breach of the UN convention.

No to EU and out of EEA

The Norwegian people have twice said no to the wish of the elites to make Norway a member of the EU, and FOR sends a clear no to the sending of any new EU application. Norway is nevertheless obliged to follow much of the EU’s regulations through the EEA agreement. FOR will cancel the EEA agreement because it is undemocratic and because it has contributed to increased economic inequality.

Fair trade on equal terms

Leaving the EEA does not mean that Norway will cease to trade with the EU. The EU has a great need for Norwegian energy, which comprises the largest share of Norwegian exports to the EU. When it comes to industrial goods, the EU has a large trade surplus with Norway. Therefore, it is not in the EU’s self-interest to initiate a trade-war with Norway just because it has taken back its sovereignty by repealing the EEA agreement.

Stop social dumping

Free migration from the EU through the EEA agreement has created social dumping: that is, a decrease in real income and a worsening of terms of employment in many branches. Norway has a need for some migration, but the terms must be that Norwegian income and working conditions shall always apply, and that those applying for work-permits shall be treated the same, regardless of which country they come from.

The right of veto for Sametinget in cases of encroachments on nature

FOR is against Norway subordinating itself to undemocratic supranational organs. But FOR champions that Norway must abide by all the UN conventions that it has ratified. To abide by the ILO convention on the rights of indigenous peoples, FOR requires that Sametinget be given the right to veto all natural encroachments into those parts of the country which are traditional Sami living areas, both on land and at sea.

Statutory right to mother-tongue language training

FOR believes that language-diversity is a valuable resource for the society. In addition, to be able to get training in one’s own language is a democratic right for the individual. FOR will therefore place into law the right to receive language training in the mother-tongue in Norwegian public schools. This also applies for those who, due to the failed Norwegianization policies of an earlier time, have lost the language of their forefathers.

Israel’s genocide of Palestinians must be stopped with boycott and prosecution of all who send weapons to Israel

Israel was created in 1948 through the expulsion of three-quarters of the population of Palestinians who originally lived there. In 1967, Israel also took control over the rest of Palestine, together with the Golan, which belongs to Syria, and has since let Israeli settlers illegally take over steadily more of the land. Since October 2023, Israel has worked openly to kill or expel Palestinians from Gaza. What Israel is attempting to carry out is a genocide. FOR is fighting for a just peace where all the inhabitants of historic Palestine, from the River Jordan to the Mediterranean Sea, are granted equal democratic rights.

Free Palestine – from the river to the sea

End Israel’s apartheid

In apartheid South Africa, the black majority were stripped of their citizenship and were instead assigned to live in resource-poor “Bantustans”. Israel has from before “offered” the Palestinians a similar form of self-rule in parts of Palestine. However, peace is conditional upon Israel’s recognition of Palestine, with Jerusalem as its capital, and that all Palestinian refugees and their descendants have the right of return.

No trade with Israel

The prerequisite for there to be peace is that Israel gives up on its aim to dominate all of Palestine and its aim to expel the Palestinians. This cannot happen without international pressure. FOR therefore wholeheartedly supports the international campaign for BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) against Israel. BDS must be directed towards all of Israel, not just the illegal settlements on the West Bank.

Punish those responsible for genocide

The attempt to eradicate the population of Gaza cannot go unpunished. FOR demands that Norway joins with South Africa in its case against Israel in The International Court of Justice (ICJ). Norway must also work to ensure that The International Criminal Court (ICC) investigates political leaders in the USA, the UK and Germany for complicity in genocide through their delivery of weapons to Israel.

Return the Golan to Syria

During the change of regime in Syria in December 2024, Israel used the occasion to expand its unlawful occupation of the Syrian Golan. FOR requires that Norway take the lead in demanding that Israel not only withdraws from these newly occupied areas, but that all the parts of Syria that Israel has occupied and illegally annexed after 1967 be returned to Syria.

Condemn the rewriting of what antisemitism is

Antisemitism is racism directed towards Jews and formed the basis for, among other things, The Holocaust. However, supporters of Israel have tried to redefine this concept to also include resistance to the state of Israel. FOR condemns such attempts. The racists are those who deny all citizens between the River Jordan and the Mediterranean Sea equal rights, not those who fight for those rights.

Fight Islamophobia and the dehumanizing of Palestinians

Islamophobia (racism directed towards people with a Muslim background) has, in the same way as antisemitism, a long tradition in Europe. Meanwhile, Israel’s genocide has led to an upsurge in this form of racism. FOR condemns all those who spread racial prejudice, whether it is being done to defend Israel by the dehumanization of the Palestinians, or any other reasons.

Peace and disarmament will give us the money we need for better welfare, and is a prerequisite in order for us to be able to battle the climate crisis

Norway today has the absolute highest per capita military budget in Europe. Nevertheless, all the parties in Stortinget have committed to doubling this in the coming years. This will force increases in both taxes and fees and a cut in welfare in the years to come. FOR will go the opposite way. We will expand the public welfare to fight poverty and to give us better quality-time and a better quality of life, while at the same time reducing carbon emissions. Trimming the military budget will enable us to afford this.

Build up welfare – not weapon stockpiles

Free health- and dental care for all

Underfinancing of the healthcare system has led to the growth of private health services and has created a situation where someone can pay to jump the queue and get treatment that others do not receive. FOR will ensure that all health services are free and are offered under public auspices so that they are equally available to everyone. Dental care is an important part of people’s health and should therefore also be free along the same lines as with any other health services.

Wipe out child poverty!

FOR will have an end to children from poorer families feeling like outsiders in an otherwise rich society. It harms both children and the society through lower future participation in employment and increased health expenses. We will introduce free kindergarten and SFO, free school meals in kindergarten, elementary school and high school, and make all sport and cultural activities for children and youth free.

Free public transport

If we are to cut carbon emissions, then automobile and air travel must be reduced substantially. FOR will provide for this by making all travel by bus and rail free. This will drastically increase the need for more departures. Therefore, we must also set up new bus routes over the entire country and speed up the building of railway lines, including the Northern Norway and Haukeli lines. This way, far more people will eschew air travel, as well as leave their cars at home.

Place leisure time above the need to consume

A cut in the use of military weapons is the most important climate measure that FOR is fighting for. But we must also reduce unnecessary private consumption. If we are on the job less, we will also consume less. FOR will therefore increase parental maternity leave to two years and introduce a four-day work week. We will also introduce a guaranteed basic income – an unconditional income which is given to everyone to cover basic needs.

Halt oil exploration on the Norwegian continental shelf

When we cut consumption of fossil energy, we must also reduce production. The world will still need some oil and gas, but FOR believes that new extraction should be reserved for poorer countries that are more dependent on the income it generates. The claim that Norwegian oil is the world’s cleanest is misleading because it is based upon the use of the valuable Norwegian hydroelectric power that is used to operate oil and gas extraction.

Take care of nature

When fossil energy is phased out, the world will need more renewable energy. But at the same time, taking care of nature is important in order that we preserve our precious planet, also in the context of the climate. Therefore, FOR believes that new power facilities can only be built where it does not come into conflict with conservation considerations, for example in connection with established power plants, and industrial- or waste facilities.

Our Areas of Focus

For Peace and Against War

Stop the Genocide – Free Palestine!
End the war in the Ukraine.
Out of NATO now!

Labour and Environmental Policies

Full Employment.
Against sosial dumping and exploitation.
Social Security and Equal Pay.