We must endure statements without responding with violence

I am confident that the police take these tasks very seriously.

Is it the police’s job to ensure that the Quran can be desecrated? Asks researcher Jørgen Lorentzen in Aftenposten on September 1, going so far as to suggest that the role of the police during the Sian demonstrations reinforces the provocation.

Lorentzen believes that the police “must see how it becomes possible for angry young people who feel violated, that the police also become a legitimate target of their protests.”

As free people in a free democracy, freedom of speech is something we enjoy every day, but also something we must endure from others. It can be uncomfortable and even provocative. We can choose to ignore these statements, or we can make counter statements.

But facing pronouncements and demonstrations with violence is unacceptable.

Dangerous development

“If freedom means anything, it is the right to tell people what they don’t want to hear,” wrote author George Orwell.

I fully understand that many people can be offended and desperate by demonstrations whose sole purpose is to provoke. That one wants to react is understandable. Belief and protest are something that every free democracy needs to function, to develop.

But being convinced that violence can legitimately be used is a dangerous advance. History has shown us time and again.

Lorentzen further writes about Sian: “They have shouted their hatred of immigration and Islam, they have been well protected by the police and they have created the chaos they were looking for.”

The police must refrain from participating in such demonstrations, Lorentzen concludes.

The police must do their job

The police are not present at the demonstrations to help or “approve” those who demonstrate, or to suppress counter-demonstrations.

The police are there to do their job, which is to uphold one of our most fundamental values.

They are there to protect anyone who wants to take advantage of the freedom to express themselves and demonstrate, without being physically impeded or subjected to violence.

This is a demanding balancing act, both for society, the police and people actively participating in demonstrations and counter-demonstrations.

I am fully confident that the police take these tasks very seriously and have made detailed and detailed considerations beforehand. We have a police force that carries out one of the most comprehensive police training in the world and that enjoys a high level of trust from the population. We must all fight to maintain that confidence, also in the future. We demand a lot from our police and we will continue to do so.

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