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Whatever the outcome of the threat trial, there is someone who should apologize. Prime Minister Erna Solberg.
This is a chronicle. The chronicle expresses the attitude of the writer. You can submit articles and discussion posts to VG here.
VEBJØRN SELBEKK, editor-in-chief of Dagen
In every way, it is a spectacular trial that is taking place in the Oslo District Court. A former Minister of Justice is offended by the case, but it is his own partner who is sitting on the bench. The court will decide whether Laila Bertheussen will be found guilty of a series of fictitious threats against her partner Tor Mikkel Wara and the Tybring-Gjedde political couple.
If the court concludes that the tax authority is right, then there are other victims in this case, even if they do not formally have that status. This applies to those responsible for the anti-racist work “Ways of seeing”.
Vebjørn Selbekk. Photo: Helge Mikalsen
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Because the link to the controversial political performing arts also helps make this case unique. “Ways of Seeing”, which was performed at the Black Box Theater in Oslo in November 2018, contains a film sequence showing images of the houses of the cohabiting couple Bertheussen / Wara and the Tybring-Gjedde couple. According to the indictment, Bertheussen is said to have threatened to raise suspicions about the performers. The prosecution believes that it has tried to make it appear that the play’s message has inspired violent anti-racists to attack it and the common house of the Minister of Justice.
This link was made by several people in the winter of 2018/19. Pressure on the small theater community grew as the series of threats against Wara and Tybring-Gjedde dragged on. The police launched a swift investigation against the theater crowd. And at one point, theater director Anne-Cecilie Sibue and the three artists behind the performance were accused of violating privacy.
There is reason to think how strong the tension was for these theater people in the winter after Christmas last year. A large part of the Norwegian population believes they are involved in the threat against the country’s Minister of Justice. They were under police investigation and had a pending charge. And when they publicly defended themselves by saying that there might be other motives behind the threats besides the play, they experienced the most powerful rhetorical cannon in society being launched at them, Prime Minister Erna Solberg.
The prime minister told reporters that she reacted to the fact that the director behind the play “speculates on the motivation behind the threats.” And then Solberg asked the artists to think about how their actions contribute to making it “harder to be political.”
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A few days later, Laila Bertheussen was arrested and charged with making the threats. At the same time, the police dropped the charges against the theater crowd. It wasn’t a second too soon. There are dictatorships that prosecute cultural workers for the content of their art. We are not going to do that in Norway.
The prime minister has repeatedly refused to apologize for his remarks about the people behind the “ways of seeing.” It is entirely understandable that the Prime Minister is concerned that it is not too difficult to be a politician in Norway. But have you reflected on how your own statements directed at a group of performing artists who were already in a very pressured situation worked? We need more, not less, provocative political art here in Norway. Unfortunately, the Prime Minister’s actions on this issue have not exactly contributed to increasing that room for maneuver.
When free speech is under pressure, we expect our top politicians to defend it. Jonas Gahr Støre has previously failed in this area. This time it was Erna Solberg’s turn.
But maybe she has the political format to admit it?
