Norwegian MP says Russia’s “police” car on Svalbard should be repainted or removed
"There cannot be vehicles on Svalbard that can be confused with Russian police cars," says member of the Norwegian Parliament Erlend Larsen.
It was Arktikugol director Ildar Neverov who brought the "police" car to Svalbard and started to drive it around in Barentsburg, the Russian settlement on the archipelago.
Norway’s Criminal Code §165 bans the use of foreign marks or designs that pretend to be, or easily can be confused with, a public authority. For the Russians living in Barentsburg, the car has a clear law-enforcement authority look.
Erlend Larsen, a member of the Norwegian Parliament (Conservative Party) reacts strongly to the provocation by the Russian state-owned company on Svalbard. Referring to the news article in the Barents Observer, Larsen sent a written question to the Minister of Justice and Public Security asking how the situation will be handled.
In her reply, Minister Astri Aas-Hansen says all vehicles on Svalbard "must comply with Norwegian regulations" regardless of who owns the car.
She refers to the fact that the Governor of Svalbard removed the Russian license-plates in July.
However, a recent photo posted on VKontakte by Arktikugol shows that the very same "police" car has been on the roads in Barentsburg after July and therefore driving illegally, unless the administration of the mining company has been pushing the car from one position to another.
Arktikugol has (as usual) not replied to questions from the Barents Observer about the "police" car.
"I think the car should be repainted or removed," says MP Erlend Larsen in a comment to the Barents Observer. "There cannot be vehicles on Svalbard that could be mistaken for Russian police cars, even if their license plates are removed."
He adds: "It would be a provocation on the Russian side to leave the car there. In other words, we must monitor what happens to the car."
Professor of Russian history, Kari Aga Myklebost at UiT The Arctic University of Norway has previously said that Arktikugol is "deliberately staging a grey zone situation aimed at provoking reactions and testing how Norwegian authorities will handle the situation."
"It can be argued that no law is violated while at the same time the borders of Norwegian regulations are obviously being tested," Myklebost said.
Norwegian sovereignty is not disputed, and Svalbard is Norwegian. However, the 1920 Treaty allows for citizens of all signature countries, including Russia, to conduct economic activities at the archipelago as long as they follow Norwegian law.
Moscow has constantly, and loudly, over the last few years expressed disagreements with Oslo on how to interpret the Svalbard Treaty, but is overall following rules and norms.
