We will never support such a deluded proposal, Michael Tetzschner, deputy head of the Standing Committee on Scrutiny and Constitutional Affairs, says to the newspaper Aftenposten.
Bjørn Geirr Harsson, a veteran of the Norwegian Mapping Authority, has taken the initiative to give away the highest of two peaks on the mountain Halti in Kåfjord in Troms as an anniversary gift next year, when Finland celebrates 100 years of independence.
The wish is that an area of the mountain of 0.01 square kilometers is given away. The top on the Norwegian side is 1331 meters above sea level, while Finland’s highest point is located in a cliff just below on the Finnish side of the border and is seven meters lower.
– Norway awards the Nobel Peace Prize, then they should also be able to set a good example to their neighbors, Harsson told NRK the week before Easter.
Kåfjord Mayor Svein Oddvar Leiros and other local politicians have sent a letter to the Prime Minister in which they ask for their support in giving away the peak as a gift to their neighbor to the east. The proposal also has a large fan base: the Facebook group “Halti as anniversary gift” now numbers more than 13,000 members.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, however, has informed the Harsson that the proposal is impossible because the Constitution says that Norway is indivisible.
– I still can’t quite free myself of the feeling that this initiative is a joke that has got a life of its own, Tetzschner says to Aftenposten.
Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today
