Solberg: – Needs knowledge about extremism

Prime Minister Erna Solberg. Photo Håkon Mosvold Larsen / NTB scanpix

Prime Minister Erna Solberg stresses the importance of collecting  knowledge about extremism, in order to better initiate the appropriate countermeasures .

On Wednesday  the world’s first research center for right-wing extremism, hate crime and political violence in Oslo opened.
– Violent extremism is an attack on the basic democratic representative government, Prime Minister Solberg (H) from the pulpit at the University of Oslo.
Solberg hopes the establishment of the center will increase knowledge about extremism.
– The center is important because we need knowledge of this kind of movement, understand their motivation, if there is a large mobilisation of members, or whether it is a grassroot organization that is right-wing, anti-immigration based with violent tendencies, says the prime minister said.
– We have to see how they evolve. Then we can start the most important countermeasures, continue Solberg.
The Research council has allocated 50 million kroner, spread over five years. University of Oslo is also contributing with funds.
The Prime Minister has great expectations for the centre.
– If we have the knowledge, we can take measures such as making sure young people are not recruited into these kind of movements. They must be allowed to criticize a policy, but the moment there is a risk of  glorification of violence, or the use of violence as a political tool, then it crosses over into Criminal territory, and  we would need to combat its existence.

Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today