Thursday marked 100 years since the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard officially became part of Norwegian territory. Norway’s ongoing control over the area has become more important than ever, given recent Russian aggression, the security concerns that’s raised and the appetite US President Donald Trump has for Arctic acquisitions.
The Norwegian flag has been flying over Svalbard for a century, like here on the country’s Constitution Day a few years ago. Norwegian officials traveled up to the archipelago on Thursday, to celebrate 100 years of Norwegian sovereignty tied to the international Svalbard Treaty after World War I. PHOTO: NewsinEnglish.no/Morten Møst
“The islands’ position among powerful countries in the north make them interesting for many,” Crown Prince Haakon said when he and a government delegation led by Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre raised the flag at noon and launched a series of ceremonies. The crown prince stressed, though, how Norway’s own Svalbardloven (the Norwegian law signed on August 14, 1925) implements the international Svalbard Treaty’s decisions into Norwegian law.
Svalbard’s main island of Spitsbergen along with those around it plus Bjørnøya “became part of our free, independent, indivisible and inalienable kingdom,” the crown prince said. “We’re here together, to celebrate.”
The top law enforcement officer on Svalbard, Lars Fause, said Svalbard means a lot for Norway, both despite and because of its Arctic location 900 kilometers north of the mainland. PHOTO: Mona Sæverud / Statsministerens kontor
While the crown prince made it clear that Svalbard has a special place in his own heart after numerous visits over the past 45 years, the day’s ceremonies also amounted to a show of force on the part of Norway. It’s charged with maintaining Norwegian law and order on the archipelago that’s otherwise open to residents of all countries that have signed the Svalbard Treaty over the years. That includes Russia, which has two specific settlements outside the main town of Longyearbyen, but Norwegian law applies in the entire area that’s of great strategic importance.
Crown Prince Haakon noted that Svalbard “offers many possibilities, but also demands a lot from our nation.” Decades of coal mining on Svalbard have ended because of heavy losses and climate concerns and tourism has been taking over as a main source of income, even though it also raises climate concerns. Svalbard has become an important center for Arctic research and has its own university. It’s important to keep the area populated, not least with Norwegians.
Lars Fause, the government’s top representative and law enforcement officer on Svalbard, noted how Svalbard has been called an “Arctic superpower.” He told said on Thursday that he wasn’t sure “we’re super, but we are a power in the north that other countries can’t match. We’ll manage that role as well as we can for the next 100 years.”
There was also a few memorial ceremonies during the day, to fallen civilians and others during and after World War II. PHOTO: Mona Sæverud / Statsministerens kontor
Prime Minister Støre claimed that Svalbard “is just as Norwegian as any other part of Norway,” even though Norwegians also must show their passports upon arrival. He said a visit to the archipelago by King Harald and Queen Sonja earlier this year, and his own visit with the crown prince on Thursday, were meant “to mark stability and predictability” for the area.
“This is a day for ceremony and celebration,” Støre said. “At a time with increased attention around the northern areas, this is a fine opportunity to mark how Svalbard has been part of the Kingdom of Norway for a hundred years and is the northernmost part of our country.” After attempts by US President Donald Trump to gain control over Greenland, which has long been part of Denmark, the Norwegians also seemed to be sending a message to Washington as well as Moscow.
Justice Minister Astri Aas Hansen was also on hand Thursday, and noted how “the area has become even more important … given the security policy situation we’re in now.” She noted that there’s “a lively, family-oriented community on Svalbard, where people of all ages engage in their local community, and business.”
Støre acknowledged new and much higher political tension in the Arctic, not least between NATO and Russia, but claimed the tension “is not from the area, it’s from another place,” a not-so-veiled reference to Russia. He said Norway is committed to maintaining “stability, peace and cooperation.”
Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre listened to the concerns of a former coal miner who now needs new work. PHOTO: Mona Sæverud / Statsministerens kontor
The prime minister also noted that Norwegian sovereignty over Svalbard isn’t just upheld on paper or through flag-raising, but through activity. He promised “new Norwegian activity” on Svalbard after the coal mines have closed, in the hopes of retaining many of those working in the mines.
The Norwegian delegation from the mainland met some protests from the mining industry after all operations ended in June following a lengthy shut-down period. Some former miners stood with signs reading “What now Jonas?” and wondered whether they’ll be able to find new jobs on Svalbard. Støre met them with an outstretched hand.
“This (coal mining) era is over, and we thank all those who’ve worked in the mines all these years,” Støre told Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK). “Now we have to see what new types of business and industry we can get in this vulnerable Arctic environment.”
NewsinEnglish.no/Nina Berglund
