The proposal to establish a border zone area where local residents can get easier border crossing raises controversies in the Norwegian border town of Kirkenes. The border zone regime will include all residents living within 30 kilometres range from the border. Norway and Russia share a 196 kilometres long border in the north.
Schengen
Norway is a member of the Schengen Agreement, an international treaty concluded among certain European nations dealing with cross-border legal arrangements and the abolition of systematic border controls among the participating countries. Since Russia is outside Schengen, the border crossing procedures between the two countries includes a load of paper work to obtain a valid visa.
In principle, both the Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Russia’s Sergey Lavrov agreed to look into the possibility to establish a border zone 30 kilometres into each country where locals could cross the border in an easier way than the rest of the two countries’ citizens. On the Russian side, such zone would include the cities of Nikel and Zapolyarny, and the village of Pechenga. On the Norwegian side the zone would include Kirkenes and its suburbs.
Without visa
If the border zone regime will be a reality, people living in the zone can get a spesial border zone ID-card and with that, cross the border without visa. The ID-card will only be valid within the zone. So a local in Nikel or Zapolyarny can travel to Kirkenes without applying for a visa to Norway. If they want to go to a destination in Norway more than 30 kilometres away from the actual border, then they need a valid visa. The same goes for locals in Kirkenes, they can go to Nikel with the ID-card, but do need a visa to Russia if Murmansk is the destination.
More crime and prostitution
It is in a letter to the Norwegian National Police Directorate Chief of police in Eastern Finnmark police district Håkon Skulstad writes about the possible increase in crime if such border zone regime will be established. Skulstad says the police is positive towards the border zone regime, but believes the increase in people crossing the border also will increase the possibilities of crime.
More thefts and prostitutions are among the consequences highlighted in the letter from Skulstad.
Cross-border gangsters
The police fears it could be established alliances between criminals on both side of the border. Drug smuggling is another fear. There are no known drug-smuggling at the Norwegian – Russian border today, but Skulstad says that might change with more border crossing traffic.
Strong local reactions
The letter from the local police has triggered a lot of anger among other key-players in the regional Norwegian – Russian cooperation. The editor in the local newspaper Sør-Varanger Avis, Randi Fløtten Andreassen writes in her editorial that the statement from the police is an old echo from the past. “…we do not believe in any wave of crime when the border zone will be established,” she writes. And continues, …”at the same time it is the totally open border with Finland which is the highway for drugs to the Sør-Varanger municipality….”
Head of the Norwegian Barents Secretariat Rune Rafaelsen says: - This is very, very sad. The Chief of police creates a picture-of-fear which is far from realities. – For decades we have been working to get rid of the rumors that “the Russians” are prostitutes and criminals.
Underrepresented
In the northern part of Norway we know that the Russians visiting us are underrepresented in the crime-statistics, and the key-lawmakers in Oslo do know all our positive relations with Russian visitors every day, says Rafaelsen.
He is afraid the letter from the local police chief will stigmatize Russian citizens as such.
Rune Rafaelsen says statistics from the police itself prove that Kirkenes has a very low crime rate and that the Russians are underrepresented in the same crime statistics. It is more likely that a local Norwegian will start a pub-fight at a late Saturday night than it is a Russian seaman or visitor from the neighboring border city of Nikel.
Suggest cross-border police cooperation
Instead of painting a picture-of-fear, the local police should front the possibilities of cross-border police cooperation which can follow the establishment of the border zone, concludes Rafaelsen.
Wrong image
Also the Mayor of Sør-Varanger municipality, Linda Randal, thinks the statements from the chief of police will have a negative impact on the central Norwegian authorities’ willingness to proceed with the border zone idea. Linda Randal says to the newspaper Finnmarken that she was surprised by the letter from the police chief.
- I don’t think our neighbours on the Russian side of the border will be more criminal just because we will get a border zone, says the mayor.
Sør-Varanger and Pechenga are twin-cities and have an extensive cooperation agreement.
Suspicion on the entire people
Also Governor of Finnmark County, Runar Sjåstad is among the ones with strong reactions regarding the police letter
-He is about to put suspicions on the entire [Russian] people. It is very sad, says Runar Sjåstad, interviewed about the case in Finnmarken.
