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On Christmas Day, Helge Lurås announced via the online newspaper Resett that he had formed a new philosophy of life, the Freedom of Expression Association (YFO).
According to Lurås, YFO's goal is to "curb" a development in which critics "of non-Western culture and warning against its entry into the free and liberal West" are hanged and harassed.
– We live in a time when less things are discussed in public. It is the consequence of living in a heterogeneous society where more has become taboo. We trained YFO to get people thinking about this social development, says Lurås.
However, the organization is not intended to protect the freedom of speech itself, but to ensure meaningful access to the debate.
– YFO will be an organization for a group of people who discover that there is no real freedom of expression for people who have their opinion, said Lurås.
– From the opposite of freedom of expression
Anine Kierulf, a lawyer and expert on freedom of expression, crosses Lurås' argument.
– YFO seems a little funny in a freedom of expression perspective: he should protect a type of statement – criticism of non-Western culture – against the discomfort that one can feel when his critics face contradictions. This is the opposite of the justification of freedom of expression: it is freely possible dissent that makes it possible to reach the quest for truth and democracy, says Kierulf.
Lurås thinks that it is not a question of protecting oneself from criticism, but of letting people know that they are not alone and that they dare to participate in the debate.
"We should not be protected more than others, but there is no doubt that participating in the debate is disturbing for some.If we advocate restrictions on immigration, for example, you may be in danger. suspended as a racist and right-wing extremist, says Lurås.
Kierulf believes that few social analyzes support this social analysis and points out that both conservative and liberal institutions have put Norway at the forefront of freedom in general and freedom of expression in particular.
Rejects criticism of lack of democracy
The new organization was also criticized by a member of the Oslo City Council, Ivar Johansen (SV). On Facebook, he calls YFO an "anti-democratic organization".
– The Resett gang has created a new organization, the Freedom of Expression Association. Members do not have real influence and the National Assembly can only advise the board of directors on who will sit on the leadership of the organization. The statutes already state that Helge Lurås and two of his colleagues sit. Johansen has long been writing that I have seen such an undemocratic organization.
Lurås believes that the way they chose to organize is no less democratic than usual, among other things, for political parties.
– It is not unusual to want to control the direction of an organization, but unlike many other organizations, we are open about it. We need to be a moderate organization and we need to be able to protect ourselves against both right-wing and left-wing purchases.
Believe in support
– I can not say anything about this specific organization that meets the criteria to be registered and receive the necessary support as a philosophy of life, says Hege Skaanes Nyhus, Acting Deputy Director of the County Governor's Legal Department in Oslo and Akershus.
She says that an application will be assessed under the law, regulations, any preparatory work and any previous practice, and that a decision will constitute a concrete assessment of each case.
Lurås says that the desire to obtain a vision status of life is a matter of money.
– The fact that we have decided to form a philosophy of life is an adaptation to the rules of support. We do this to be able to provide services to our members.
– So it's not an attempt to undermine the scheme, that is to say the support of faith and beliefs?
– No it is not. This is a real application.
Lurås assumes that the organization will exceed 500 members during Thursday and will therefore be eligible for support in 2019.
– If we want to be eligible for support for 2018, it is probably unlikely, but we are expecting money for the activity we are carrying out from 2019.
Do you want to give income to others
The statutes of the new organization state that up to 60% of the support it receives should be paid to other organizations.
– It is true that the money can in principle go to Resett when the statutes are being drafted.
Lurås believes that YFO can potentially receive a lot of money and believes that the wording should be open to support organizations and people working with issues that are consistent with YFO's vision.
He says that they have no intention of blocking money directly in Resett, but that the online journal is a natural recipient.
– Resett could be such an organization, but not the only one. For example, financial support for moderating our comment fields might be appropriate, but also for editors and others.
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