Reykjavík Grapevine - 21.09.2012, Blaðsíða 10

Reykjavík Grapevine - 21.09.2012, Blaðsíða 10
Mountaineers of Iceland • Skútuvogur 12E • 104 Reykjavík • Iceland Telephone: +354 580 9900 Ice@mountaineers.is • www.mountaineers.is • www. activity.is SUPER JEEP & SNOWMOBILE TOURS 10 The Reykjavík Grapevine Issue 15 — 2012 The ever opinionated Snorri Páll just opened up a cool website for his musings. Check him out at www.wheelofwork.org. Days later, Icelanders braced themselves for what seemed might turn into a Melan- cholia-level event, albeit not be- cause a rogue planet was believed to be on its way to collide with the Earth, but because it seemed a tropical storm was headed to Iceland. The storm, Leslie, originated in the Caribbean and swung its way up the east coast of the US and Canada, before veering northeast. All estimates showed that Leslie would be at tropical storm strength by the time it reached Iceland. Fortunately, however, that day came and went with partially cloudy skies and mild winds, and so Iceland was spared destruction … for now. Celebrity fever continued in Iceland, although Emma Watson’s visit didn’t seem to garner much media attention—until she re- turned home. Speaking as a guest on the Letterman show, she said she found it baffling that Iceland- ers would try to promote tours to go see how adorable whales and puffins are, only to follow that up by serv- ing said animals to tourists for dinner. The remarks caused many to focus on Emma’s perceived snobbery, all the while ignoring David Letterman’s far more offensive remarks about most Icelanders being alcoholics. Maybe people are just used to Letterman being an ass, who knows? In the tech world, it was reported that internet service providers Vodafone and Síminn— arguably Iceland’s two largest ISPs—were considering blocking access to porn and gambling sites for “computer safety” reasons, as these sites are sometimes rife with malware, with an option for customers to unblock their access after the fact. The story sparked outrage among many Icelanders, in particular those close to issues — Continued — Continues over Can an individual degrade a whole nation or nation state? Apparently the answer is “yes” as suggested by the 95th clause of Iceland's crimi- nal code: “Anyone who publicly de- grades a foreign nation or a foreign state, its top official, its head of state, its flag or another authorised national characteristic, the flag of the United Nations or the flag of the Council of Europe, is subjected to penalty or imprisonment up to two years.” Moreover, the law allows for an imprisonment up to six years if the violation is considered that se- rious. While this particular clause has not typ- ically been a matter of discussion—as it rarely comes up in courtrooms or pub- lic debates—the Left Greens recently put forth a resolution against it, arguing that it is primeval and can be misused to suppress freedom of speech. The most recent incident Their resolution comes shortly after the law surfaced in Reykjavík this July. During a relatively big demonstration in protest of the imprisonment of three members of the feminist collective Pussy Riot, the Russian flag was taken down from the Russian Embassy’s flag- pole and juggled around by the crowd. In front of that same embassy a month later—more precisely on the day of the Pussy Riot sentence—police made it known that four individuals were under investigation, accused of violating the above-mentioned law. Prior to this incident, the law was last used in April 2009 when Czech citi- zen Jan Jiricek was sentenced to pay a 250,000 ISK fine for his act of protest by the Chinese Embassy in Reykjavík. Dur- ing the trial, Jiricek, who painted the embassy's stairs with red—an act sup- ported by a written statement sent to most of Iceland's media—denied having disgraced the Chinese state and na- tion, admitting only to have physically opposed the Chinese authorities' treat- ment of the Tibetan people. Yet his de- fence didn't convince the judge who, in his verdict, stated that Jan had clearly degraded the Chinese state and nation. The most infamous incident The most famous—and at the same time infamous—example of this law takes us back to the year 1934 when five men, one of them poet Steinn Steinarr, were punished for degrading the German state. The five communists had taken down and trampled on the German Nazi Party's swastika flag, which was flapping by the German Vice-Consulate in the northern town of Siglufjörður. For this act they received two and three months long prison sentences. Since then, the 95th clause has been widely referred to as the Nazi Clause. Many recalled this story in 2002 when Iceland's Supreme Court sen- tenced and fined three men for degrad- ing the United States of America. In opposition to the superpower's foreign policy, one of them had prepared a Mo- lotov cocktail—a rarely employed tool of resistance in Iceland—that he threw at the US Embassy in Reykjavík during a short pause in the middle of their Fri- day night pub-crawl. Four of five judges found the three men guilty while the fifth judge issued a special provision of acquittal, maintaining that the men were under influence of alcohol and thus the Molotov's political message was dismissed. The most absurd incident Finally, the most absurd event based on the clause's existence took place in 1993 when Þorsteinn Pálsson, then Minister of Fisheries accused Bill Clin- ton—during an argument between Iceland and the US over the former country's whaling—of having watched too many mafia films. Seen by the lat- ter state's authorities as a disgrace to the US state and its nation, Þorsteinn was heavily criticised for his words and some wondered if he had, in fact, violated the Nazi clause. The problem, however, was that it falls under the criminal code's chapter on treason, a violation which will only be brought to court on the behest of the Minister of Justice. And at this time, the Ministry of Justice was governed by that very same Minister of Fisheries, Þorsteinn Pálsson, who predictably didn't end up pressing charges against himself. Now, back to this summer's events by the Russian Embassy, it will be up to Ögmundur Jónasson, Minister of In- terior, to decide if four individuals will be brought to court for treason. Though he certainly is not facing the same situ- ation as Þorsteinn, Ögmundur never- theless faces the fact that these four people are all members of his very own party, the Left Greens. Additionally, he has officially criticised the sentencing of Pussy Riot, saying to Iceland's Na- tional Broadcasting Service RÚV that despite not wanting to take a stand on the feminists' conduct, the imprison- ment should be discussed within the international human rights debate—and condemned. Whether Ögmundur heeds his party's warning remains to be seen. The Nazi Clause Strikes Again A very short history of degradations Words Snorri Páll Jónsson Úlfhildarson Photo German Federal Archive Politics | Disrespect “ The five communists had taken down and trampled on the German Nazi Party's swastika f lag, which was f lapping by the German Vice-Consulate in the northern town of Siglufjörður.„ NEWS IN BRIEF NEWS IN ICELAND EARLY SEPTEMBER

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