It's long been allowed to burn the Norwegian flag in Norway. Now the parliament's justice committee has unanimously agreed to decriminalize the burning of other country's flags in Norway.
"For us, freedom of expression is the most important," said deputy leader of the justic committee Jan Arild Ellingsen of the Progress Party, Norway's most conservative political party. Ellingsen nonetheless said he understands that many Norwegians still see flag-burning as unacceptable.
That was proven in 2003, when Norwegian comedian Otto Jespersen abruptly set fire to an American flag during an episode of his nationally broadcast TV show at the time. Not only were US authorities upset, but so were many Norwegians, and Jespersen was charged with insulting and debasing another nation's flag. Prosecutors, however, later dropped the case.
Professor Frank Aarebrot, a national expert in political science at the University of Bergen, said he could understand how the parliament found it difficult to reconcile a law against flag-burning with freedom of expression.
"When Otto Jespersen burned the American flag on an entertainment program on national TV, it showed how difficult it is to attempt to punish it," Aarebrot said. "Putting Jespersen in prison would have sparked a huge debate."
