The action group Activists for Palestine was among the few who turned up to watch the men’s ski jumps in Lysgårdsbakken in Lillehammer on Sunday evening. Their message was clear. – The national show jumping team must break the collaboration with Nammo now, shouted the demonstrators. NAMMO: The sponsor is easy to spot on the jumping equipment of the Norwegian jumpers. Here is Halvor Egner Granerud at Sunday’s race. Photo: news Klassekampen has also mentioned the demonstration in Lillehammer. Activist Olav Gjøystdal tells news that they showed up to show solidarity with Palestine: – It is a long-term collaboration that we now believe should end, when you see the brutality that is unfolding in Gaza. Norwegian show jumping and Norwegian sports in general cannot accept being associated with a company that is complicit in the killing of civilians on the scale we are seeing now. Two weeks ago, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz revealed that documents from the Pentagon showed that at least 1,800 Nammo-produced rocket launchers of the M141 type had been sent to Israel from the United States. These guns are made in Nammo’s factory in Arizona. Overview of dead and wounded in Palestine and Israel since 7 October Gaza According to Palestinian health authorities in Gaza, at least 16,248 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip, of which 7,112 are children. Over 7,600 people are also buried under ruins or missing. At least 43,616 people have been injured. The occupied West Bank At least 262 people have been killed in the occupied West Bank according to Palestinian health authorities there. More than 3,365 people are injured. Israel Israeli authorities have reported that around 1,147 people have been killed in Israel since October 7 and at least 8,730 people have been injured. 137 hostages are still being held by Hamas in Gaza, according to Israel. In addition, Israel is holding at least 2,070 Palestinians captive without charge or trial, according to the human rights organization Addameer. Sources: The figures are based on what Palestinian health authorities in Gaza, Palestinian health authorities in the West Bank and Israeli authorities have stated as of 6 December. Jumping manager Clas Brede Bråthen refers to Arne Årbråten, who is marketing manager for jumping. He responds to news in writing to the criticism from the activists: “The Ski Jumping Association is 100 per cent financed by commercial income, of which the agreement with Nammo has made up a share of this since 2010. The Ski Jumping Association and the Ski Association are assured by Nammo that Nammo follows the legislation in those countries at all times where the company is present.” news has also tried to get a comment from several Norwegian jumpers, but has so far been unsuccessful. ACTIVIST: Olav Gjøystdal believes the show jumping team must distance itself from Nammo. Photo: news – They came to the wrong place Thorstein Korsvold, director of information at Nammo, clarifies to news that the weapons were sold to the US Ministry of Defense nearly ten years ago. – What the American authorities have decided to do with the weapons now – Nammo is not involved in, says Korsvold and adds: – There is no export of Norwegian weapons to Israel. If the protesters disagree with what the US is doing, they probably came to the wrong place. INFORMATION DIRECTOR: Thorstein Korsvold in Nammo. The Norwegian state has a 50 percent stake in Nammo. The remaining half is owned by Finnish Patria Oyj. M72 anti-tank missiles from Nammo’s factory in Arizona were also sold to Israel in 2014. The director of information says that the US operations of the company are subject to US law and export controls, which they cannot control. M141: Here, a Ukrainian soldier is pictured training to use a so-called “M141 Bunker Defeat Munition” in 2022. Photo: AP – They may remove the logo temporarily Protesters react to how the Nammo logo is shown in prime time, while their weapons sent to a country waging an ongoing war in Gaza. – We do this because we care about the sport. We do not want show jumping to risk its reputation by being used by Nammo in this way. There are large Nammo logos around the arena here. We have a Palestinian from Gaza with us on the campaign here today. It is quite upsetting to see war and mutilation and human suffering being normalized like that. We call it sports washing. We want an end to that, says Gjøystdal. Nammo’s director of information does not agree with that. – For more than 10 years as a sponsor of the national show jumping team, we have focused on gender equality and contributed with relevant technological understanding in aerodynamics. We don’t need to wash anything, says Korsvold. University lecturer at Høyskolen Kristiania, Dag Inge Fjeld, understands that the activists call it sports laundering, but he believes the term itself has been watered down: – The term is floating around now. “Environmental washing” and “sports washing”. But it is nowhere near Saudi Arabia and Qatar that top that scale. I don’t think this is on that scale at all. Fjeld understands well why the show jumping team chooses to have Nammo as a sponsor. – It pays salaries, he says to news. SPONSOR: The Nammo name was seen in several places in Lysgårdsbakken during the weekend’s show jumping at Lillehammer. Photo: news Fjeld’s colleague at the college, Professor Rune Bjerke, does not believe that Nammo’s weapons have knowingly and willfully ended up in Israel. He nevertheless understands that the protesters are expressing themselves. – It can help that the media take it up and ask questions. Then there will be discussions, which lead to a chain reaction, where you might become a bit wiser, says Bjerke, who researches management and communication. The professor comes up with a concrete proposal for how the show jumping team and Nammo can show consideration. – It hurts a lot of people, so due to the nature of the war, the humanitarian disaster, they can perhaps agree to remove the logo for a temporary period, says the professor, with the caveat that it will not be a breach of contract. It does not go down well with Nammo. – We are proud of what we do for Norway, NATO and Ukraine. We are proud of our logo. It should not be hidden away, Korsvold believes. The marketing manager for jumps replies to news that “the content of our commercial agreement with Nammo is a matter between the Ski Association Hopp and Nammo”.
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Claims sponsorship violation for the jumpers – believes the activists showed up at the wrong place – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcasting schedule
