– Finnmark is in a special strategic position that can be compared to Svalbard, if not more important. That’s what police chief Ellen Katrine Hætta says in Finnmark. In a consultation opinion, the Finnmark police district is in favor of the county getting its own state administrator. The government must evaluate the geographical division of the state administrators. Finnmark police district has sent its consultation letter. There, police chief Ellen Katrine Hætta advocates that the current state administrator’s office for Troms and Finnmark be split up. – I want us to have a strong, solid and fierce civil footprint in Finnmark. We can only get that by splitting the state administrator, says Hætta. The Ministry of Local Government and Labor has sent out a consultation letter on the matter and set the deadline for making a statement to 17 February. Strategically important It is primarily the proximity to Russia that means that the chief of police wants a strong civilian presence in the country’s northernmost county. – Finnmark is in a special strategic position that can be compared to Svalbard, if not more important, writes Hætta in the consultation statement sent to the ministry. Finnmark is exposed to Therefore, the police chief believes that all social conditions in Finnmark must be compared to the security policy situation following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Hætta elaborates on this to news: – In Norway, we may not have a tradition of thinking about Finnmark’s strategic importance, but we should learn that now. The police chief refers, among other things, to the speech NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg gave at NHO’s annual conference in January. He emphasized that it is dangerous to underestimate Russia, writes Hætta and quotes Stoltenberg: – Russia’s will to achieve strategic political ambitions is expressed in various ways, both through the use of military means and through a wide range of complex means that affect the population and all civil society sectors. LONG-SIGHTED: Viljar Hanssen is one of the soldiers who oversees the Norwegian-Russian border. Photo: Gunnar Sætra / news Must follow the same geographical boundaries From 1 January 2024, Troms and Finnmark county municipalities will split. That is one of the reasons why the Finnmark police district is asking that Finnmark also get its own state administrator office. – It will coincide with the boundaries for the other emergency services, says Hætta. The Finnmark police district covers the same geographical area as the former – and future – county municipality in Finnmark. This is also the case for emergency notifications to the fire and rescue services (110) and the Emergency Medical Communications Center (AMK) for Finnmark. – The borders also coincide with Finnmark Land Defense and Homeland Defense District 17. Finnmark includes two civil defense districts, one in the east and one in the west, Hætta writes in the police district’s consultation statement. BACK: From 1 January 2024, the old county border between Troms and Finnmark is back in place. Photo: Sara Beate Eira / news Important with civil power and authority in Finnmark Norwegian security policy in the north has been founded on a balance between deterrence and reassurance. The strengthening of the Armed Forces in Finnmark is part of the deterrence policy. Therefore, Hætta believes it is important and right that the Finnish Defense Forces concentrate on its main mission – to assert Norwegian national sovereignty. The military nevertheless has a number of self-imposed restrictions as part of the reassurance. According to the chief of police, the civilian pacification involves maintaining a strong civilian footprint through the presence of civilian power and authority in the border region. – When the security policy situation becomes more demanding for Norway, the civilian exercise of authority becomes correspondingly more important. The build-up of a military presence in the region requires a civilian counterweight to create an absolutely necessary balance, writes Hætta, among other things. A separate state administrator for Finnmark will be a natural part of this. According to Hætta, the police and the state administrator are in a key position as representatives of the state and civil Norwegian authorities. – In a more dangerous world, it is absolutely crucial, and more important than ever, that civilian Norwegian power and authority are strongly and competently present in Finnmark, and especially in the border region in the east, stresses the chief of police in Finnmark. – A little more prepared Next Monday, the Intelligence Service, the Police Security Service (PST) and the National Security Authority (NSM) will present their open threat and risk assessments. Hätta expects the assessments to be roughly the same as in the last ten years. – I also expect people to look at the escalation that has taken place on the Russian side and ask people to be a little more prepared. – How would you describe the year we have behind us after the outbreak of war on 24 February last year? – This did not start last year, but already in 2014. In the last year we have seen that there are also others who have woken up. We here in Finnmark have probably been awake in 2014, concludes Hætta. Against splitting up, but for Vadsø Vest-Finnmark The council warns against splitting up today’s northernmost state administrator office, partly because the current merged organization works well. At the same time, Vest-Finnmark points out to the Council that the government has designated Vadsø as the main seat for the merged state administration office. This should also be the case in the future. – This is important, also in light of the current security policy situation. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the fact that Finland and Sweden have applied for membership in NATO, means that Norway will have a renewed position as NATO’s outer border in the north, the statement also states.
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Finnmark must get its own state administrator for security policy reasons – news Troms and Finnmark
