– Red youth must settle – Dagsavisen

On Monday, Red youth leader Amrit Kaur and AUF leader Astrid Hoem met for a debate in the program Politisk kvarter on NRK.

The background was that Kaur posted a video on TikTok in which she called Jens Stoltenberg, Jonas Gahr Støre and Nicolai Tangen terrorists.

This caused major reactions among several people, but especially among AUF, the youth party of the Labor Party.

– I was angry and frustrated when I posted the video. I got so mad that I chose the wrong words. It was very stupid of me and I shouldn’t have said that. The video has been deleted, Kaur told NRK at the weekend.

But soon after, there was another suggestion that caused AUF leader Astrid Hoem to react, this time from Rød ungdom’s general secretary Syver Kleve Kolstad:

– Using 22 July as a counter-argument against people who criticize Støre is, for me, completely reprehensible. There is no doubt that Støre supports terrorism, Kleve Kolstad said in a TikTok video.

Kleve Kolstad told NRK that he agrees that it is going too far to call Jonas Gahr Støre a terrorist, nevertheless AUF must endure criticism against its own party leader.

– Jonas Gahr Støre supports terrorism by allowing Norwegian money to be invested in Israel. Thus, he also supports Israel’s terror against the Palestinians, says the general secretary of Red Youth to NRK.

AUF leader Astrid Hoem then told NRK:

– We are very disappointed with round number two that came from the general secretary and in her answers (Kaur editor’s note) yesterday. And at the same time I have to say that I accept and appreciate that they retract the words they used, and that they have also deleted the videos.

Admits poor regret

However, Hoem was not satisfied with the apology and said that she wished it was even clearer, and that they showed greater understanding of what they are reacting to.

And she got that during Politisk kvarter on NRK, where Kaur laid completely flat, and admitted that she had been told by the parent party Red to make an apology.

– Then I came up with a bad apology. I myself have realized that I must apologize properly afterwards. I would like to apologize first of all for using the word terrorist when I mentioned Støre, Stoltenberg and Tangen. So it was not only stupid and recklessly said, but it was wrong, she says now.

Kaur now believes that what she said was not correct.

– Especially when it has been important for me to point out that you are careful about how you use the word terrorist when, for example, you refer to the Palestinians and Hamas, then it becomes a double standard on my part. It was poorly handled by us, she said.

Hoem was happy with the apology and said it was appropriate. She went on to say that until now it has been the right wing that has promoted such schemes.

– That is why it is important to speak out so that both the far right and now the left have to come to terms when they see such conspiracy theories and such use of words, she says and pointed out that it is important that Red Youth comes to terms with this because in the comments section more people appear who write that it was entirely appropriate to call Støre a terrorist.

Hoem goes on to say that the settlement must be made, but that does not mean that one should not discuss or should not be able to criticize the Palestine issue and the government.

Kaur, for her part, said that she used the same rhetoric that the far right uses to create a reaction instead of speaking the truth, and she admitted that it was wrong.

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Must build trust

Although the wording was wrong, Kaur says that Norway is still responsible for having contributed to the genocide of the Palestinian people. She still believes that much of the criticism was justified. The problem, according to her, was how to talk about it and how to contribute to a dangerous debate climate.

After Kaur’s statements, several members of Rødt Ungdom announced that they were withdrawing from the youth party after the leader’s terrorist plot, NTB reported.

One of them was Alberte Bekkhus, who is a former leader of Rød Ungdom.

– Today I resigned with a heavy heart from the organization I grew up in, Brekkhus wrote on Facebook on Saturday.

Kaur now says that she now has to build trust again.

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