The Norwegian foreign office declared the Polish consul Slawomir Kowalski unwanted in Norway. Poland replied by declaring a Norwegian diplomat unwanted in Poland.
Translated from an original article by NRK.
Source: NTB/NRK
Published February 11 2019
– The way things have developed, and in line with international practice, a Norwegian diplomat is no longer welcome in Poland, according to a declaration from the Polish foreign office Monday evening.
– It is disappointing that Poland chooses this type of retaliation, writes chief communication officer Kristin Enstad in an e-mail to NRK.
Earlier, Monday morning, Ernstad informed NTB that Poland's consul Slawomir Kowalski has been declared unwanted as diplomat in Norway.
– This was necessary because his personal behavior is incompatible with his role as a diplomat.
The foreign office has received repeated complaints against the consul, who has allegedly behaved in a threatening and violent manner against public officers, preventing them from doing their work, writes NTB.
He has also refused to comply with police orders, and has at times been reported to the police. The consul's behavior has been a repeated topic of discussion with the Polish embassy over the years.
Enstad writes that the Foreign office has received no complaints regarding the behavior of Norwegian diplomats in Poland.
– It is therefore unreasonable that Poland should choose to expel a Norwegian diplomat, writes Enstad.
Forced to declare him unwanted
According to the Vienna convention on diplomatic relations, Norway has a right to declare diplomats unwanted in Norway. This implies, according to the Norwegian Foreign office, a duty on the part of Poland to recall the diplomat or terminate his function at the embassy.
– The Foreign office recommended [in January] that Polish authorities bring home the consul, which is normal procedure before anyone is dismissed from their function with loss of diplomatic immunity in Norway. Now that this recommendation has been ignored, the Foreign office has no choice but to declare him unwanted in Norway, informs Enstad.
Conflicts involving the Norwegian child protection service
Kowalski has at several occasions been mentioned in Norwegian media in relation to cases tied to the Norwegian child protection service. He has actively helped Polish families who have found themselves in conflict with Norway's child protection service.
The Foreign office asked Poland to recall the consul in January. However, Poland's foreign minister Jacek Czaputowicz dismissed this request shortly thereafter, informing Norwegian authorities that the consul would serve his full term with termination in June.
The Polish Foreign office writes on Twitter that the charges against Kowalski are unfounded, and that they are er «pleased with Kowalski's work, in particular his engagement in defending the interests of Polish families.»
No comments:
Post a Comment