The Norwegian Salvation Army may well be licking its wounds, but it’s all too late now. The damage is done, and the list of artists joining the boycott of the previously so popular organisation is growing by the day after the news broke that the organisation removes gay and lesbian officers from official duties, on the grounds that they are unsuited to wear the uniform and represent the organisation. (02-DEC-05)
-We have a saying in Norwegian that immediately came to mind when I learnt of this, says HRH’s Niels Jacob Harbitz. It goes: ‘The one who digs a grave for others, may well fall into it himself’. Then he goes on to recapture this story, which has take even further turns since www.humanrightshouse.org first reported on it a few days ago.
The talk of the town, and the country
-The real breakthrough towards common knowledge among Norwegians of this unacceptable practice within the Salvation Army came in the incredibly popular Friday nigt talkshow ‘Foerst og Sist’ (First and Last) two weeks ago, where both Jo Nesboe, the author of a recently published crime novel taking its story from within the ranks of the Salvation Army, and Jan Stoerksen, the former marketing and communications manager of the Salvation Army, made it very clear that despite their general approval and admiration of the Salvation Army’s work, they do not approve of or admire the Army’s stance on this issue. If anything, quite the opposite.
… and the list keeps growing
-Shortly thereafter, Harbitz continues, the issue came up again in relation to the Salvation Army’s biggest fundraising event, its annual Christmas Concert at the Oslo Concert Hall, for which the tradition is that a wide array of the most popular artists in the country perform for free. Naturally, several of the artists on this year’s programme were asked to comment on their own decision to perform. Since then, a large number have come out and made it very clear that for as long as the Salvation Army stands firm on its practice towards lesbians and gays, they will never lend their support. These artists include the immensely popular Ravi and DJ Loev, the famous actor Bjarte Hjelmeland, the gifted singer-songwriter Sondre Lerche (who took the opportunity, while performing for the Salvation Army in a different context last Saturday, that he will never do so again unless the Army changes on this issue) the bands Vamp, Madrugada and Gatas Parlament, the solo artists Erik faber and Tom Hell, and most painfully, probably for the Salvation Army, even the very popular Oslo Gospel Choir, for many years a granted contributor to this concert.
