Both Norway and India on Monday described the meeting in Oslo between India's special envoy and the Norwegian Foreign Minister as “positive.” However, Norwegian Foreign Ministry spokesman Svein Michelsen, in a telephonic conversation with The Hindu , stressed that his government was “not in a position to influence the courts.”
With public anger and outrage riding high at the continued retention of two Indian toddlers by Norway's powerful Child Protection Agency (Barnevernet), the Indian government, under tremendous pressure to act, rushed Secretary (West) in the Ministry of External Affairs, Madhusudhan Ganapathi, to Oslo for talks with Norway's Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Store.
India alarmed
The Indian government is alarmed at the prospect of Norway's Child Protection Agency's reported unilateral attempts to obtain the extension of the visas of two Indian children in its care. The child custody row concerns the children of Anurup and Sagrika Bhattacharya, Aishwarya (1) and Abhigyan (3), who were taken into care and placed with foster parents.
Responding to queries by this correspondent on the nature and substance of talks between Mr. Store and Mr. Ganapathi, Mr. Michelsen said: “It was a positive meeting. The Foreign Minister informed the envoy that the Child Welfare Services will make a recommendation to the Stavanger district courts office to make a complete assessment aimed at establishing that the children's uncle be appointed as their primary care person and also to ascertain that the children will receive adequate follow-up in India.”
Asked about the exact situation of the children's visas (the parents' visas expire on March 8), and whether the Child Protection Agency had in fact attempted to have the children's visas extended, Mr. Michelsen said: “I do not have any background on the question of the children's visas. What I can say is that the Foreign Minister's understanding is that this process is being completed as speedily as possible while ensuring strict compliance with Norwegian laws and regulations.”
Asked if there was any particular message Mr. Store wished to address to India as a whole through the meetings he has had with External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna and now with Mr. Ganapathi, the spokesman said: “I am not in a position to transmit a message on his behalf. But in this meeting it was also underlined that as in any country respectful of the rule of law, the government is not in a position to influence the courts.
“Having said that, it is the Foreign Minister's understanding that the whole process is being completed as speedily as possible although this can only be done as quickly as the legal system allows.”
Mr. Ganapathi is also scheduled to meet Minister for Children, Equality and Social Inclusion Audun Lysbakken. Reports in the Norwegian press indicate that on Tuesday, the Control and Constitutional Committee of the Norwegian Parliament, or Stortinget will discuss allegations of corruption in the Child Protection Services. Most newspapers have covered these allegations and readers' polls indicate that around 94 % of the respondents say they have no trust in Mr. Lysbakken and his political staff.
Meanwhile, the MEA's official spokesperson, Syed Akbaruddin, said in a tweet that the discussions in Norway had been “positive.
