The complicity of Oslo Pride in Pinkwashing the genocide.
According to their website, Oslo Pride opposes pinkwashing and thoroughly researches their partners:
"Oslo Pride ønsker a skape en fargerik, inkluderende og trygg festival for alle, og da trenger vi partnere med pa laget. Partnerprogrammet er et likeverdig partnerskap mellom Oslo Pride og virksomhetene som støtter oss, hvor vi sammen tar et standpunkt mot rosavasking og jobber for inkludering av skeive i samfunnet og på arbeidsplassene hele året rundt."
(sources: https://www.oslopride.no/p/partner-program)
And while many of their choices in partnership are worthy of criticism, it is especially egregious to choose to cooperate with Microsoft and DNB - two companies that both heavily involved in the ongoing genocide in Palestine.
DNB
The coalition Don't Buy Into Occupation
(DBIO) keeps track of companies investing in the illegal occupation of Palestine. Year after year DNB is shown to be one of the major investors.
From dec. 2024: "DNB er blant de 50 storste aktorene pa kreditt-siden, med 9,9 milliarder kroner i län og tegningsgarantier til selskaper som medvirker til okkupasjonen."
(source: https://ww.fagforbundet.no/a/379272/nyheter/rapport-norske-og-europeiske-finansinstitusjoner-stotter-israels-ulovlige-
okkupasjon-av-palestina/)
Microsoft:
The international BDS (boycott, divestment, sanctions) movement labels Microsoft as
"perhaps the most complicit tech company in Israel's illegal apartheid regime and ongoing genocide":
Microsoft's complicity in Israel's apartheid and genocide is well documented, exposing its strong ties to the Israeli military, its collaboration with Israeli government ministries, and its involvement in the Israeli prison system, which is notorious for systematic torture and abuse of Palestinians. Microsoft knowingly provides Israel with technology, including artificial intelligence (AI), that is deployed to facilitate grave human rights violations, war crimes, crimes against humanity (including apartheid), as well as genocide. In light of the International Court of Justice's legally-binding rulings to prevent Israel's plausible genocide in Gaza, as well as its July 19 Advisory Opinion affirming Israel's illegal occupation and apartheid system, Microsoft has failed its corporate obligation to prevent genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. Microsoft, as well as its boards of directors and executives, may face criminal liability for this complicity.
(source: https://bdsmovement.net/microsoft)
It's important to speak out against these companies - not just to stand in solidarity with queer Palestinians, but because Pride itself is rooted in resistance. Pride honours the struggles that came before us, and it should also remind us that the fight isn't over. Today, that fight includes pushing back against the exploitation and human rights violations carried out by powerful capitalist and fascist systems— not only in Palestine, but in Sudan, Congo, and many other places around the globe. These systems don't just harm people affected by the imperialist systems, they also affect our own queer communities here in Oslo, by depoliticizing queerness and turning Pride into a corporate spectacle instead of a space for solidarity and liberation.
After a successful parade bloc "no pride in genocide" with 30 supporting organizations and thousands of people demonstrating, we urge people to sign this petition. It will be handed to Oslo Pride as evidence of our demand.
We seek to be in dialogue with Oslo Pride and to support them in standing on the right side of history. We want our Pride to make more space for resistance and actions over spectacle and celebration, especially in this time of fascist uprising where trans people and queer rights are being violently targeted.
