Samis block Norway govt offices over illegal wind farms
by AFP Staff Writers
Oslo (AFP) Oct 13, 2023

Indigenous Sami activists and environmentalists including Greta Thunberg blocked the entrances to several ministries in Oslo for several hours on Friday to demand the demolition of wind farms operating illegally for two years.

On the third day of protests against the 151 turbines built on Sami reindeer herding land in the Fosen region in western Norway, dozens of activists, many dressed in traditional Sami clothing, sat outside the entrances of several ministries and called for the demolition of the wind parks.

On October 11, 2021, Norway's Supreme Court found that the wind farms violated the rights of the indigenous people, guaranteed by the UN, to practise their culture of reindeer husbandry.

While the Supreme Court found that the expropriation and operating permits for the construction of the turbines were invalid, it gave no guidance on what should be done with the turbines, which were already in operation.

Sami activists have held protests on symbolic dates since the Supreme Court's ruling.

"It's shameful ... that systematic colonisation, violation of human rights and oppression remain a reality for the Sami people today," Thunberg said Thursday at a protest blocking the entrance to the headquarters of Norway's state-owned energy group Statkraft.

On Friday, police removed without incident a group of activists blocking the entrances to several ministries, after which the protesters left all the ministries.

Norway's government has apologised to Sami reindeer herding families and recognised that their human rights have been violated.

It has launched a mediation process to try to find a solution enabling both the herders and wind farms to continue their activities.

Petroleum and Energy Minister Terje Aasland said Wednesday "the destruction of all wind turbines was excluded" and "not a likely outcome" of a mediation process.

The outcome could set a precedent for other infrastructure projects on the vast lands traditionally used by the Sami across Norway.

An indigenous minority of around 100,000 people spread over the northern parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia, the Sami have traditionally lived off reindeer herding and fishing.

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