Ajit Karn
Protester including Greta Thunberg, blocked access to a number of Norwegian ministries
Oslo: Indigenous and environmental activists, including Greta Thunberg, blocked access to a number of Norwegian ministries on Tuesday, escalating a protest demanding the removal of wind turbines from reindeer pastures.
The supreme court of Norway ruled in 2021 that two wind farms constructed at Fosen in central Norway violated Sami human rights under international conventions. However, more than 16 months later, the turbines remain operational.
Police began removing a small number of demonstrators from in front of the finance ministry, a new target for protesters, as more than a hundred demonstrators chanted “C, S, V,” the abbreviation of a 1970s Sami slogan meaning “Show Sami spirit.”
In the meantime, activists continued their demonstration at the adjacent energy ministry, which also contains the transport and family ministries, and the agriculture ministry.
Ms. Thunberg, an advocate for ending the world’s reliance on carbon-based power, has stated that the transition to renewable energy should not come at the expense of the rights of the indigenous Sami people.
Greta Thunberg told News Channel, as she sat in front of the energy ministry and was queried about the necessity of the demonstrations, “They should have seen it coming for violating human rights.”
One of the campaigners stated that they would “shut down the government department by department” for as long as necessary.
“The government has failed the Sami,” Ella Marie Haetta Isaksen told News Channel.
“I hope that some ministers will soon realise that the only solution to this violation of human rights is to bring down the wind turbines.”
According to reindeer caretakers, wind energy equipment frightens animals and disrupts age-old traditions.
Complex legal quandary
The energy ministry has stated that despite the supreme court’s judgement, the fate of the turbines is a complex legal conundrum, and it is attempting to reach a compromise. However, a new ruling in the Fosen case could take another year.
After meeting with protestors outside his ministry, Energy Minister Terje Aasland told News Channel, “The objective is to reach a new decision that can withstand the test of time.”
He stated, “There are conflicts of interest, and we must manage them as best we can.” “We must strive to incorporate Indigenous human rights in a positive manner, and we must also ensure reindeer husbandry has a secure future.”
The Roan Vind and Fosen Vind wind farms are owned by the German company Stadtwerke München, the Norwegian utilities Statkraft and TroenderEnergi, and the Swiss companies Energy Infrastructure Partners and BKW.
Statkraft told News Channel in a statement, “We strive to identify… mitigation measures in dialogue with reindeer herders and the ministry that assure the operating premise and the Sami’s opportunity for cultural expression.”
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Roan Vind told News Channel on Monday that it was confident the energy ministry would find solutions to enable renewable energy production to continue.
The utility BKW stated that it expected the wind turbines to remain in position, with the herders’ rights protected by compensatory measures.
The München Stadtwerke refused to comment.
