By Gwladys Fouche
OSLO (Reuters) – An Indigenous Sami activist set up camp outside the Norwegian parliament on Monday to protest against wind turbines built on land traditionally used by Sami reindeer herders, saying he will stay there as long as the turbines remain in place.
Norway’s supreme court in October 2021 ruled that two wind farms built at Fosen in central Norway, part of Europe’s largest onshore wind farm, violated Sami rights under international conventions. But the turbines remain in operation today.
“It has been 700 days of human rights abuse and the Norwegian state has not done anything to stop it. So I have chosen to come here and set up camp until the human rights abuse stops,” Mihkkal Haetta, 22, told Reuters, dressed in a traditional Sami gakti worn inside out as a sign of protest.
“I believe that there is only one solution and that is to tear down the wind turbines at Fosen.”
In February Indigenous protesters including Haetta occupied the lobby of the oil and energy ministry before police removed them.
They later occupied the entrances of 10 ministries and were joined by Greta Thunberg, who said human rights had to go hand-in-hand with climate protection and climate action.
Since the protests, the government and the reindeer herding families affected by the Fosen wind farm have been involved in mediation to resolve the conflict. No concrete measures have been announced yet.
The oil and energy ministry did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
(Reporting by Gwladys Fouche; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
