Norway wind farms at the heart of the Sami protest violate human rights, minister admits

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**Don´t look to Norway for indigenous rights and nature protection.**
Roan and Storheia wind power plants at Fosen, which the Supreme Court ruled illegal on 11th October 2021, have not yet been removed even though they violate Sami’s rights. Campaigners from Nature and Youth and NSR Nuorat have been protesting inside and outside the Ministry of Oil and Energy in Oslo, Norway, since the 23rd of February, 2023. The protests are spreading and growing in strength. The picture shows Sami artist Ella Marie Hætta Isaksen being removed by armed Norwegian police the night before Monday, Feb. 27. The picture is painful for MANY reasons. It should NEVER have come to this. The Oil and Energy Department, the state, and the government have CONSCIOUSLY maneuvered their way to this point over decades. MANY people in this process have not been competent in their job!
*Where do the rulers take this country?* Alf-Erling Isaksen is a policeman and the father of Ella.
Photo: Rasmus Madsen Berg, Natur og Ungdom

Norway’s government apologized on Thursday to Indigenous Sami groups for the construction of wind turbines on reindeer pastures, calling it a “human rights violation” while also urging a solution that still allows power production in the area.

The apology by Minister of Petroleum and Energy Terje Aasland followed a week of protests by Sami activists and others, including environmental campaigner Greta Thunberg, that led to a growing crisis for the government.

“I have apologized (today) on behalf of the government to the reindeer herding districts for the fact that the permits (to build wind farms) constituted a violation of human rights,” Aasland told a news conference.

Norway’s supreme court ruled in 2021 that the turbines erected on two wind farms at Fosen in central Norway violated Sami rights under international conventions. Still, they remain in operation almost 17 months later.

Sami protesters have blocked the entrance to the oil ministry and other government buildings in the Norwegian capital Oslo over the past week, demanding the removal of the turbines and arguing that a transition to green energy should not come at the expense of Indigenous rights.

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg gates with campaigners at the Ministry of Trade and Fisheries entrance in protest of wind turbines at Fosen that have remained in operation despite a court ruling against the turbines, in Oslo, Norway March 2, 2023. NTB/Javad Parsa via REUTERS

Norwegian police detained Thunberg during a demonstration on Wednesday.

Aasland said the government had not ruled out any solutions but added that he still believed it could be possible to uphold both power production and reindeer husbandry at Fosen.

“I’ve said my goal is to find solutions that enable the Fosen wind power and reindeer husbandry to coexist, and that’s a task I still believe we can succeed with,” he said.

His statement followed a meeting with the president of Norway’s consultative Sami parliament, Silje Karine Muotka, who had demanded an apology.

“My goal remains to end the human rights violation and for the damage to be repaired,” Muotka told reporters.

She declined to say whether she believed this would require the removal of all turbines and roads.

Owners of the Roan Vind and Fosen Vind farms, including Norwegian utilities Statkraft and TroenderEnergi, as well as Swiss firms Energy Infrastructure Partners and BKW, have said they hope a compromise could be found.

Alf Petter Høgberg, Professor dr. Juris at the University of Oslo argues on his Facebook that it is about time someone takes measures to examine whether the production from the 151 wind turbines at Fosen is illegal and should be prosecuted as they do not have a concession according to the Norwegian Energy Act: