Activists surround the government building complex in Oslo demanding that the wind turbines be removed. Photo: CC BY-NC-SA Revolution
Sami protestors and young environmentalists have taken action, protesting the government's disregard for the Sami people and a Supreme Court verdict. "We fully support the demand that the wind turbines must be removed from Sami areas," states Dagbjørn Skipnes from the Communist Platform (Marxist-Leninist), KPml.
The Supreme Court unanimously ruled in October 2021 that 150 wind turbines at Fosen (a peninsula in Mid-Norway which is a traditional area for South Sami people) are illegally installed. They are located in the middle of a grazing area for the reindeer. The wind farms violate the protection of indigenous peoples' rights as enshrined in a UN convention ratified by Norway and in the Norwegian Constitution.
However, the state has not implemented a single measure to stop the human rights violations.
After 500 days, the Sami and environmental activists have had enough. They have set up lavvo’s (Sami tents) and blocked the entrance to the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy and other ministries in protest. The state has responded by towing in protesters and imposing heavy fines on them.
– The rights of the Sami people and the environment are being sacrificed in favour of ruthless windpower development on the EU's terms.
"This clearly shows that the state disregards its own institutions, even the Supreme Court when the judicature on rare occasions opposes the state administration. The rights of the Sami people and the environment are sacrificed by a government that is mostly concerned with ruthless windpower development on the terms set by the European Union. It is logical that a bourgeois class state is mainly concerned with protecting the interests of investors in the power industry," says Dagbjørn Skipnes, spokesperson for the Communist Platform – Marxist-Leninists (KPml).
Sami and environmental activists have been blocking ministry offices for several days. Several of them were arrested in in the middle of the night. Photo: CC BY-NC-SA Revolution
"We observe a pattern where parliament and government set aside the Constitution whenever it is a hindrance to monopoly capital and imperialist interests. Previously this has been seen in the question of energy sovereignty and in the establishment of US base areas, and now also in terms of the constitutional provision on the rights of the Sami people," Skipnes adds.
KPml supports the protestors’ demand that the wind turbines must be removed from Sami areas. The Marxist-Leninists fully support the protest action and urge anyone to protest and show civil disobedience until the demand is met.