– The government’s message is clear and unambiguous. We will follow up the Supreme Court’s judgment so that the rights of the reindeer herders on Fosen are safeguarded, says Oil and Energy Minister Terje Aasland. He says he has apologized to the reindeer herders at Fosen. Aasland believes the judgment from the Supreme Court does not make it clear that the wind turbines must be demolished, as the reindeer herders and activists demand. – The judgment also does not mean that the concessions for the wind power plants at Storheia and Roan have lapsed. Until new decisions come into place, the wind power plants are operated in accordance with the original licences. The wind power companies are therefore not doing anything illegal. The Fosen development and the verdict in the Supreme Court 16th century: Sør Sami start using the Storheia mountain area as winter pasture for reindeer. 2006: Statkraft Development AS reported interest to NVE for the development of facilities at Fosen 2008: NVE received a license application for Storheia wind power plant 2010: NVE grants a license to SAE Vind DA to build and operate Storheia wind power plant. The concession is being appealed. 2013: The Ministry of Petroleum and Energy confirmed NVE’s decision on a license for SAE Vind DA to build and operate the Storheia wind power plant. 2014: The case is recorded in the court system by the Fovsen Njaarke reindeer herding district. 2015: June: Plans for development at Fosen are shelved due to poor finances in the project. 2016: February: Statkraft, Trønderenergi and Nordic wind power DA announce that 11 billion will be invested in the Fosen development. 2016: The concession is transferred to Fosen Vind DA. Construction work on the access road to Storheia started in June of the same year. 2018: The UN asks Norway to halt development on Storheia until the matter is resolved in the legal system. The state does not accept this. 2020: The turbines at Storheia are put into normal operation. 2020: August: Both the reindeer owners and developer Fosen vind appeal the verdict from the Frostating Court of Appeal from 8 June to the Supreme Court. 2021: The Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court rules that the licenses for the operation of Roan and Storheia and the expropriation of areas for the development are invalid. 2022: February: Fosen Vind submits a proposal to OED with a study program and progress plan for how to achieve both reindeer husbandry and turbines on Storheia. 2022: July: The government sends a letter to the Sámi Parliament where they explain that they have a goal of keeping both wind power and the reindeer herding at Fosen. 2022: The Sami population insists that this is a matter of the right to cultural practice and that nature must be returned to the way it was before the development. Source: news The Minister of Oil and Energy told the Storting that energy needs were the background for the Fosen development, and said that they had always tried to take into account the interests and needs of the reindeer herding Sami. – Now we have to put in place an investigation program that shows what needs to be investigated in more detail, and get the investigations carried out as quickly as possible. Aasland says he will not rule out any options. – Not the state’s fault He believes it is not the state’s fault that the rights of the reindeer husbandry Sami were violated when permission was given for the construction of the wind turbines. – It is knowledge and assessments of the wind power plants’ actual effects on reindeer husbandry that have come to light after the time of the decision that has led the Supreme Court to come to a different conclusion. He points out that it is a matter of political dilemmas. There is talk of having acceptable electricity prices, new green energy, reductions in emissions of greenhouse gases, nature and the environment and taking into account the rights of indigenous people. At the same time, Asland says: – The majority of the population, Sami and non-Sami, in these parts of the country, do not engage in reindeer herding. It has been 16 months since the Supreme Court ruled that the wind turbine at Fosen was a violation of human rights. – The Supreme Court has not said anything about what will happen to the wind turbines. We have been working to find that out since autumn 2021, and it is not satisfactory that it has taken so long, says Aasland. He emphasizes that the government is not training the matter. Former oil and energy minister Marte Mjøs Persen visited Fosen in November 2021. Photo: Ole Martin Wold / NTB Stated Sámi parliament president – Aasland’s explanation shows, in my opinion, the great need for an independent investigation of the whole case, says Sámi parliament president Silje Karine Muotka. Sami Parliament President Silje Karine Muotka wants the government to invite her to the Storting for a separate statement. – I think that every story has two sides. The Storting will only get to know the minister’s side. But we are a popularly elected body from which the Storting should receive information. The Sámi Parliament does not have the right to make proposals, but Muotka refers to the Green Party’s proposal from 3 March. Last week, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre spoke from the lectern of the Sami Parliament. He therefore did not come up with any solution in the Fosen case, but expressed concern about the incitement against the Sami. Sámi Parliament President Silje Karine Muotka and Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre in the Sámi Parliament on 9 March. Photo: Inga Máret Solberg Åhrén / news The President of the Sami Parliament believes it is reasonable that the opportunity to speak applies both ways. – A Sámi Parliament president has never been allowed to speak in the Storting. Then I think it’s time for it now, says Muotka. The presidency of the Storting has decided that the President of the Sami Parliament will not be allowed to speak from the floor of the Storting in connection with the Fosen case, writes NTB. – It speaks for itself and fits in well with matters where those in power did not want to listen to the Sami voice in this matter, says Muotka. There are not many representatives outside the Storting who have had the opportunity to speak in the Storting hall. The only people who have done this are the former British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill, the Speaker of the Danish Parliament Mogens Lykketoft, the Swedish Riksdag’s spokesman Per Westerberg and most recently the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyj. No support from supporting parties – It is not like the government can think away from this high court judgement. It is resoundingly clear. Human rights violations are taking place at Fosen every single day, says Lars Haltbrekken, spokesman for energy policy in SV, to news. The government’s support party in the Storting is in no way impressed by Aasland’s explanation. They see no proposals for solutions in what was presented. – Absolutely not. And it is absolutely incredible that the government has not taken a step further and is unable to present a plan for how to end human rights abuses, says Haltbrekken. -If all the turbines are demolished, will it lead to a dramatic need for power? – We need renewable energy but we cannot violate human rights. The Conservative Party primarily believes that the government has spent far too long. – The consequences of the Fosen judgment not being followed up quickly enough were raised by the Conservative Party in an interpellation as early as January this year. It is now the government’s responsibility to find good solutions that safeguard the Sami’s right to cultural practice, says Høyres Bård Ludvig Thorheim. Demonstrations put the Fosen case on the agenda It was angry activists who occupied the government quarters on 23 February. It did not succeed until the Prime Minister admitted on 3 March that a human rights violation is taking place. The activists demand that the windmills at Fosen be demolished. It was in October 2021 that the Supreme Court ruled that the construction of the wind turbines at Fosen was a violation of human rights towards the reindeer herders in the area. When 500 days had passed, the demonstrations started. For nine days, the protesters blocked the entrance to one ministry after another. Ella Marie Hætta Isaksen and other protesters closed the entrance to the Ministry of Oil and Energy on 28 February. Photo: Dan Robert Larsen / news
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No demand from the Supreme Court to demolish the windmills – news Norway – Overview of news from various parts of the country
