– We do not rule out any solutions to this. That’s what Jonas Gahr Støre says after meeting several of the campaigners in Trefoldighetskirken in Oslo on Thursday evening. Støre says that they have had a good, personal and honest conversation. Støre meets the press after a meeting with the activists. Photo: Emrah Senel / news Elle Nystad is project manager for the Fosen demonstration and says that they expect the prime minister to take their demands seriously. – Our demands for the final decision are still that the wind turbines on Fosen be demolished and that the land be returned to the Fosen Sámi. This is an ongoing human rights violation. The wind turbines should never have been installed, says Nystad. The activists will continue their demonstrations tomorrow. The government apologizes Oil and Energy Minister Terje Aasland (Ap) opened Thursday’s press conference by focusing on the reindeer herders at Fosen. – They have been in a demanding and unclear situation for a long time. I’m sorry for that. Aasland and Sami parliament president Silje Karine Muotka met on Thursday afternoon to discuss the Fosen case. The meeting was supposed to have finished by 4 p.m., but it wasn’t until half an hour later that they were ready to meet the press. Aasland complained that the licensing decisions entail a violation of human rights. The president of the Sámi Parliament says that the apology is decisive. – It has been a wish on my part that official Norway apologizes for the human rights violation, and that has happened. I believe that is crucial for us to be able to move forward. Muotka says that they have a common understanding that the case requires political will and that they have to go through the legal parts. Sámi Parliament President Silje Karine Muotka. Photo: Javad Parsa / NTB Is the requirement still that all the turbines must be cleared? – There is a reason why we have this Supreme Court judgment, and that the case is as serious as it is. It is because reindeer husbandry and wind power at Fosen cannot coexist in the form we have now. First meeting Today’s consultation between the Sami Parliament and the Ministry of Oil and Energy is the first after the Fosen judgment was handed down. In the past there have been consultations with reindeer owners. The Sámi Parliament was an observer there. Oil and Energy Minister Terje Aasland and Agriculture and Food Minister Sandra Borch meet Sámi Parliament President Silje Karine Muotka at the Oil and Energy Ministry. Photo: Rodrigo Freitas / NTB Agriculture and Food Minister Sandra Borch (Sp) also attended Thursday’s meeting with representatives from the Sami Parliament. – As minister for reindeer husbandry, I am concerned with the situation for reindeer husbandry in Fosen, said Borch. She says that they take criticism that the process after the verdict has not been good enough. It has taken far too long. – It is obvious that the Supreme Court judgment says that human rights have been violated. There must also be consequences. And the government will follow up on this as quickly as possible. The demonstrators follow the press conference which is now underway. Photo: Emrah Senel / news – A step in the right direction On Thursday afternoon, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre (Ap) also writes that the government today apologizes to the reindeer herders at Fosen. – They have experienced a great burden due to the licensing decisions from 2013. The Supreme Court states that the decisions involve a violation of human rights, because they will have a significant negative effect on the opportunity for reindeer herders in Fosen to exercise their culture. He assures that the government takes the Supreme Court’s judgment seriously. – It is crucial for us to find a solution that safeguards the rights of the reindeer herders on Fosen in the future, writes Støre. The shareholders followed closely the press conference and Ella Marie Hætta Isaksen calls the apology a step in the right direction. – But we register that Støre still does not want to apologize for an ongoing human rights violation. – It took a long time before the apology came. Terje Haugen, who is the head of the Fosen reindeer herding district, appreciates the apology that came today. – At the same time, I think it is something special that it took so long, and that Oslo’s streets almost had to be filled to the brim with people for them to come forward with an apology. Terje Haugen, who is head of the Fosen reindeer herding district, appreciates the apology that came today. Photo: ISMAIL BURAK AKKAN / news – It was a long time ago, says leader of Sør-Fosen Sitje, Leif Arne Jåma. The Fosen reindeer herding district consists of Nord-Fosen Siida and Sør-Fosen Sijte. Støre had tried to call Jåma personally, but instead the apology was received on message. Leif Arne Jåma at Storheia, Åfjord Photo: Ingrid Lindgaard Stranden / news The reindeer herders are now invited to breakfast at the Prime Minister’s office on Friday morning. – I let this sink in. There has been a lot of impression, says Jåma. Joint solutions The Minister of Oil and Energy says that he has informed the reindeer herding Sami at Fosen that he, Sandra Borch and the Prime Minister will work together with reindeer herding and the Sami Parliament to find solutions that can be implemented already in the short term. – We have a common goal that during March we must start with the acquisition of knowledge. Where we must also have good, strong professional expertise, including expertise in reindeer husbandry, says Aasland, who wants to take the initiative to have more frequent conversations. The Supreme Court has ruled that the wind turbines at Fosen violate the Sami’s indigenous rights. It was in October 2021 that it delivered its verdict. Get an introduction to the Fosen case here.
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Terje Aasland apologizes to the Fosen Sami – news Norway – Overview of news from various parts of the country
