Loga ášši sámegillii. On Monday, the Fosen activists had an audience with the king. She says that the king and crown prince showed understanding for the situation. – We could show emotions and we felt that we were seen. Last week, the Fosen campaigners sent an inquiry to the royal house. The campaigners met the king and crown prince at 12.15 p.m. – Very special Before the meeting, news spoke to Jåma, who was soon to visit the king and crown prince. – I think it’s very nice that we get to see the king in such a short time. It means that he also believes that it is an important matter. Just before the weekend, the leadership group in the Fosen actions sat outside the castle. They were allowed in on Monday. Photo: Dan Robert Larsen / news She is the third in her family to have requested an audience with the king. – It is very special for me to be here today, she said. – What do you want to talk to the king and crown prince about? – I think it is important to bring out the human perspective in this. It is a great mental burden for those who fight this battle every day. This is what the campaigners said before the meeting with the king: Audiens means “opportunity to be heard”. The king receives people in audience so that they will have the opportunity to explain a case or an organisation. Those who have an audience on Monday are: Elle Nystad, leader of NSR-Nuorat Elle Rávdná Näkkäläjärvi Ella Marie Hætta Isaksen Petra Laiti, leader of Suoma Sámi Nuorat Nella-Stina Wilks Fjällgren Ingke Jåma Mihkkal Hætta Demonstrations On 11 October 2023 it was two years since the Supreme Court decided that the permits for the wind power plants at Fosen are invalid. Going to the king to ask for help On Friday 13 October, Fosen shareholders are asking for an audience with HM King Harald. They refer to an old Sami tradition of going to the king for help as a last resort and when all other possibilities have been tried. The same day they receive an answer from the royal house. The shareholders will have an audience with the king. HM King Harald and Crown Prince Haakon will welcome the shareholders on Monday 16 October at 12.15 at the Castle. The protesters ended their civil disobedience actions on Friday. On Saturday, more than a thousand people went on a demonstration train to show support for the Fosen case. But does going to the King help? What can the King do? – Swipe on Rodrigo Freitas / NTB An old tradition – Now we see ourselves having to return to an ancient Sami tradition of going to the King, Ella Marie Hætta Isaksen spoke during the actions on Friday outside the castle. To ask the King about help has a long tradition, not only among the Sami. Already from the 16th century, people sent and delivered petitions or letters of complaint to the king. Audience means “opportunity to be heard”. The King receives people in audience so that they will have the opportunity to give an account of a case or an organisation. See which Sámi have asked for the king’s help. Alta campaigners also went to the king During the Alta campaign in 1981, over 40 years ago, Sami campaigners received an audience with the king. In January 1981, two of the Sami hunger strikers asked to meet the king to present the action group’s view on the development of the Alta-Kautokeino watercourse. A few hours after the inquiry to the royal house, Mikkel Eira and Nils Gaup received a reply, King Olav wanted to receive the campaigners at the castle the very next day. – King Olav is also the king of the Sami, Mikkel Eira said right after the audience to NTB. – We Sami have a good friend at the castle. This came out strongly during the conversation. I got the clear impression that he has a deep understanding of our problems and that he had familiarized himself with the problem, said Eira. . The king and the Sami The king and the royal family have a special place for many Sami, also in the recognition of the Sami and the Sami Parliament. King Olav opened the first Sámi Parliament in 1989. The king’s action helped to recognize the Sámi Parliament as a popularly elected body in Norway. Every four years, the king opens the newly elected Sámi Parliament, just as naturally as he opens the Storting. At the opening of the Sámi Parliament in 1997, King Harald lamented the Norwegianization policy of earlier times on behalf of the Norwegian authorities: “The Norwegian state is founded on the territory of two peoples – Norwegians and Sámi. Sami history is closely intertwined with Norwegian history. Today we must regret the injustice the Norwegian state has previously inflicted on the Sami people, through a harsh policy of Norwegianization.”Sami in royal audience – some examples1904: Elsa Laula in audience with King Oscar II. She brought up the reindeer herding Sami’s loss of grazing land and pointed to a reindeer herding Sami who had lost a compensation case in all courts. 1906: The Sør Sami Ole Thomassen and Martin Jonassen brought a letter to the royal couple about “the desperately difficult conditions under which the Lapps for the time carry out their age-old business in Norway”. The letter was signed by several hundred Sami. 1908: Southern Sami reindeer herder Daniel Mortenson in audience with King Haakon. He asked that the Sámi must be heard before a new reindeer husbandry law was adopted, and that the Sámi must be represented in a law-preparatory committee. 1996: Peder Pedersen (Mikkel-Petter) asked the king for help to save the Lule Sami village of Musken in Tysfjord from eviction. The king’s formal role The king cannot be held responsible in political matters, but through his formal role can ask questions and request information in important matters. Every Friday, the King and the government meet in the King’s Council of State, which is the highest administrative body in Norway. Here the government presents the most important matters for decision in the form of a royal resolution. When a case is dealt with by the King in Council, it means that the entire government stands behind the decision. The King in Council decides particularly important matters for the country, such as new bills, submission of parliamentary notices, administrative complaints, appointments to government offices, etc. The government has the real responsibility for the decisions . Through the King in Cabinet, the King gains insight into the most important matters for the government and the country, and has the opportunity to ask questions. In the last week, Sami organisations, conservationists and individuals have taken part in demonstrations in Oslo. Among other things, 20 demonstrators sat down in the walking hall at the Storting and chanted in protest. Karl Johans gate outside the Storting has also been blocked by the protesters. The aim has been to draw attention to the fact that the wind turbines at Fosen are still in full operation. This is what it looked like in Karl Johans gate last week. Photo: Dragan Cubrilo / news – Important historical signal On Friday, the campaigners ended their civil disobedience and dropped their chains. – Now we see ourselves having to return to an ancient Sami tradition of going to the king, said Ella Marie Hætta Isaksen during the actions on Friday outside the castle. Historian Harald Lindbach at the State Archives in Tromsø confirms that it has been a Sami tradition to go to the king. – This goes back a long way. It was not unusual in the 17th and 18th centuries for individuals to make contact. Otherwise, it could be in connection with questions about rights to land, says Lindbach to news. He believes that it is more difficult to get through to the king now, but that the symbolic importance of the Fosen campaigners can be great. – The chance of getting through with such an inquiry was much greater in the period when the king was absolute and actually decided. But the way Norwegian democracy works today, the king does not have much leeway. It is also an important historical signal that is being given, says Lindbach.
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The Fosen campaigners met the king and the crown prince – news Trøndelag – Local news, TV and radio
