Current:Home > InvestSami rights activists in Norway charged over protests against wind farm affecting reindeer herding-LoTradeCoin
Sami rights activists in Norway charged over protests against wind farm affecting reindeer herding
View Date:2024-12-24 00:34:04
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Some 20 activists have been charged after they blocked several entrances to Norwegian government offices over a wind farm that they say hinders the rights of the Sami Indigenous people to raise reindeer, their lawyer said Friday.
The exact charge was not known. The VG newspaper said they were charged because they did not accept the fines they had been given after having been forcefully removed by police. They face trial in March in Oslo.
At the center of the dispute are the 151 turbines of Europe’s largest onshore wind farm, which is located in central Norway’s Fosen district, about 450 kilometers (280 miles) north of the capital, Oslo.
The activists say a transition to green energy shouldn’t come at the expense of the rights of Indigenous people.
They have demonstrated repeatedly against the wind farm’s continued operation since the Supreme Court of Norway ruled in October 2021 that the construction of the turbines had violated the rights of the Sami, who have used the land for reindeer for centuries.
“Punishing the Sami youth and their supporters will be yet another violation of their human rights — violation of their freedom of speech and demonstration,” lawyer Olaf Halvorsen Rønning said.
Ella Marie Hætta Isaksen, one of the activists, said “it is the state that is responsible for the situation at Fosen, while the Fosen actions, by all accounts, have only contributed to solving it.”
In October, activists — many dressed in traditional Sami garments — blocked the entrance to one of the main operators of a wind farm to prevent employees from entering.
In June, they protested outside Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre’s office, and they occupied the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy for four days in February, and later blocked the entrances to 10 ministries.
Sami, who mostly live in the Arctic, came from neighboring Sweden and Finland to join the protest. Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg was among the protesters. It was unclear whether she was among those charged.
Gahr Støre has acknowledged “ongoing human rights violations” and the government has repeatedly apologized for failing to act despite the Supreme Court ruling. Energy Minister Terje Aasland has said that the demolition of all wind turbines at Fosen — as the protesters demand — is not being considered.
veryGood! (1)
Related
- Contained, extinguished and mopping up: Here’s what some common wildfire terms mean
- Former Spain soccer president Luis Rubiales facing trial for unwanted kiss at Women's World Cup
- Alexis Bellino Returning to Real Housewives of Orange County Amid John Janssen Romance
- China confirms the 2022 conviction of a British businessperson on espionage charges
- Larry Hobbs, who guided AP’s coverage of Florida news for decades, has died at 83
- Southern Indiana man gets 55 years in woman’s decapitation slaying
- Teen Mom’s Kailyn Lowry Shares Her Twins Spent Weeks in NICU After Premature Birth
- Morgan Wallen's version: Country artist hits back against rumored release of 2014 album
- Jennifer Lopez Gets Loud in Her First Onstage Appearance Amid Ben Affleck Divorce
- Italy’s leader denounces antisemitism; pro-Palestinian rally is moved from Holocaust Remembrance Day
Ranking
- ONA Community Introduce
- Johnson says House will hold Mayorkas impeachment vote as soon as possible
- Teen Mom’s Kailyn Lowry Shares Her Twins Spent Weeks in NICU After Premature Birth
- Travis Kelce’s Dad Ed Admits He Didn’t Know Taylor Swift’s Name at Beginning of Their Romance
- Flurry of contract deals come as railroads, unions see Trump’s election looming over talks
- Kenya’s high court rules that deploying nation’s police officers to Haiti is unconstitutional
- ‘In the Summers’ and ‘Porcelain War’ win top prizes at Sundance Film Festival
- King Charles III Visits Kate Middleton as He Undergoes Procedure at Same Hospital
Recommendation
-
Powell says Fed will likely cut rates cautiously given persistent inflation pressures
-
Judge green-lights narrowing of main road through Atlantic City despite opposition from casinos
-
Prominent Kentucky lawmaker files bill to put school choice on the statewide ballot in November
-
Former Los Angeles council member sentenced to 13 years in prison for pay-to-play corruption scandal
-
Lions QB Jared Goff, despite 5 interceptions, dared to become cold-blooded
-
NJ Transit scraps plan for gas-fired backup power plant, heartening environmental justice advocates
-
Mail freeze: Latest frigid weather is adding to the postal service's delivery woes
-
Guantanamo panel recommends 23-year sentences for 2 in connection with 2002 Bali attacks