The Norwegian government has apologized to indigenous Sami groups for building wind turbines in a reindeer grazing area, after a week of intense protests that has led to a crisis in the executive. Oil and Energy Minister Terje Aasland took responsibility on behalf of the government, admitting that the permits to build wind farms in Fosen "constituted a violation of human rights."
Norway's supreme court ruled in 2021 that turbines erected at two wind farms in Fosen, central Norway, violated the rights of the Sami (formerly known as Lapps) under international conventions, but they remain in operation for nearly 17 months later.
This morning, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre had breakfast with some reindeer herders in his office, and again conveyed the government's apologies: "There is a constant violation of human rights," Støre said in response to questions from the press. "Reindeer owners cannot practice their culture according to traditions."
Sami protesters and activists have blocked the entrance to the Oil Ministry and other government buildings in Oslo for the past week, demanding the removal of the turbines and arguing that the transition to renewable energy should not come at the expense of indigenous rights. At the protest on Wednesday, Norwegian police detained activist Greta Thunberg.
Minister Terje Aasland maintained that the government had not ruled out any solution, but added that he still believed it would be possible to maintain both energy production and reindeer herding in Fosen. "I have said that my goal is to find solutions that allow Fosen wind power and reindeer herding to coexist, and that is a task that I still believe we can succeed in," he said.
According to local media, the president of the Sámi Parliament, Silje Karine Muotka, assured this morning, after breakfast with the prime minister, that the apology is crucial to move forward in the process. "It means that the government recognizes that a violation of human rights is taking place. They had not wanted to do it until now," she said.
Minutes after breakfast ended, the Fosen protesters have announced that they will end their actions in central Oslo on Friday. "Today, on the eighth day, we have decided that today is our last day of action. But that does not mean that we are satisfied with the work that the government has done so far," said activist Ella Marie Hætta Isaksen.
