#Fosen

[saamiriikka]

October 11, 2023 : gather at Mihkkal Hætta’s lavvu outside Norwegian parliament to protest the Fosen human rights violations in Norway.

[knopperbrister]

It has been more than 500 days since the Norwegian Supreme Court declared the wind turbines on Fosen illegal and in violation of Sami rights. Yet they're still there, and the minister for oil and energy says they "need time to assess what should be done".

Yet when someone called a painting colonialist last week, there was a whole outrage, because "compared to other European countries Norway does not have a history of colonialism".

We need a hard reset of our self-conception.

And the wind turbines need to go.

Baajh vaeride årrodh.

[prisonhannibal]

lite overraskende men jeg hater dette

[moodboardmix]

Pavilion Brekstad, Fosen, Norway,

Fosen is a beautiful peninsula with a remarkable landscape meeting the Norwegian Sea in the west and the Trondheimsfjord in the east. The pavilion's program is dynamic and is designed to be used for private and social events, lectures, and customer visits associated with the farm nearby. The plan is open and flexible so it refurnishing easily can adjust to different occasions.

ASAS arkitektur

[oodlenoodleroodle]

The norwegian government should pay every single krone that the Fosen windmills have generated in electricity sales to the Sami in the area of Fosen.

I want to specify: not just the profits, but every last single krone. None of the money generated by the windmills should go to the operation costs, but the government needs to pay the operation costs themselves.

This should continue as long as the government knocks the windmills down as they should have done over 500 days ago when the courts ruled that the windmills are illegal.

It's a ridiculous idea that Norway can continue making money with windmills that are criminal. Like you cannot keep money you have acquired from crimes, that is a basic part of the justice system.

[aintquiteright]

End of the World by sunvemetal

[echoingvoice]

am i the only one who ships foster and jensen? yeah? just me? okay...

[thesinglesock]

Concert and Fundraiser in support of the Fosen Activists

the Indeginous music festival Riddu Riđđu is hosting a concert featuring several Sámi bands and musicians tonight (3. march 2023) at 7pm CET. Admission is free and the concert will be available to stream online.

Anyone attending is encouraged to donate to Natur og Ungdom's fund for the Fosen-protestors, which will cover their legal fees, travel expenses, food, equipment, etc.

Support the fundraiser here

Watch the online concert here

[city-flag-tournament]

✯ Round 2 ✯ Match 53 ✯

The current flag of Iola, Kansas, United States

Propaganda:

None

vs.

The current flag of Hitra, Fosen, Norway

Propaganda:

None

Tournament Policies: ✯ Choose the flag that's more meaningful to you! ✯ Be respectful of place names and cultural symbols in your commentary! ✯ If you want to submit propaganda, you may do so at the submission form linked in the pinned post. It will only be included if it is submitted before the next post with that flag is drafted and will be included in all subsequent posts the flag is featured in.

[zvaigzdelasas]

On October 11, 2021, Norway's Supreme Court found that two wind farms in the Fosen region of western Norway -- on land used by Sami reindeer herders -- violated the rights of the indigenous people to practise their culture of reindeer husbandry.

Two years later, the 151 turbines are still operating.

In its ruling, the court found that the expropriation and operating permits for the construction of the turbines were invalid. However, it gave no guidance on what should be done with the turbines, which were already in operation.[...]

On Wednesday, hundreds of activists, some dressed in traditional Sami clothing, blocked the main Oslo thoroughfare where they erected a laavu, a Sami tent.[...]

Some 20 others also made their way into the nearby parliament building and occupied a hall, where they sang traditional Sami chants called "joik".

11 Oct 23

[beardedmrbean]

The wind farm fought against by Greta Thunberg will keep operating with compensation paid to Sami reindeer herders.

Norway on Wednesday reached an agreement with the Sami people, ending a nearly three-year dispute over Europe’s largest onshore wind farm and the Indigenous right to raise reindeer.

Under the agreement, the partially state-owned farm's 151 turbines stay in operation. Energy Minister Terje Aasland said the deal includes "a future-oriented solution that safeguards the reindeer farming rights."

The agreement also has compensation for the Sami - including a share of energy produced - along with a new area for winter grazing and a grant of 5 million kroner (€439,000) for strengthening Sami culture.

'The violation of human rights has been brought to an end'

The speaker of the 39-seat Sami Parliament, Silje Karine Mutoka, said "there is reason to believe that the violation of human rights has been brought to an end, and that the agreement lays a foundation for the violation of human rights to be repaired."

Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said "the state must learn from this case and ensure that violations do not happen again. It’s about better dialogue."

The UN is investigating the environmental impact of the war in Gaza. Here’s what it says so far

Austria, Denmark, Lithuania: Which EU countries have committed to decarbonise power by 2035?

In October 2021, the Supreme Court ruled that the turbines' construction violated the rights of the Sami, who have used the land for reindeer for centuries.

Since the ruling, Sami activists have demonstrated repeatedly against the wind farm’s continued operation and said a transition to green energy shouldn’t come at the expense of the rights of Indigenous people.

Greta Thunberg joined protests against the wind turbines

The protests drew support from Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, who was carried away during a demonstration outside the Norwegian Ministry of Finance, in Oslo, on 1 March 2023. 

In June, Sami activists protested outside Gahr Støre’s office. They occupied the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy for four days in February and later blocked the entrances to 10 ministries.

Further protests in October saw activists wearing traditional Sami outfits sit outside the entrance of Statkraft, a state-owned company that operates 80 of the wind turbines.

The farm is located in central Norway’s Fosen district about 450 kilometres north of the capital, Oslo.

[saamiriikka]

[weepingfireflies]

News Articles/Sources:

Date: October 11th, 2023

Date: September 11th, 2023

Fosen update 12th of October 2023

Yesterday was the 11th of october, which means it’s been two years since the supreme court ruled the wind power plants at Fosen illegal and a violation of indigenous human rights. The local sámi reindeer herder families sued the state and WON in the supreme court, and despite this, the wind turbines are still up and the government is making no effort to change the situation even though they apologized and called it an ongoing human rights violation back in march after the first round of demonstrations. We live in a country where the state and state owned power companies can continue to violate sámi rights even after losing in the supreme court. 11th of october also exactly one month after the 700th day since the ruling, which was election day, and the day a sámi activist and artist moved into a lávvu in front of parliament where he still lives now. Because of threats, harassment, and vandalism, the lávvu has needed to be guarded 24/7 by other activists.

Yesterday, the main street in Oslo (which runs next to the parliament and continues up to the royal castle) was filled with lávvus while the surrounding traffic was blocked by people sitting down in the round. The lávvus were moved to the park in front of the parliament later that night, joining the first lávvu, pretty much filling up the whole lawn and some on the sidewalk. A group of activists entered the parliament, and yoiked (traditional form of singing/chanting) they sat in the main hall for hours until they were carried out by police while people were yelling ČSV and yoiking outside.

more than 40 years ago, sámi activists went on a hunger strike in a lávvu on that same grass to protest the building of the Alta hydroelectric power station (look up Alta conflict). They are still doing this to us, and they’ll continue unless we fight it and hold the state responsible for the harm it has done and continues to do to indigenous people of sápmi.

Today, all the entrances of the headquarters of the fully state owned company Statkraft have been blocked. Statkraft makes money off this ILLEGAL power plant. Statkraft operates the Alta hydroelectric power station, and the Pilmaiquén hydroelectric plant in Chile that the indigenous mapuche people have been fighting against. They have shown us so much solidarity and support in the fight against this company and Norway’s green colonialism, both in Sápmi and in Chile.

The lávvus in front of the parliament are still up, people are sleeping there and plan to stay.

thank you for listening to us, ollu giitu.

Baajh vaeride årrodh! ČSV ❤️💚💛💙✊🏼

[baeddel]

Statement Issued by the Plenary Meeting of the Saami Council in Arjeplog, October 14, 2023.

It has been over two years since the Supreme Court of Norway concluded in a grand chamber that the wind power plants on Storheia and Roan violate the human rights of the Fosen Sámi according to article 27 of the UN Convention on Civil and Political Rights. Our land and sea areas are the foundation of Sámi culture. Intrusions in the natural basis for Sámis will therefore threaten the survival of Sámi culture.

On October 11 2023, human rights activists have once again gathered in the streets of Oslo, where they have conducted several actions against the Norwegian state and the state-owned energy company Statkraft in protest of the ongoing human rights violation in Fosen. The actions have led to the Norwegian government acknowledging that the human rights violation is ongoing and has apologized for it. However, neither the government nor the wind industry itself has halted the human rights violation.

The Saami Council supports our youth's actions and everyone who has joined them to defend the human rights of the Sámi in Fovsen-Njaarke. We demand that the Norwegian government respects the Supreme Court's decision and the rule of law, and that the government takes immediate steps to halt the human rights violation.

[oodlenoodleroodle]

Allekirjoittakaa jos olette yli 18 v, kiitos. Jätä puh.nro pois jos et halua soittoja Amnestyn feissareilta.

[warningsine]

In October 11 2021, the Supreme Court of Norway ruled that Norway violated the rights of the Sámi people by permitting the construction of wind farms in Fovsen Njaarke, the Storheia wind farm and the Roan wind farm.

At the time of the ruling, the wind turbines had already been put into operation. The Norwegian government had previously granted the licence and the operators had built the wind power plant, although the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination had urged them to stop construction in 2018 and the Saami council had warned that the of the power plant would have detrimental effects on the Sami reindeer herding communities. The reindeer herders argued the sight and sound of wind turbines frighten animals grazing nearby and thus jeopardise age-old traditions, and that land should not be expropriated for such projects.

In the unanimous decision, the court argued that making it impossible or extremely difficult for the Sámi to live their traditional life as reindeer herders is a violation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Article 27 of which stipulates comprehensive protection of the culture of ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities. The violation could also not be justified with reference to the green energy transition: Wind turbines should be built where they do not violate the rights of indigenous peoples. Thus, the license decisions were found to be invalid. The court did not say what should happen next to the farms and the owners are still operating them.

Sámi activists and climate activists continue to protest against the wind turbines. In February 2023, they blocked the entrances to Norway's energy ministry and in May 2023, 600 days after the courts decision, activists held protests in Oslo.

Roan Vind stated that they trusted that the ministry will find good solutions allowing them to continue the production of renewable energy while maintaining the rights of the reindeer owners. Fosen Vind stated that "the ministry is working on which precautionary measures are needed to sustain reindeer herding and its cultural practice."

We invited the owners of the wind farms to respond to an article reporting on the protests. Aneo, BKW, Energy Infrastructure Partners, Stadtwerke München and Statkraft responded.