Greta Thunberg removed from Oslo protest against wind farms
Copenhagen, Mar 1 (EFE).- World-famous climate activist Greta Thunberg was among a group of protesters removed by police in Oslo Wednesday amid a demonstration against wind farms built on indigenous Sámi lands in central Norway.
The campaigners had been blocking the entrance to the petroleum and energy ministry for days, but on Wednesday extended the protest to three more government buildings prompting authorities to order their eviction.
Thunberg and around a dozen other environmental activists were forcibly removed from the entrance to Norway’s finance ministry.
They shouted “let the mountains live” before leaving the area in an operation that was broadcast live on the website of the Dagbladet newspaper.
The activists are calling on the government to implement an October 2021 Supreme Court ruling which stated that the construction of wind farms in Fosen, in central Norway, violated the rights of the Sámi people who have been using the land to herd reindeer for centuries.
However, two wind farms built in Storheia and Roan, with a total of 151 generators, remain operational.
The Norwegian government has said that the ruling by the Supreme Court did not specify what measures should be taken next.
It has said it is seeking to negotiate a solution between all parties.
Activists refused to meet with oil and energy minister, Terje Aasland, on Tuesday evening and demanded a meeting with the prime minister, Jonas Gahr Støre.
“We do not accept any more empty words,” a statement from the Norgga Sámiid Riikasearvi Sámi association said.
“We have two demands: the wind turbines must be removed and the grazing lands must be returned,” the statement added.
Activists said that the government had had 505 days to comply with the Supreme Court ruling and that it was the PM’s responsibility to now solve the problem.
As a result of the ongoing protests in Oslo, Aasland has called off a trip to the United Kingdom on Wednesday and “has chosen to reprioritize his calendar,” his office said in a statement. EFE
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