Greta Thunberg with the Sami people against the wind that threatens the reindeer

Norwegian police intervened last night to remove a group of young Sami activists who have occupied the energy policy ministry in Oslo since last Thursday. Indigenous people protest against a wind farm in Fosen, northwest Norway, built on mountains used by indigenous Sami communities to graze reindeer. A long legal battle against the Norwegian state ended in 2021 and proved the Sami right, but the turbines still remain standing.

At around 2:30 tonight the police intervened to remove the 13 activists, but other Sami and supporters of the environmental movement gathered outside the building in support. Swedish environmentalist Greta Thunberg she also joined the protesters last night. Commenting on the eviction, Thunberg told NRK TV: “One might wonder who is committing the real crime. Norway’s culpability in relation to the climate crisis and human rights violations of the Sami cannot be underestimated.”

Among the best-known faces of the group of Sami youths who have occupied the ministry is the indigenous actress Ella Marie Hætta Isaksen, protagonist of the film “Let the river flow” which tells of a protest of the Sami against the Norwegian state in the 70s. She, the actress, posted many videos during the occupation, including the one of the police intervention in which she, together with other activists, was taken to the barracks for several hours, before being released. Sami protests in front of the ministry in Oslo continued this morning as well.