Police in Norway remove wind farm protestors from outside gov't buildings

By Alexandra Enberg

IZMIR, Türkiye (AA) — Norwegian police on Wednesday removed demonstrators blocking the entrance to government buildings, where they were protesting wind farms critics say violate the rights of local Indigenous reindeer herders.

Twenty-year-old Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg was among the protestors carried off by authorities from outside the Energy Ministry, with a flag of the Indigenous Sami people in hand.

Dozens of activists — including members of the Sami community — had been demonstrating for days against wind turbines built on land used by the minority group in the central Fosen region.

Despite a 2021 ruling by the Norwegian Supreme Court that found the wind farms in violation of Indigenous rights under international law, the turbines are still active.

Neither the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries, nor the Ministry of Climate and Environment have commented on the matter, according to local broadcaster NRK.

However, Petroleum and Energy Minister Terje Aasland has said that the government's policy on the wind farms was in line with the court's decision which stopped short of the turbines' dismantlement and said a new ruling would be required to issue such an order.

Aasland on Wednesday canceled a visit to the UK over the protests, opting instead to "reprioritize his calendar" to deal with the demonstrations, according to a statement from the ministry.