Greta Thunberg was arrested this Wednesday by the Norwegian police when she was participating, along with other activists, in a protest against wind turbines on reindeer herding lands.
The protesters blocked the entrance to the Norwegian Ministry of Finance in Oslo and were detained by the authorities.
The turbines are still in operation, despite a landmark ruling more than a year ago by the Norwegian Supreme Court that the project violated the right of the Sami families, an indigenous people of the Arctic, to practice their herding culture of reindeer.
The protest began last Thursday when Sámi activists, dressed in their traditional blue and red attire, occupied the entrance hall of the Norwegian Ministry of Energy. The number of protesters who began blocking access to other ministries increased during this week.
“This fight is important because it is a violation of human rights,” Greta Thunberg told TV2, in statements quoted by the AFP agency.
The Sami, an indigenous minority of about 100,000 people spread across northern Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia, traditionally live by fishing and reindeer herding. The Norwegian Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the expropriation and operating permits for the construction of the 151 turbines were invalid. However, it did not give any guidance on what should be done with the turbines that were already in operation.
This is the second time that Greta Thunberg has been arrested at a protest. The environmental activist had already been arrested in January by the German police.
Source: TSF
