Greta Thunberg is now on the other side of the law again.
The popular Swedish climate activist was allegedly arrested yet again during a protest in front of several Norwegian government ministry buildings to demand the shutdown of a wind farm in indigenous lands.
German authorities arrested Thunberg in January during a protest against the demolition of the coal village of Luetzerath to mine more lignite more easily, per CNBC.
Greta Thunberg Norway Arrest Details
Thunberg and dozens of other activists protested two of the six wind farms located in the central region of Norway because they were established on land where the indigenous Sámi people herd reindeer in the winter, per a CNBC report.
The Swedish climate activist, along with other activists from the Nature and Youth and the Norwegian Samirs Riksforbund Nuorat, attemped to block the entrances to the Norwegian capital's energy and finance ministires as a form of protest on Feb. 27 and 28 but was arrested on Mar. 1, per Spanish publication Marca.
Video footage showed that Thunberg was being carried away from the entrance to the Ministry of Finance carrying a Sami flag but was set down on the ground nearby. However, she rejoined her companions at another entrance after being set down, prompting Norwegian authorities to remove her from the premises again.
In an interview with Reuters, Thunberg mentioned that indigenous rights and human rights must go hand-in-hand with climate protection and action, and that these can't happen at the expense of some people.
"[That] is not climate justice," Thunberg explained.
The Reason Behind Thunberg's Protest
The Norwegian government granted a permit for the wind project in the central region of the country to move forward in 2010, but the Sami contested it. They alleged that the wind farms would hinder their herding prectices and violate their rights under international law.
Sami herder Leif Arne Jama, one of the complainants in the lawsuit, told Earth Island Journal that reindeer are very shy and a bit wild. As such, they steer clear of the turbines because they are disturbed by their view and noise.
The wind turbines also present a danger hazard for humans and animals alike because their blades throw large chunks of icy snow into the distance as they turn.
However, the Norwegian govenment went ahead and established the two wind farms anyway. Fortunately, in 2021, Norway's Supreme Court unanimously voted that the wind farm violated the Sami people's rights.
Despite the ruling, the two wind farms, partially operated by a state-owned utility and partially operated by a Credit Suisse subsidiary, continued to operate them more than 16 months later, per Euro News.
"They've already waited more than 500 days, I think that's more than enough time," Greta argued.
However, it seems that Thunberg's protests didn't go unheeded. Terje Aasland, Norways's Minister of Energy and Petroleum, mentioned that the government understnads that the wind farms are a burden for the reindeer herders. He then promised that it would do what i could to contribute to resolving the issue and guarantee that the resolution would not take longer than necessary.
