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AUDIENCE: The Sami campaigners met in front of the Castle in twisted jackets ahead of their audience with the King. Photo: Gorm Kallestad / NTB Photo: Gorm Kallestad / NTB
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AUDIENCE: The Sami campaigners met in front of the Castle in twisted jackets ahead of their audience with the King. Photo: Gorm Kallestad / NTB
The campaigners put aside civil disobedience and get an audience with the King. Now they are begging for mercy.
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Representatives of the Fosen campaign had an audience with King Harald on Monday afternoon. Crown Prince Haakon was also present.
– It was a very strong moment for us, emotionally charged. We all moved to tears, says a choked-up Ella Marie Hætta Isaksen to VG after the audience.
– It was good to cry and feel that it was not a mistake. We are a group that has been through a lot.
The campaigners came to the Palace in twisted jackets, and just before the audience new ministers were presented to the Støre government.
On 11 October, it was two years since the Supreme Court found the concession for the wind industry facilities at Fosen to be invalid. The shareholders are protesting that the government has spent 730 days without reaching a solution in the matter.
– Even though we got 15 minutes with the king, it is a reminder to all fellow human beings that listening and showing understanding does so much. I think just the fifteen minutes will give us the strength to stay in this game until the end, says Hætta Isaksen and adds,
– We experienced not only being believed, but a human meeting with someone who really meets people with compassion and sympathy. It makes a world of difference in the face of this state which is so strong and arrogant and difficult to talk to.
– Must ask for help
Hætta Isaksen said ahead of the meeting that they are coming to the King to ask for mercy.
– With a cry of distress, we have written a letter because we no longer have confidence in the government. It hurts that they continue their work as if nothing has happened, she continues.
The letter to the King stated, among other things:
“For several generations we have asked the King for help. Although the position of the throne has changed over time, our people have now again found themselves in a situation where we have to adopt old traditions.
We have not forgotten your legacy to us, but your people have forgotten their responsibility. Your Majesty has power to remind them.”
– It will be a personal meeting where we simply have to ask for help. It is symbolic and difficult that there are so many new ministers joining a government that is responsible for human rights violations, Hætta Isaksen told VG ahead of the audience.
– We have strongly reminded them of the ongoing human rights violation, but they still choose to let even more time pass. So we will meet the king from person to person and ask him to help us, she said.
– Very personal
– It is a very personal letter that we have written together. It is written in Sami, which is our heart language, and then translated into Norwegian. It is important for us to bear witness to what we stand for, what struggle we have inherited.
She adds:
– His Majesty is the first to apologize for the state’s treatment of the Sami people. It is special for us to meet our king in such a context and see if that excuse is ready. We will see if he wants to remind the Sami people that he stands in solidarity with us, but also if he sees the need for the Norwegian people to be reminded of their responsibility, says the campaigner.
– Very heavy
On Saturday, the campaigners went in a demonstration train from Slottsplassen to Eidsvoll plass and earlier in the week they blocked eleven ministries. Several protesters were carried away by the police.
Greta Thunberg also joined the campaigners, and among other things was involved in the blockade of Statkraft’s premises at Lilleaker in Oslo.
Before this, the group campaigned in the Storting’s walking hall, before they were carried out by the police on Wednesday evening.
After it became known that the Fosen activists were to have an audience with the king, they decided that they were done with civil disobedience.
– This feels very heavy. Friday was a very hard day for a lot of people, myself included. As an action, we have done everything we can to be heard, but do not feel that the government understands our situation, for which they are responsible, says Hætta Eriksen.
Published:
Published: 16.10.23 at 12:07 p.m
Updated: 16.10.23 at 13:04
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2023-10-16 10:07:20
#Fosen #campaigners #audience #King #reduced #tears
