Busloads of demonstrators from the north set off to protest against the Sami District Act.
The Sami people, who consider themselves an oppressed internal minority of the Sami, are organizing a demonstration at the Parliament building on 8 February at 10:00 am. The demonstration is against the proposal for a new Sami district law.
The primary question is whether the Sami will not be admitted to the electoral rolls of the assemblies if the new Sami assembly law proposal under consideration by Parliament is approved.
According to the demonstrators, the traditional livelihood and culture of the minority Sami groups are also under threat.
– The plan is above all discriminatory and in many ways contrary to the constitution and human rights treaties ratified by Finland. The demand is to change the proposal to take all Samis into account equally or reject it completely, the press release of the protesters demands.
According to the organizers of the demonstration, a 55-seater bus will leave for Helsinki from the north. The organizers said that all the seats in the bus have been booked.
The Sami Parliament has approved the proposal
The Sami Assembly, the self-governing body of the Sami people, has approved a proposal for a new Sami Assembly Act.
President of the Sami Councils Tuomas Aslak Juuso Sami did not worry that the Parliamentary Act would become unequal.
– It is the right of the Sami people to define the appropriate criteria for the Sami district court case. He commented to Yle last summer that a full assembly of the Sami people and the Sami councils should make the decision, which would be a suitable and culturally appropriate way for the people to develop the criteria for the electoral list.
A few thousand in the interim
Secretary of the Parliament of Lapland Timo Heleniva It estimates that a few thousand Sami are in intermediate status, meaning that they are not eligible for Sami meetings.
– The assessment is based on the fact that there will be at most 15,000 Sami people in Finland, he reasons.
According to the demonstrators, the government's presentation has been silent on several key Sami-related issues.
– Motion to support minority rule misleads Parliament. The press release stated that the purpose of the statement was to raise these painful questions.
Removing people from the electoral roll is considered discriminatory
One of the practical consequences of this dispute was the decision by the Sami Parliamentary Election Board to remove 86 people from the voting rights list for the Sami parliamentary elections.
Vice President of Inarinsáamelaiset Rai Jarmo Katajama He says the decision is considered discriminatory.
– Yes, a Sami knows a Sami. “We have identified those delisted as Sami from Inarinsamelaiset,” says Katajama.
The Election Commission has justified its decision Among other things, it sought to secure the electoral roll's compliance with international human rights treaties.
Almost a hundred amendment requests have been made in the voter list of the last election.
The demonstration is organized by the Cooperation Organization of the Original Sami People of Finland. i.e. Labinkyles Parliament, Vuvde-, Kvolastedji- and Duotarsami RS, i.e. Forest, Fishermen and Hill Sami Association and Inarinma Lapingileihdistis ry.
