100 Years Struggle for Saami Rights

National day of the Saami people is celebrated every 6. th of February since 1917 when the Saami people from all Nordic countries started borders crossing collaboration. Working together on saami-issues was decided in Trondheim in Norway in all Saami meeting. It is considered that Saami political consciousness starts from that meeting.

- I wish to congratulate all Saami comrades in this historical year 2018 and today when we all are celebrating the national day of the Saami people. People and workers who fight for universal Huma rights, workers’ rights, rights of the unemployed, rights for own culture, livelihoods and land rights will succeed in this demanding task only by acknowledging the political rights. Internationally indigenous rights are protected by the ILO 169 agreement. Saami people in the north of Europe in Finland lack the ILO 169 protection even of the fact that just this year we celebrate the 100 years of political resistance of the Saami people. Finnish bourgeoise has totally other plans than the Human rights. Big business-like mining and the markets are more important for the political elite. International capital wins every and each time when a minority is silenced and made feel powerless.   I congratulate Saami comrades for new, intelligent and loud visibility in the Finnish media. You have been able to correct the ignorance of the mainstream population and the one-eyed perspectives of the marked oriented popular culture in various aspects on the Saami-culture. I congratulate Saami comrades for loud and talented artists that have had the courage to fight against the brutal actors of the big capital. Saami people have hope and future because there is resistance and new vise activists and actors. We communist and the European Left* express our solidarity and we support the just fight of the Saami people, says JP (Juha-Pekka) Väisänen chairman of the Communist Party of Finland and member of the European Left Executive Board

*European Left Congress approved the Communist Party of Finland (SKP) motion on Indigenous rights.

The ILO 169 convention is the most important operative international law guaranteeing the rights of the indigenous peoples.

- I consider it very important that a European political subject and a all European party with its 40 different left, red-green and communist member parties stands now on the side of the indigenous people and the Saami from the North Europe. By approving the SKP motion EL demands the ratification of the ILO 169 convention, says chairman of the Communist Party of Finland and the initiator of the motion JP (Juha-Pekka) Väisänen