The Sami Parliament Attacks Åkesson – Plays the Racist Card

Recently, Sweden Democrat leader Jimmie Åkesson launched an attack on the so-called Girjas ruling, which he claims creates unequal access to state land on an ethno-nationalist basis and prefers the principle that nature should belong to everyone living in Sweden regardless of origin. Now, the chairperson of the Sami Parliament hits back, playing the racist card.

It was in an opinion piece that Åkesson described his view of the 2020 ruling, which states that the Girjas Sami village has the exclusive right to grant small game hunting and fishing permits within its territory, and that this right is based on ancient custom.

The Sweden Democrats leader sees Swedish nature as a common heritage and believes it has historically been characterized by openness, where people have been able to move freely and participate in hunting and fishing on equal terms, regardless of ethnicity. He writes that this has led to “ordinary Swedes – hunters, fishers, and outdoor enthusiasts – being shut out” and that some sort of division has arisen, where some are given priority over others. During the next parliamentary term, he intends to pursue the issue politically with the aim of overturning the ruling.

Åkesson is supported by Peter Eriksson, SD’s new spokesperson for rural affairs. He argues that the legal processes are not about an indigenous peoples’ ancient rights, but about money.

– A Sami village is an economic association. There, it is those who have the most reindeer who have the greatest influence. There are many Sami who have five, ten, or twenty reindeer. Then there are a few who have thousands. In Girjas, it is the Sami village that decides – so, of course, they want the best possible payment. I understand that they fight to get the exclusive rights to hunting and fishing. It is about money, he says to Fokus.

Like Trump

Åkesson’s, and the party’s, position and future political plans made Marianne Gråik, chair of the Sami Parliament board, angry.

– The Girjas ruling is based on customary law, on ancient custom. In fact, a court has decided this. What they [SD] are doing is diminishing the state’s own judicial system. They are basically dismantling their own courts with statements like this. Piece by piece, they are eroding democratic legitimacy. They want to disregard the history and the evidence that give rise to these rights. They want to continue making the Sami people and indigenous rights invisible. This is very dangerous. This is exactly what Trump does in the USA, she says.

Gråik believes that the Sweden Democrats’ stance is rooted in racism and claims the party “completely erases our history and our rights”. SD also allegedly does not want to “recognize our history, our culture, our language – not even the constitutional recognition of us as a people”.

Lawyer Peter Danowsky represented Girjas Sami village in the case against the state and is now preparing to assist four more Sami villages seeking the same special rights.