First, we would like to congratulate the national meeting which will be held this weekend.
The situation and the mess that has developed recently has been very unfortunate for all wind power opposition in Norway. This has taken an unnecessary amount of focus away from important matters and current processes at a time when this has been very harmful.
For the Norwegian Environmental Protection Association (NMF), it is quite clear that a hired general secretary should not be able to overthrow the current board, legally elected at Sistranda, Frøya on 16 November. 2019.
It is completely normal for organizations to have birth difficulties, especially when you experience such momentum and growth at the same time as you have to deal with an enormous area of issues. None of this is abnormal or unexpected.
I previously wrote a letter of concern to Rune Haaland, whom I historically know as a wind power supporter and techno-fixated person with deep roots in the Bellona model, which we often found on the opposite side in important environmental matters where big money was involved. Hence our earlier concerns. I also got the sting of this when I had a meeting with Hogne Hongset and Rune Haaland in Oslo on 18/6 earlier this year. At this meeting, it was announced from Rune Haaland that NMF should take care of ongoing actions on Haramsøya, while Motvind should take care of the legal matters. At the same time, communication was also agreed between the organizations so that misunderstandings were to be avoided.
Ink in Agreement was barely dry before Rune Haaland grinned at me on TV as he was being carried away by the police on Haramsøya. This had not been notified and at the same time ruined other actions. Therefore, we have no further cooperation with Rune Haaland. In this game, Jan Helge Vassbø was particularly active as a negotiator and intermediary for, and in collaboration with, Rune Haaland.
Otherwise, it has been my intention since the foundation of Motvind Norge to have a joint strategy meeting here at the environmental hotel Seletun in Bergen. This is in order for the organizations to get to know each other better and to avoid duplication of work on a matter we have worked actively on for more than 20 years. We have a breadth of environmental matters and over 37 years of professional weight and experience in case management and activism. The invitation was repeatedly conveyed to Motvind via Rune Haaland, who was always positive that we had to hold such a meeting. The feedback has always been that there were several members of the board who were negative about such a meeting, so it was never carried out. Now in retrospect, when I have spoken to several of the board members of Motvind Norge, they have not heard anything about this and they have been completely unaware of the invitation.
The Norwegian Environmental Protection Association hopes that the national meeting can clear up what has been and build a good and effective organization for the work going forward. Although we are different organisations, we have the same goal. We at NMF wish the national meeting every success and look forward to good cooperation with Motvind Norge in the future. The fight against wind power and the ravages of the energy industry need both organisations.
Eco-friendly wishes
from the Norwegian Environment Protection Association,
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Kurt Willy Oddekalv – Manager