In a seminar on indigenous peoples I saw a film about the Russian
Sami in the Kola Penisula. The film, by Norwegian Sami TV, dealt
with fishing rights the Sami are losing to an American firm
organizing salmon fishing trips mostly for Americans to Kola
Peninsula; the information below is from the film.
By an agreement with the local authorities the company has gained
exclusive rights to parts of the rivers used by tourists. As a
result, Sami became intruders and poachers on their own waters: one
man has received a two-year conditional prison sentence for fishing
in the now forbidden river. Sadly, discrimination could be the
company's strategy: their video advertisement states boldly that the
fishermen can fish "where no one else has fished before". Do you
really need local inhabitants (of thousands of years tenure) if you
have just made your clients believe they have finally found untouched
wilderness? Better still, there are always your "business partners"
who will do the dirty work - like transfer people (see letter below).
I wonder if any of you know the company in question? Maybe this
is a respectable company being lead astray by local administration
and the company's repulsive Finnish representative, the Mr.
Pettersson in the letter below?
The local indigenous groups (Sami, Nenets, Komi) have already in
1993 appealed to President Yeltsin to stop the leasing of the rivers
to outsiders without consulting them - apparently, the appeal was not
heard (Severnye Prostory 2/94). Also, The Finnish Lapland newspaper
Lapin Kansa has published articles and letters about the activities
of the company. These articles have, it seems, mostly sung praises
to the benevolence of the foreign investors. In the meantime, the
Sami are losing ground: during the seminar we received information
about two more rivers having been leased to the same company.
I'm not a spokesperson for the Kola Sami. I'm forwarding information
given to me by a Sami woman from Kola Peninsula who is at the moment
studying and working at our university. However, if you have any
suggestions as to what the local Sami could do, I'd be glad to
forward them to her.
About the film you can call the director Jus Kalvemo at Sami Radio,
NRK, Norway, tel. 47-784-67200 (sorry, I got only the telephone
number). However, the film itself was made for Sami and Norwegian
audience and they might not have English version.
The following letter appeared originally in English in 'Sapmelas'(Nr.
7- 8, 1994), a Sami- language newsletter; I'm sending it to this
newsgroup with the author's permission. Any misprints are mine.
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Benefactor or bully? - the case of G.Loomis against the Kola Same
In 1992 the River Ponoi, on the Kola Peninsula, was rented out to a
company called G.Loomis. Today, in 1994, the firm is the big boss on
the river. During the two years of its tenure, the company has not
once agreed to meet representatives of the Kola Same Association to
discuss the needs of the Same people.
Obviously for this reason they now (ref. to a Finnish newspaper)
maintain that the people living along the Ponoi through the
generosity of G. Loomis have been able to fish for salmon in the
river. In fact, we have always had an opportunity to fish on the
river, not only just for our own consumption but also in the capacity
of professional fishermen. Recently, two fishing associations were
disbanded by G. Loomis, causing jobs to be lost, livelihoods
jeopardised, and the supply of fish to be cut off.
G. Loomis maintains that it is trying to ensure that there will
always be jobs for the local inhabitants. However, the truth of the
matter is that jobs have only been given to those who have made an
agreement with the company and the municipality of Lovozero. This
agreement is obviously extremely beneficial to the Americans. Jobs
have been handed out to former municipal manager Aranovsky and former
manager of the Lenin memorial government estate, Orehov. Extra
earnings are also being pocketed by the current head of the hunting
supervision bureau, Pavlov. Big wheels all.
The firm avers that it has provided USD 150 000 worth of
humanitarian aid. With this kind of money a great deal could have
been achieved in remote villages populated by less than a thousand
people altogether. While it is true that a circular saw has been
sent to Sosnovka, this is regrettably impossible to operate, being
dilapidated and lacking certain vital components.
The Kola Same Association is worried by the fact that the Kanevka
village school, clinic and school are being closed down - all to the
company's advantage. Next in line for axing are the villages of
Sosnovka and Krasnoshelye. People are being ousted from these
settlements in precisely the same way as the villages along the north
coast were forcibly emptied to make way for military outposts 30
years ago.
During G. Loomis' short history, there has twice been an appointment
of a new municipal manager for Lovozero municipality. The first two
worthies, Aranovsky and Krasnikov, were there long enough to feather
their own nests and now the third - Prints - is grabbing as much as
he can. Prints in his capacity as municipal manager has already
succeeded in ousting our own company, Valt Jall, to eliminate the
threat to G. Loomis. This affair could well be called "The Lumbovka
conflict", for the Lumbovka was the only river on the Kola Peninsula
on which the Same were running a tourism enterprise. It is our great
misfortune that this is located too close to G. Loomis' territory for
everyone's comfort.
In 1992 there were no tourists. We constructed a camp and
established routes. On hearing of our camp, G. Loomis' managers on
several occasions visited us from their own camp on the River Patsha.
In June 1992 I saw Mr. Petterson and warned him that his uninvited
visits to Lumbovka were unacceptable. In spite of such warning, the
visits continued. To set the official stamp of approval on his
'fishing visit', G. Loomis' manager, Shamyshev, lied to the
Murmanrybvod authorities, saying no agreement existed between his
outfit and ours.
As a consequence, in 1992 G. Loomis used the River Lumbovka free of
charge, while the Same had to pay for the privilege.
The following year, municipal manager Krasnikov forced us to
relinquish our right to the river to Mr. Petterson by demanding from
the Same USD 20,000 for the use of the waterway's bioresources. We
agreed to pay on condition that our employees would be given jobs in
the Lumbovka camp.
At the end of the fishing season Pettersson refused to pay wages
agreed on earlier. Six months later the employees were finally paid
one third of the agreed sum, and only then after we had threatened
Pettersson with legal action.
The presence of the Same is also a thorn in the side of the military
as our employees have fought eith soldiers poaching fish. The Same
cut illegally set nets which had been strung right across the river,
virtually enclosing it.
The arrival of soldiers at our camp in a helicopter and the taking
away of a small generator, furniture, bedding and personal effects
belonging to our lads, underscored their guilt. A week later the
helicopter returned, the lads themselves were forced into it, and
they too were shipped out. Major Dudarev went so far as to write out
a receipt to this effect, to show us who's boss in the Same area. He
also made threats to burn our camp.
In 1994 the military and G. Loomis drew up an agreement guaranteeing
the company aircraft fuel at the Lumbovka landing strip. Witnesses
to this are village head Maksutov and our own lads.
In June 1994, just before the start of the tourist season, the Same
camp on the River Lumbovka suddenly burned to the ground. Prints,
the latest municipal manager, refused even to consider our claim to
river rights, since we have no agreement with G. Loomis. This was to
be our punishment. We lack the resources to fight against giants
like the American G. Loomis enterprise, the military, and those in
power.
We leave the reader to ponder whether the Americans are really
helping the local inhabitants - or bullying them.
Lyubov Vatonema
President
(of the tourist company Valt Jall)
===================================================================
Pirkko Vishnevskij
(visnevskij@latuko.helsinki.fi)
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*All opinions expressed are mine, not my employer's.*
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