Saami Parliament on Kola Peninsula
Last weekend the indigenous people of Kola Peninsula, the Saami, decided to establish their own parliament.
At the first congress for Saami people in Murmansk Oblast, a decision was made to establish a representative organ under the jurisdiction of the regional government, B-port reports. This organ, a council of nine designated representatives elected by the congress, will be the precursor to a Saami parliament. Before a Saami parliament can be established, several document changes have to be made on both federal and regional level.
Representatives from the Murmansk regional government and parliament attended the congress, as well as representatives from The Norwegian, Swedish and Finnish Saami parliaments.
There are about 2000 Saami in Murmansk Oblast.
Read more about the Saami in the Barents Region here
