I have always said that if there were another government, preferably without the National Coalition Party (NCP) and Perussuomalaiset (PS)*, the decision to shut the Russian-Finnish border would have some credibility.
Source: X (formerly Twitter).
The decision to close the border is first and foremost a political decision. It is a good way to shift attention from the painful austerity measures Prime Minister Petteri Orpo plans to implement.
The closing of the border also reinforces what we’ve known for a long time: the PS and NCP don’t care about human rights.
According to the Guardian, Annika Sandlund, the UN refugee agency’s representative to the Nordic and Baltic countries, said closing all border crossing points would be “contrary to international law”.
Moreover, what credibility does the PS have as they try to score political brownie points with the present crisis? In my book, they have none because their reason for being and political survival hinges on racism.
Here are some questions that Interior Minister Mari Rantanen does not want to answer: What happens after the northern Raja-Jooseppi border crossing opens in two weeks?
Wishful thinking by the government tells us that the Russians will bow their heads in shame and stop sending people to the border.
The truth is much worse. With this set of measures by the Finnish government, it is leaving matters to chance.
