With a populist anti-immigration party like the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* in government, it’s clear that issues like human rights and the right to asylum would be questioned by such a bigoted party. Laura Huhtasaari, right, the PS MP with the kindergarten teacher smile, has stuck her foot in her mouth again.
This time, it isn’t for denying that evolution exists but for suggesting that human rights don’t apply to everyone.
PS MP Huhtasaari tweets: “Human Rights have been founded to protect civilians, not terrorists, war criminals or criminals.”
If the PS MP would have read carefully the UN Declaration of Human Rights she’d know that human rights apply to everyone, even suspected terrorists, suspected war criminals and suspected criminals.
Let’s give her a helping hand:
Article 10.
Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.
Article 11.
Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defence.
No one shall be held guilty of any penal offence on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a penal offence, under national or international law, at the time when it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the penal offence was committed.
Why does everyone in Finland have the right to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal? Why are people persumed innocent until proved guilty?
Answer: avoid lynch mobs and passing sentence on people who may be innocent. Moreover, Huhtasaari doesn’t have a crystal ball and she’s no clairvoyant, or psychic. How does she know if a person is a terrorist, war criminal or criminal?
Stating that human rights don’t apply to everyone is not only irresponsible coming from a lawmaker but sowing the seeds of vigilante law and social media lynch mobs.
Huhtasaari then tweeted the following message below she claims now that human rights are applied to everyone.
Huhtasaari tweets: “Human rights apply to all people. Finland must not be an asylum haven for terrorists. Remebing the trial of the Ruwandan [war criminal who was tried in Finland].”
Does the first, never mind the second tweet, make any sense?
None at all! But it does reveal that she doesn’t have any idea of what human rights are.
I forgot to point out another important human right:
Article 30: “Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set forth herein.”
In other words: NO ONE CAN TAKE AWAY YOUR RIGHTS!
The poster on the left states “terrorists don’t have a right to seek asylum” and on the right “yes, human rights apply to everyone.”
* The Finnish name of the Finns Party is the Perussuomalaiset (PS). The English-language names adopted by the PS, like True Finns or Finns Party, promote in our opinion nativist nationalism and xenophobia. We therefore prefer to use the Finnish name of the party on our postings.