Comment: As we have seen in a post-22/7 Europe, far-right groups that fuelled their popularity with provocative statements against immigrants, minorities and Muslims are on the defensive today. After the tragic events that gripped Norway, there are a lot of people who are rightfully concerned about the same type of hate speech and ideology that inspired Norway’s killer being spread by websites in Finland.
PS MP Jussi Halla-aho, who appears to have no clue about why some are questioning his provocative anti-immigration language, are asking questions that should have been asked before he was chosen to chair the administration committee, whose responsibilities include immigration policy.
Weekly magazine Apu columnist Yrjö Rautio writes why Halla-aho has come under increased scrutiny: “It is certainly grotesque that the parliamentary administration committee is chaired by a person whose political merits are so-called (being a) critic of immigration and immigrants by stigmatizing (them) as rapists, criminals, or the “dregs of the Horn of Africa.”
Halla-aho was fined 330 euros last year by a lower court for “disturbing religious worship.” Prosecutors previously charged the PS MP with defaming Islam and inciting racial hatred.
”We have people in political and civil circles who have attacked free speech for years and this (Norway) has just given them a new stick,” he was quoted on YLE citing AFP.
When Halla-aho speaks about being a victim of a witch hunt and that “the eilists” are trying to shut him up, he appears to forget that his questionable blog entries written over the years were published by him without censorship.
Whenever people like Halla-aho run to the sanctuary argument of “freedom of speech,” it would be interesting to ponder what kind of free-speech world we’d live in if his far-right ideology would rule this country. His supporters would most likely act like his followers on his blog Scripta cyberattacking those they did not agree with.
Claiming that Halla-aho is part of a witch hunt is ludicrous. Thanks to free speech, we do have the right to place anyone’s writings and ideology under greater scrutiny.
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True Finns Party MP Jussi Halla-aho says that he feels that a witch-hunt has started against him and free speech after the Norway tragedy. In an interview with AFP, he said that things are completely out of control.
A little correction: the charge for inciting racial hatred was overturned in both district court and the appeals court. The fine is for the defamation (“uskonrauhan rikkominen”) only from both of the courts. The charges will be going to supreme court though, so we’ll need to wait a bit to see where the limits of the freedom of speech are drawn in the matter.
What a cowardly douchebag!
He’s one of the loudest “Internet Gangsters” our country has ever produced. Quick to criticize everyone else’s ideologies but when the torch is shone upon the major flaws in his ideology he, to use a common Finnish saying, “vetää herneet nenään”-“pulls peas up his nose”. What a cry baby pee pants!
He can dish it out but he can’t take it!
Make no mistake about it; racism in Finland is allowed to flourish, because the “silent” majority continue to secretly endorse the actions of their more overtly racist peers.
Why else would Halla-aho be chosen by his peers (some of them pro-immigration), to head the parliamentary admin committee, which has some influence on immigration matters? I will tell you why. He was chosen to do the dirty work for his peers and be the scapegoat.Most of his peers have exactly the same views he has on immigrants and immigration, but they are just less vocal about it! In him, they have found a man willing to express the views they are afraid to express in public, so he is being used as their sacrificial lamb.THEY ARE NO BETTER THAN HE IS: IMMIGRANTS DO NOT ALLOW YOURSELVES TO BE FOOLED BY THEIR ACTIONS!
I do not buy it at all when some Finnish politicians chose to NOW come out and denounce the actions of Halla-aho.Where were they at the very beginning? His views have certainly not changed now, so why the sudden urge to hold him accountable for his racist propaganda?. Why did they allow this cancer of a man to sit on any committee!
As far as I am concerned, race relations in Finland is in a sorry state. When you have native Finnish thugs pound an immigrant to pulp, all the while shouting racist slurs, and the case being treated like a regular assault, then society has a big problem! Clearly this was a racially motivated crime, and should have been treated as such. If the police refuse to give 100% protection to us immigrants, then who else will?
It still baffles me that a party such as PS received such tremendous support at the polls.I am still in shock.Yet the Finns find all excuses and still the majority continue to deny the existence of racism in beautiful Suomi. Wish I could say that things would change in Finland, but sadly I can’t.The first step to fixing any problem is acknowledging that the problem exists.The Finns continue to deny that racism exists, so herein lies the big problem!!!
On a side note, what is it with those racists in Finland?
Halla-aho has a name which sounds really close to that of the Muslim prophet, yet he vehemently hates Muslims.
Soini has a characteristic black man’s facial features (especially the nose), yet he dislikes blacks. Quite funny to me!
Yrjö Rautio was head of Kansan Uutiset what is communist paper so you may need to think about his intentions.
And Enrique again, no one attacked you. Advertising your blog isnt attack. As i already said youll know when youre under attack and then we are talking about ten thousand hits in minute and hacking in so your texts are gone.
I would like to share story about “attack” in here.
I had funny picture what i uploaded and shared with about 50 persons in IRC, in 24 hours that picture had over million hits and it was blogged in atleast 3 different blogs in all around of world.
It was fun to look hits and where those came, first finland, then northern countries, then europe, then america, first northern and then southern, and australia, then asia first japan and then china and then rest. I did had mail from Sony headquarders (japan) asking about it and demanding removal, yeah right like i could.
It was like wildfire going all around world.
That picture apparently caused one firing when idiot didnt tell that i was one who did it and some threats against me what i just ignored since i knew my rights.
Your 800 visits isnt even near of that and as attack… There wasnt any in your case and there wasnt any in my case. Learn internet.