A Päjät-Häme district court sentenced 31 October for the first time in Finland members of the far right with the intent of committing a terrorist act. Even if the case is considered the first in Finnish criminal history, it is long overdue and a stark reckoning that white Finns can commit terrorist crimes.
According to earlier news reports, the three convicted men follow neo-Nazi ideology linked to accelerationism, which claims that fundamental societal transformations can be achieved only by accelerating different processes in society.
The principal convict in the case was Viljam Lauri Antero Nyman, 29, who was sentenced to prison for three years and four months. A second convict born in 1996 was sentenced to a year and nine months in prison. A third member was convicted to 1 seven-month suspended prison sentence for aiding and abetting.
The two convicts were charged with aggravated firearms offenses committed with terrorist intent and training to commit a terrorist act.
Nyman used to be a member of the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* Youth and a candidate of the radical-right party.
The convict, Viljam Lauri Antero Nyman, was a municipal candidate for the radical-right PS in 2017 for the northern Finnish city of Rovaniemi.Source: Twitter.
The PS forms part of Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s right-wing coalition government.
Even if Finland is waking up to its far-right terrorism threat, there is still a disconnect with the PS’ role in spreading far-right ideology.
In a video posted by MTV below, the members of the groups warned of an ensuing “race war.”
Watch the video and read the story (in Finnish) here. Source: MTV.
Migrant Tales has been covering several terrorist-related stories in Finland, like the one in 2021 in the Western Finnish town of Kankaanpää.
The quantity of explosives that have been dropped on Gaza has exceeded 12.000 tons, equivalent to the size of the nuclear bomb dropped on Hiroshima. Bear in mind that Gaza (45km²) is one-third the size of Nagasaki. More than 2.2 million Palestinians live in Gaza, an area about 40km long and 10km wide at its widest point!
The destruction of Gaza. Open Source.
The foreign minister of Israel who in the UN had all the audacity to say out loud “from now on there is no place for balanced positions” is not somehow questioned by any of the media in EU as if those words are okay, acceptable and encouraged. Which is the case adopted by the Media, the free world’s most prestigious tool and moral judge took a side and enabled the following:
Israeli politician Moshe Feiglin on channel 14 (Israeli tv), went even farther: “Do not leave a stone upon stone in Gaza. Gaza needs to turn to Dresden. Complete incineration. Annihilate Gaza now.!”
Daniel Hagari, IDF spokesman said on October 10th in Ha’aretz newspaper: “We are dropping hundreds of tons of bombs on Gaza. The focus is on destruction, not accuracy”
On the ground that is what is happening:
Destruction and not accuracy in Gaza. Open Source.
The dire humanitarian situation is indescribable:
53 UNRWA have been killed by the bombing in Gaza since October 7th.
15 hospitals out of 35 have shut their doors due to lack of fuel and medical supplies.
More than 18.967 injured people are currently in hospitals. The majority of injured suffers from fourth-degree burns. And there is no space left for more injured.
Cases of smallpox, scabies and diarrhea have been on the rise due to poor sanitary conditions and use of water from unsafe sources.
More than 1.5 million people have been internally displaced since 13th of October. They are distributed between families, UN schools, hospitals, churches and mosques. UN described this as “the fastest humanitarian crisis resulting in the largest displacement crisis”.
42% of the residential units were destroyed. More than 46.758 residential units are inhabitable. And more than 190.000 damaged housing units.
50.000 women are pregnant and are struggling to access minimum of health care.
7326 people were killed including 3038 children, 1726 women and 2562 men (over 70% of the victims are women, children and elderly), over 1700 are still under the rubbles including 940 children (27.10.2023).
825 entire family was massacred (all family member killed) 27.10.2023
Statistics from various sources such as UNRWA, UN, and the Palestinian Health Ministry
As the death toll mounts in Gaza, Biden says “I have no notion if Palestinians are telling the truth about how many people are killed”
Constant bombing while being streamed live on one of the most densely populated areas in the entire world. Open Source.
Joe Biden’s position and side can be simply explained by the fact that the U.S. has used its veto power a total of 46 times to block UN Security Council resolutions that were critical of Israel. At least 34 times the US used its veto power on the matter of Palestine and Palestinians, to strike down resolutions about the situation in Palestine to protect Israel from facing censure or accountability for its violations of international law. The majority of these resolutions were drafted to provide a framework for peace in the decades-long Israel-Palestine conflict, including asking Israel to adhere to international laws, calling for self-determination for Palestine statehood, or condemning Israel for the displacement of Palestinians or settlement building in occupied Palestinian territories. A total of 46 times U.S. vetoed resolutions against Israel is all that is there to know on why Joe Biden does look the other way and deny even the suffering of Palestinians even in their death count or the way the media “should” look at it!
U.S. secretary of state, Toni Blinkin, asked the Qatari prime minister less than two weeks ago to tone down Al Jazeera’s rhetoric about the “war in Gaza”. Noting that Al Jazeera is the only news channel that reports live from Gaza, in Gaza not in a form of recorded “video tapes”, in the response of reporters and journalists say that they were shocked for the request of censorship and that they reported on both the strikes of rockets targeting Israel by Hamas and the damage and the stories, and the bombardment and air strikes on Gaza by Israel, that they show from the ground and on the spot what is happening.
A response to this “defiance” of censorship was shortly delivered:
On Channel 13 ‘journalist’ admits/alleged (depends on interpretation of course!) that Israel purposefully and premeditatedly murdered the family of Al Jazeera Gaza bureau chief Wael Dahdouh: “Generally we know the target. For example, today there was a target: the family of an Al Jazeera reporter. In general, we know.”
The target murder comes a day after Tony Blinkin demanded Qatar suppress Al Jazeera’s coverage on Gaza. It wouldn’t be small to add that his family was in the United Nations-recognized Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, which was called a “safe area” by Israeli forces.
Mr. Dahdouh, 53, is well-known journalist who has covered armed conflicts in the area, was helping broadcast live images of the war in Gaza when he received the devastating news. His wife, his son (was in his final year of high school), daughter (7 years old) and grandson (18 months old).
At least 31 journalists were killed by Israel carpet-bombing on Gaza since it launched its military offensive on October 7th (up to October 27th 2023).
Isn’t this at the very least concerning when there is this tendency to deny and censor the events of a genocide happening right now?
“We didn’t know that there were concentration camps, we didn’t know they were killing the Jews”
Isn’t this what the Germans said and so many more at the time?
Isn’t history repeating itself with such a persistent irony?
“No news coverage, denial, censorship, banning manifestations and restrictions…” 2023: What about now? You didn’t know or you don’t want to?”
While this time the biggest game changer in the world view to the matter was social media which gave an easy access to information and live feed and media that never make it to the news rooms of national TVs, the biggest chocking concern that cannot be denied is this huge censorship and tunnel view filter in the media, with textbook characteristics that align with oppressive regimes that have engaged in extensive censorship and propaganda to maintain their power and control over information. Some historical regimes with similarities include:
Nazi Germany (1933-1945): The Nazi regime under Adolf Hitler tightly controlled the narrative, suppressed dissenting voices, and promoted a singular view of Aryan supremacy and the Nazi agenda. They used propaganda extensively to manipulate public perception and dehumanize those they considered enemies, particularly Jews.
Stalinist Soviet Union (1924-1953): Under Joseph Stalin’s leadership, the Soviet Union had a strict state-controlled media that only disseminated the official narrative. Questioning the state’s agenda or presenting alternative viewpoints could lead to severe consequences, often including imprisonment or execution.
North Korea (since 1948): The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) is notorious for its extreme control over information. The regime tightly manages the narrative, and any dissent or questioning of the state’s ideology is considered a grave offense, often leading to imprisonment or death.
Maoist China (1949-1976): During the rule of Mao Zedong, the Chinese Communist Party maintained a stranglehold on media and promoted a single narrative in line with Communist ideology. Alternative views were suppressed, and questioning the state’s agenda was dangerous.
Cultural Revolution in China (1966-1976): The Cultural Revolution was a particularly oppressive period within Maoist China. It saw widespread censorship, propaganda, and a cult of personality built around Mao. Dissent was brutally suppressed, and those who questioned the regime were persecuted.
These regimes share common traits of authoritarianism, media control, censorship, and suppression of dissent, leading to a singular, state-approved narrative. The consequences for questioning or presenting alternative views often included severe punishment, creating an environment where loyalty to the state was paramount. The regime here is the one side story and unconditional support and the state in question here is Israel, and the committed to the one view and one narrative are EU, UK and the US.
“Adagio per sortem, annales se iterum replicabant.”
Before ascension, from under the rubbles, Palestinian children with a bitter smile:
“In articulo mortis. Morituri te salutant (At the moment of death. Those who are about to die salute you).”
From the high seat of human rights and standards Europe replies:
“Mors ultima ratio (Death is the final accounting).”
Then EU continues in a chant-like rhythm and soft of cold brittle voice:
“Sanguis liberorum tuorum et populi tui dolor sit sacrificium pro peccatis meis factis”
(‘Let the blood of your children and the suffering of your people be the sacrifice for the sins of my doing’)
Comes Lady Justice the virtuous UN and whispers:
“Sanguis tuus in ara sancta, purus et absque dolo, sit sacrificium et redemption mea”
(‘May your guileless blood on the holy altar be my sacrifice and my redemption’)
And the freedom bearer and liberty server USA:
“If we do everything right, if we do it with absolute certainty, there’s still a 30% chance we’re going to get it wrong.”
(Joe Biden, speaking to members of the House Democratic caucus who were gathered in Williamsburg, Va., for their annual retreat.)
By Everyday, In Everyday, On Everyday
The title of my poem means “Slowly through fate, the annals repeated themselves.” This conveys the idea of a slow and ironic repetition of historical events influenced by the fate as we make it.
Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks (24.10) to the Security Council on the Middle East.:
“It is important to also recognize the attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum.
The Palestinian people have been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation.
They have seen their land steadily devoured by settlements and plagued by violence; their economy stifled; their people displaced and their homes demolished. Their hopes for a political solution to their plight have been vanishing.
Migrant Tales view: Like a furious one-two punch, thanks to two reports, Europe and especially Finland continue to see a rise of racism with near-silence and little outrage. Could we call it the Frontex syndrome? We are aware of the problem, but we turn a blind eye because we don’t really care or want to be bothered. Finland’s hostile government to immigrants, comprising the National Coalition Party, Perussuomalaiset*, Swedish People’s Party and Christian Democrats, is the least apt to tackle the social ill. Matters can only get worse from here.
In the suspected hate crime report for 2022, the number of suspected hate crimes reported to the police in 2022 rose by 21.3% to 1,245 cases from 1,026 in the previous year. The lion’s share of hate crimes was due to ethnic and national background (74.7%), up by 31.7% to 930 from 706, and religion and belief (9.7%), down to 121 from 133.
Sexual orientation accounted for 8.7% of all suspected hate crimes, rising 11.1% to 140 with disability falling 11.5% to 54 cases.
The Police University College said that those with Russian citizenship experienced the highest frequency of crimes concerning national background. Even so, Somalis and Iraqis continue to rank high in suspected hate-crime statistics. Eleven percent of all offenses were directed at the Romany minority.
Concerning religion or belief, the most common victims, as in previous years, were Muslims.
Being Black in the EU
Like the 2018 report, the latest FRA report continue to offer bad news for countries like Finland, Germany, and Austria, which reported the highest prevalence of racial harassment in the past 12 months by people of African descent (PAD).
The Perussuomalaiset (PS)* speaker of parliament, Jussi Halla-aho, is trying his hardest to have his cake and eat it. The trial that led to ethnic agitation conviction and for breaching the sanctity of religion in 2012 rose him to prominence. The very racist, anti-Semitic, Islamophobic, and homophobic writings on his Scripta blog in the 2000s brought him a handsome political career.
I wonder what people would think that after not getting elected in 2007, he became speaker of parliament in 2023. His political rise does not only say a lot about him but also about Finland. Many Finns are conservative and racist.
Thanks to Halla-aho’s blogin 2008, it gave me a good reason to continue writing Migrant Tales.I was planning to abandon the blog but thanks to Scripta, and the hostility against my blog, I planned to stick it out. That was almost fifteen years ago.
Left to right: Even if Jussi Halla-aho hopes that people will forget his racist roots, behind the gavel he uses as speaker of parliament, he will always be an evil clown show. Accepting Halla-aho would be saying that all his racist, anti-Semitic, homophobic, and far-right views are ok and normal. It’s not, even if he is running for president, where he takes the cue from other PS politicians like Laura Huhtasaari who appear abnormally white thanks to makeup and hair dye. Sources: berkeleyside.org, Suomen Kuvalehti, and.PS.
Below is some of the racist filth found on Halla-aho’s blog:
National Coalition Party (NCP) Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s coalition partner, the radical-right Perussuomalaiset (PS)*, is going all out to make life as miserable as possible for migrants, especially asylum seekers and undocumented migrants.
PS Interior Minister Mari Rantanen has threatened to take “a radical shift” in asylum policy and undocumented migrants. In her opinion, if an asylum seeker does not get a residence permit, that person must leave the country.
Their policies are based on racist hearsay and their policies are a direct stake to the heart of many migrants aiming to survive in an ever-difficult and hostile Finland.
The story of an Iraqi family who came in 2015 is a case in point.
After waiting for eight years for a residence permit, three of their children, who are now adults, appear to be “safe” since they have studied, graduated, speak Finnish and have employment.
The story is different for their teenage child, mother and father, who haven’t landed a job and speak a little Finnish. All three are in danger of being deported to Iraq.
When it comes to migration policy and treating asylum seekers, the EU has three solutions:
Sticking one’s head in the sand.
Sticking one’s head up the arse.
Build high deadly walls with nails of denial.
It is clear that with global warming and democracy under attack, more people will have to abandon their homes and come to regions like Europe. If I were them, I’d do the same.
But the most distressing fact is that Europe is in denial and believes that populism and xenophobia will help keep the people who are knocking at our doors out. No, populism or Frontex will not secure our borders.
Finland’s answer, like that of Europe’s Frontex, to climate refugees is a fence, wishful thinking, and the populist rhetoric of politicians. Source: Kauppalehti.
Europe is walking into a disaster of its own making caused by its colonial legacy, contempt, and racism.
Listening to the anti-immigration rhetoric of Petteri Orpo’s government and especially of its Perussuomalaiset (PS)* interior minister, Mari Rantanen, on tightening citizenship requirements, two matters come to light: racism and hypocrisy.
The planned changes in the citizenship law include:
Raising residence requirements from five to eight years.
A person must make a certain amount (sill unspecified) of money and without Kela (Social Insurance Institution of Finland) funds to be eligible for citizenship.
A new citizenship test and more rigorous language exams will be introduced.
Certain (still unspecified) crimes may make you lose your citizenship.
Rantanen is not only a multiculturally challenged politician but does not practice what she hatefully preaches.
“Finnish citizenship will be a reward for successful integration,” she claimed at a press conference, adding that the changes in the law will “not be unreasonable, though”.
Rantanen’s views and actions against migrants reveal how far out of touch she is with our values.
With politicians like Rantanen and the hard-right shift in immigration policy in Finland, it shows the real rot that our Nordic values have hidden and protected. Thus with racist rhetoric we can win elections, get a ministerial seat, and claim with a poker face that we are not racists.
If you believe what Rantanen is telling you about why citizenship laws ust be tightened, then, I suspect, you will fall for anything.
Some of Rantanen’s most infamous quotes include her statement about blue eyes and a clear alusion to the great replacement conspiracy theory. “We mustn’t be so naive [naive in Finnish means being ‘blue-eyed’] that soon we won’t be blue-eyed.”
If there is one matter that one can agree with doomsday far-right anti-immigration politicians, it is that Europe and the developed world will be swamped in this century by people fleeing ever-worsening climate disasters, and civil strife.
What is hypocritical, even criminal, about the latter is that Europe and the developed world are responsible for placing people in such peril.
The EU’s answer to such a situation is the usual recipe of denial, building higher walls, more-effective surveillance, and violent pushbacks.
Finland’s answer, like that of Europe’s Frontex, to climate refugees is a fence, wishful thinking, and the populist rhetoric of politicians. Source: Kauppalehti.
With the rise of the far right in Europe and growing suspicion of outsiders gaining strength, it proves that Europe is in a state of flux. It has no answer to the migration crisis except building higher walls and toxic anti-immigration rhetoric. Europe will blame everything on migrants and asylum seekers.
Even so, the disasters suffered by people outside our borders were created for centuries by our greed and short-term answers, starting from our colonial aspirations and destructive wars. We destroy countries in regions like the Middle East and complain why people are fleeing the very homes we helped to destroy.
For those who luckily make it to Europe, are faced with walls of exclusion.
Europe is in a state of denial and our unpreparedness will cost us dearly.
Recent discussions by the Finnish government have raised concerns among human rights groups about the possibility of copying Denmark to carry out random spot checks on people in certain neighborhoods.
If such a measure were ever implemented, it could lead to France’s controversial Article 24 which restricts videoing the police with the intention of “threatening [their] physical or psychological integrity.”
Even if such changes in the law in Finland now seem far-fetched in a country where the police have a good reputation, it is essential to examine what is happening in other European countries where far-right governments have gained power. Some of these include Switzerland, where the Swiss People’s Party is the biggest party, the ruling Brothers of Italy and Lega Nord of Italy, Fidesz of Hungary, the United Right of Poland, Sweden Democrats, and the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* of Finland.
Also, in non-EU countries like Serbia (United Serbia) and North Macedonia (VMRO-DPMNE), there are far-right parties that target migrants and refugees.
Considering that the EU is a region that abides by the European Convention of Human Rights, it is concerning that such parties above target ethnic groups and minorities and want to weaken the civil rights of such people.
One consistent pattern seen in countries where far-right ideologies have gained power is the control and manipulation of narratives to instill fear, racist conspiracy theories, and the perception of dangerous threats by migrants to the native population.
At the core of these ideologies lie xenophobia and ethnic superiority. The far-right presents itself as the savior and protector of the native population, framing every outsider—immigrant, Roma, or anyone deemed different—as an ongoing threat and suspect.
Ethnic Profiling and Suspicion
A common tactic employed by far-right governments is ethnic profiling and the disproportionate targeting of ethnic, religious, and other minority groups by law enforcement agencies. This type of profiling often masquerades as “legitimate” when the police suspect someone of drug possession or gang affiliation.
“Legalized” ethnic profiling is used to justify the increased scrutiny and surveillance of certain communities and ethnic groups even if crime does not have a specific skin color or ethnicity. But when law enforcement focuses its attention on one particular ethnic group, they are more likely to uncover crime, not because of inherent criminality but due to increased scrutiny. It can lead to a vicious cycle, where arrests and convictions are used to justify further restrictions and targeting, perpetuating the belief that these communities are inherently dangerous.
Minister of Interior Mari Rantanen
In an interview with Joona Aaltonen of Helsingin Sanomat, Minister of Interior Mari Rantanen acknowledged concerns about the country’s “growing” youth and gang crime problem. She cited a statement by Jonne Rinne, the chairman of the Association of Police Organizations, who estimated that 95% of street gang members in Finland are of foreign origin on the basis of their names and ethnic backgrounds. Rinne did not care to elaborate if these youths were born in Finland, were Finnish citizens or had a Finnish parent.
Before Rantanen was minister, she would send Islamophobic messages to then Prime Minister Sanna Marin. “Marin’s government wishes Finns a Merry Christmas,” she wrote. Source: X (formerly Twitter).
