Author: Migrant Tales

guardian.co.uk: The news coverage of the Norway mass-killings was fact-free conjecture

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Comment: Here is an interesting analysis on what happened in Norway and how some of us “experts” jumped the gun by pointing the finger at al-Qaida.

“Countless security experts queued up to tell me so,” Charlie Brooker writes. “This has all the hallmarks of an al-Qaida attack, they said. Watching at home, my gut feeling was that that didn’t add up. Why Norway? And why was it aimed so specifically at one political party? But hey, they’re the experts. They’re sitting there behind a caption with the word ‘EXPERT’ on it.”

What is most worrying according to the writer (and we have already noticed it on Migrant Tales) is a disturbing “but” appearing after we condemn the mass killings by Anders Behring Breivik. In other words, what this lunatic did was awful, but…

“These “but” commenters then go on to discuss immigration, often with reference to a shaky Muslim-baiting story they’ve half-remembered from the press,” continues Brooker. “So despite this being a story about an anti-Muslim extremist killing Norwegians who weren’t Muslim, they’ve managed to find a way to keep the finger of blame pointing at the Muslims, thereby following a narrative lead they’ve been fed for years, from the overall depiction of terrorism as an almost exclusively Islamic pursuit, outlined by ‘security experts’ quick to see al-Qaida tentacles everywhere, to the fabricated tabloid fairytales about ‘Muslim-only loos’ or local councils ‘banning Christmas.'”

Another disturbing matter are politicians like Jussi Halla-aho of the right-wing populist Perussuomalaiset (PS) party, whose writings appear to have inspired a deranged mass killer. Brevik mentioned how he agreed about Halla-aho’s views published in 2006 on “the cooperation of the left-wing and Islamists.”  

See Ossi Mäntylahti’s blog (in Finnish).

The PS appears to be the party that represented Brevik’s views the best in Finland.

Thank you JusticeDemon for the heads up!

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Charlie Brooker

I went to bed in a terrible world and awoke inside a worse one. At the time of writing, details of the Norwegian atrocity are still emerging, although the identity of the perpetrator has now been confirmed and his motivation seems increasingly clear: a far-right anti-Muslim extremist who despised the ruling party.

Read whole story.

Living in post-22/7 Europe

Posted on by Migrant Tales

It is ironic that those right-wing populist and far-right parties that have gone out of their way to warn us about the threat of multiculturalism and religions like Islam, have become the threat and Trojan Horses in our societies. In one horrific blow, Anders Behring Breivik did not only strike at Norway’s liberal democracy, but tore a hole in the argument of the anti-immigrant populists and fanatics.

In the Nordic region, living in a post-22/7 Europe and Nordic region means a serious loss of public face for those groups that have been the breeding ground for hatred towards immigrants and minorities. We know as well that Islamists are not the only ones who commit acts of terrorism, as the Guardian of London pointed out.

When these groups warn us today of the “threat of multiculturalism” and how it is acceptable to treat minorities with contempt, a killer called Anders Behring Breivik will haunt us in the back of our minds.

Every time these individuals and groups spread their usual rhetoric of hatred, we will stop to think and see Breivik’s eerie arguments and logic that drove him to become a mass killer.

When people go to the polls the next time in this part of Europe, some will see gruesome images of Breivik shooting down young members of the Labor Party. People will think twice whether to cast their vote for the Progress Party of Norway, Finland’s PS, Danish People’s Party and  Sweden Democrats.

They will ask if supporting a party that bases its popularity on anti-immigration rhetoric is feeding future homegrown terrorism.

Possibly what happened on 22/7 will be a wake-up call for these parties to think about the impact their provocative claims not only have on immigrants but on deranged people like Breivik.

Matters have changed a lot in post-22/7 Europe.

HS.fi: Hommaforum suljettiin Norja-keskustelun takia

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Comment:  A popular website visited by one of Finland’s most notorious anti-immigration crowd was closed Sunday until 10 pm due to the tragedy that hit Norway, reports HS.fi.

When one reads the views of people who speak against immigration and cultural diversity in Finland like Hommaforum administrator Matias Turkkila or a Persussuomalaiset party MPs like James Hirvisaari, the gist of their message must be read between the lines of the text.

“We wanted to calm debate,” Turkkila was quoted ast saying on HS.fi. “I am certain that it won’t calm down (the debate) but we wanted to make it clear that we in no way accept what happened in Norway.”

One of the matters that Anders Behring Breivik’s killing rampage exposed in the raw in other Nordic countries like Finland was the relationship it had with the hate speech commonly found on Hommaforum and blog entries by PS MP’s like Jussi Halla-aho and his followers. 

While Turkkila showed the needed respect that any sensible person should show in the face of such a tragedy that took place in Norway, it doesn’t speak too highly of the bloggers that visit Hommaforum. This link will give you some idea (in Finnish) what bloggers at Hommaforum think about what happened in Norway.

JusticeDemon, who gave the heads up of this story, wrote: “Suddenly they are concerned at how foreigners feel, but this begs the question as to why this particular discussion forum should identify so closely with this particular incident.”

Hirvisaari, who is Halla-aho’s faithful follower in parliament and who has become infamous for his hate speech on his blogs, reveals what he really thinks about what happened in Norway: “With a sound immigration policy we could cool tensions and prevent many problems like such atrocities (that took place in Norway).”

Even though Hirvisaari condemns terrorism and acts of violence, he somehow wants to blame immigration policy when, in fact, he should look the other way at what he and others write provocatively about immigrants and Muslims. 

The political fallout of what happened in Norway has impacted Finland and especially the loud and offensively vocal anti-immigration crowd. Norway has torn their arguments wide open and put them on the stand where I am certain Breivik’s 1,500-page manifesto would be a chief piece of evidence. In it he mentions how he agrees with Halla-aho’s writings in 2006.

See Ossi Mäntylahti blog on Uusi Suomi.

The monster that Halla-aho and his followers have sown has bit them hard.

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Maahanmuuttokriittinen keskustelupalsta Hommaforum suljettiin sunnuntaina. Sulkemisen syynä oli Norjan terrori-iskuista käyty kiivas keskustelu. Hommaforum aukeaa sunnuntai-iltana kymmeneltä.

Read whole story.

Norway is a watershed for Finland and the Nordic region

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 By Enrique Tessieri

The horrific carnage that took place in Norway on Friday at the hands of a far-right extremist is a watershed for our societies. Even if the mass killer, Anders Behring Breivik, is in police custody his outlandish deeds continue to bully some of us into denial. 

Former President Martti Ahtisaari showed the kind of leadership we should not only expect of our politicians, but of ourselves as well. He was quoted in Mikkeli daily Länsi-Savo as saying that our silence has fuelled the rise of far-right groups and their language of hatred towards minorities.

“I always remember what Martin Luther King said when (we) wondered why blacks got their (civil) rights so late and why did inequality last for so long,” continued Ahtisaari. “King said:  The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people.”

Silence is a powerful force. Even military regimes that commit grave human rights violations rely on silence and enforce it through censorship.

The role of silence, or the lack of leadership against intolerance, has been seen throughout history.  Ahtisaari said that the silence of the majority was the faithful servant of undemocratic regimes in the Balkans and Nazi Germany.

“There is no place in the Nordic democratic system for extremist groups or inciting hatred against (other) nationalities or that prejudice is acceptable in any form, even in our speech” said Ahtisaari. “Nordic countries are the most tolerant in the world, therefore this development (growth of intolerance) is foreign to us.”

A fertile breeding ground for this type of hatred and intolerance has been websites like Homma, associations like Suomen Sisu and political parties like the Perussuomalaiset, which gained 19.1% of the votes in the April election.

An anonymous blogger published (in Finnish) on Uusi Suomi the reaction of some Homma bloggers on what happened in Norway.Denial is lightly putting it. According to them, the horrific events in Norway had nothing to do with our culture, religion, anti-immigration stances and racism. It was the work of a single psychopath that was totally disconnected from our values and the hatred so commonly seen in our societies today.

Norway is a watershed against our silence and those hate groups that have grown politically in Finland in recent years.

They are a menace to our values and society. Like Breivik showed, when you leave hatred and racism out of the cage it can bite you back in ways you never imagined.

HS.fi: Arkipäivän rasismi on huutelua ja ahdistelua

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Comment: It is truly sad to read  about how some immigrants face racism in this country on a daily basis.

What is surprising in the HS story below is a comment by Perussuomalaiset (PS) MP Tom Packalén.  A policeman by profession, Packalén claims that Finland isn’t a racist country. “When comparing the size of Helsinki for example there is very little racist violence compared with other countries,” he said.

Isn’t it interesting how it is always NOT the victim of racism that is playing down this social ill in Finland?

Pakalén’s denial and that of other people could reflect the low social position that immigrants have in Finnish society. Since immigrants are not important,  a good way of robbing them of their identity and a better place in society is by denying any serious problems in that community. In other words, denying racism could be a way of rejecting Finland’s cultural diversity.

Do you agree?

Thank you JusticeDemon for the link!

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Afrikkalaisperheen lasten rattaista löytyy koiran kakkaa, 18 vuotta Suomessa asunutta, töissä käyvää naista käsketään palaamaan kotimaahansa. HS kysyi toukokuun alussa lukijoiden rasismikokemuksista Suomessa. Siitä lähtien toimitukseen on saapunut useita kirjoituksia rasismista.

Read whole story.

Crossing a line in Norway and condemning it in Finland

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By Enrique Tessieri

When does a person or group cross the magic line from right-wing populism to far-right? The tragic events that struck Norway on Friday should help us to distinguish better where that magic line is and what our reaction to it should be.

If Anders Behring Brejvik, the man who was responsible for the death of over 90 people on Friday, would have never carried out his outlandish deeds he’d be walking amongst us today visiting the numerous hate websites on the net.

What happened in Norway is a rude wake up call for us in Europe and Finland. It casts an eerie shadow on the role of those politicians, political parties and associations that spread a culture of hatred against immigrants and minorities and repackage it as patriotism.

Even though these groups are dazzled by the power of racism they soon notice that after the monster has been left out of the cage it can bite back at them.

Brejvik was chairman of the populist and anti-immigration Fremskrittspartiet party in Oslo West for about nine months and then on the local party’ board for about two years.*

Moreover, Brejvik was reported by TV1’s 20:30 news that he is an admirer of Perussuomalaiset MP Jussi Halla-aho, who is a mamber of the Nazi-spirited Suomen Sisu association.

The tragic events in Norway should embolden us to act and distinguish those groups and members in our society that want to change it at the cost of other people’s civil rights. Probably the reason why some of us haven’t branded some of them yet as far-right extremists is because we are in denial or dread admitting that there are these types of people and groups amongst us.

We need  a serious debate in Finland about the role of associations like Suomen Sisu in our parliament and the racism that festers in the Perussuomalaiset party.

The tragic events of Norway should strengthen our resolve to defend our Nordic way of life, which is built on social justice and equality for all. We should stand firm and be especially vigilant against those who want to destroy our noble values.

It is the minimum we can offer to the victims in Norway.

* Thank you Jonas for the heads up!

Reuters: Analysis: Questions over far-right link in Norwegian attacks

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Comment: The terrible events that hit Norway on Friday appear to be the work of a far-right extremist, according to a story by Reuters below. Taking into account the rise of far-right and right-wing populist parties in Europe due to anti-immigrant and anti-Islam sentiment fuelled by a shaky economic panorama, what happened in Norway can be a serious wake up call to countries like Finland.

Writes Reuters: “But violence, while sometimes fatal, has rarely escalated beyond group thuggery and the use of knives. That may have changed in Oslo and on the holiday island of Utoeya on Friday. Seven people were killed in a bombing in the capital — Western Europe’s worst since the 2005 London al Qaeda-linked suicide attacks that killed 52 people — and at least 10 (the number has risen to at least 80) in a shooting rampage by a lake.”

Migrant Tales and some bloggers who visit our blog have regularly expressed concern about how some far-right members of parties like the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party have stoked the flames of racism with their provocative statments and blog entries.

If a terrible tragedy is possible in Norway could something similar happen in Finland? Certainly it could and it has happened before when lone gunmen have gone on shooting rampages in Jokela and Kauhajoki.

Why is tolerance and acceptance important in society? Why should we confront bigotry and fascism forcefully?

Oslo and Utoeya island, northwest of the capital Oslo, are probably answers and the tragic consequences.

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By William Mclean

A report that Norway’s bomb and gun rampage may be the work of a far-right militant confronts Europe with the possibility that a new paramilitary threat is emerging, a decade after al Qaeda’s September 11 attacks.

Read whole story.

Norway’s tragedy appears to be homegrown

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By Enrique Tessieri

We are all saddened by the loss of life and tragedy that ripped open a terrible scar in Norway after a car bomb exploded in the capital and a man shot dead 80 innocent victims on Friday, according to media reports.  The police have apprehended a suspect, Anders Behring Breivik, a Norwegian “conservative,” according to politicons.com.

As the tragic events unfolded on Friday, some were quick to point the finger at international terrorism.

This now appears unlikely, according to the Guardian of London.  “The targeted nature of the attacks at both government offices and the Labour party youth camp both suggest a more political agenda rather than an attempt to create widespread terror,” the daily reports. “Norwegian news reports last night said that police did not think the attacks were linked to international terrorism and that it was more likely directed at the current political system.”

Former ambassador to Norway, Ole Norrback, jumped the gun a bit on the YLE’s Friday 20:30 news but said the right things. Even if the bombing initially suggested the work of an international jihadist terrorist organization, according to him, it should be seen as the work of a minority.

Norrback said that the majority of the immigrants living in Norway are hard-working people who have nothing to do with what happened.

Let’s wait for more information by the police to determine what kind of political motive the man had and how his actions could impact the rest of the region.

The PS and their culture of fear in Finland

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By Enrique Tessieri

If there is one matter that I would wish stopped in Finland it is the culture of fear being spread by the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party. We can all remember prior to the April election how some members of the right-wing populist party portrayed immigrants and refugees as gang rapists and social welfare shoppers as soon as they crossed the border into Finland.

The fear-mongering by the PS appears to have no end. It changes constantly according to the political situation. Yesterday immigrants were their favorite target and today it is the financially embattled European Union.

I was quite astonished when I read a letter to the editor published this week in Mikkeli daily Länsi-Savo. A prominent PS politician sounded the alarm bells claiming an apocalyptic end to Finnish culture and language if the EU ever became a federation.

He compared our fate as a “small nation” to other Fenno-Ugric tribes of Russia that numbered a few thousand at the most.

Certainly it is a sad matter that our Fenno-Ugric relatives were devoured by a bigger and more powerful Russian culture but to compare their fate to a nation of over five million is ludicrous.

If Finnish culture is so vulnerable as the PS politician wanted to show to outside encroachment, why didn’t it disappear when Finns formed part of the Swedish and Russian Empire for about 700 years?

What will be the next fear-mongering stunt by the PS?

That we are being invaded by Martians?

 

Iltalehti: Ulkomaalainen mies ryöstettiin Vaasassa

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Comment:  An African 40-year-old man was robbed and assaulted on Saturday in a Vaasa neighborhood, reports tabloid Iltalehti. The attackers, who were 5-6 white Finns between the ages of 20 and 25, started to call the man names like the n-word. After being threatened in public, one of the assailants threw a punch at the man, who then fell on the ground and was kicked. 

Being verbally and physically attacked in public is horrible for anyone but what surprises me, if the report by Iltalehti is accurate, is that the police is treating the matter as a robbery.

Certainly we should not jump to conclusions until the police report is out and the perpetrators have been brought to justice.

However, it is common practice in countries where paramilitary groups roam freely to kidnap their victims at their homes and steal something to show that robbery could be involved.

Once again we must thank the Finnish media for bringing these types of crimes to light. It shows that sensible Finns will not accept this type of behavior in their country.

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Uhri kaadettiin maahan, ja häntä lyötiin ja potkittiin.  Afrikkalaissyntyinen 40-vuotias mies ryöstettiin Ristinummella Vaasassa lauantaina klo 15 jälkeen. Miehen luokse oli tullut 5-6 suomalaista noin 20-25-vuotiasta miestä ja ryhtynyt nimittelemään tätä muun muassa neekeriksi. 

Read whole story.