Enrique Tessieri Archives - Page 34 of 246

Déjà vu: 2011 all over again in 2023?

Posted on April 1, 2023 by Migrant Tales

An election victory by the Perussuomalaiset (PS),* like in the 2011 election, exposes the same ogre populism and xenophobia. The PS could have never dreamed of joining the major leagues of Finnish politics without the help of the National Coalition Party (Kokoomus), the Social Democratic party, and the Center Party.

While the latter is true, the most critical support came from the Finnish voter. How do you explain the PS winning 39 seats in 2011 from five in the previous election?

The PS should offer gratitude to its victims: immigrants, refugees, and minorities.

What will Sunday’s election reveal behind the mask that covers the many real faces of Finland?

The leading ideologues of the PS are its former head, Timo Soini, and Jussi Halla-aho, who raised to political fame through his hateful blog posts.

TV personality Maryan Abdulkarim has described Soini in the following words:

Finland goes to the polls Sunday – another beachhead?

Posted on March 30, 2023 by Migrant Tales

Far-right populism is an illness inflicting Europe at present and it now has a beachhead in Finland.

Migrant Tales (18.4.2011)

d. Yle published an opinion poll today showing the radical-right Perussuomalaiset (PS)*, Social Democrats, and National Coalition Party (Kokoomus) neck and neck.

Another poll published Wednesday by Helsingin Sanomat showed Kokoomus leading (19.8%), followed by the Social Democrats and PS, tied at 19.2% apiece.

Read the full story here.

Considering how close the three parties are in the opinion polls, anything can happen and have for the first time a PS prime minister. That would be quite a feat in the face of the party’s historic victory in 2011 when it raised the number of MPs to 39 from 5 previously.

I remember apprehension that election day 11 years ago. Some were in shock, while others played it down. You’ll see, it is only a matter before they implode, some said, assuring themselves.

One of the lessons learned from the entry of a major Islamophobic party in Finnish politics in the last decade is that matters only get more polarized and the rhetoric more hostile.

The PS bases its politics on anti-immigration sentiment, which has crippled Finland’s ability to debate the topic and cultural diversity civilly. Spreading fear of other groups is the elixir that the PS drinks to get political power.

The rise of the PS in Finnish politics is a blow to its exceptionalism and alleged “happiness,” as it has won for a sixth time in a row the title of the happiest country in the world. How can such a happy country house so much hatred for other groups?

A political analyst told me recently that he hoped the PS would win big on Sunday.

Racist and anti-Semitic violence will continue to grow in Finland

Posted on March 25, 2023 by Migrant Tales

THE STORY WAS UPDATED

Veteran National Coalition Party (Kokoomus) MP Ben Zyskowicz was attacked a second time Saturday in Eastern Helsinki by a man who threatened to kill him, according to Helsingin Sanomat. While waiting for the metro, a man approached the MP, started to yell, and punched him in the face.

The police apprehended the suspect.

In 2011, A middle-aged man stepped in front of Zyskowicz and tried to attack him, according to the tabloid Iltalehti.

Zyskowicz said that the man’s motive was political. He hurled insults at the MP about NATO and Jews.

All the major parties and President Sauli Niinistö condemned the attack.

The Finnish media, politicians and the police treat white far-right terrorism differently

Posted on March 24, 2023 by Migrant Tales

THE STORY WAS UPDATED

The National Bureau of Investigation (KRP) has remanded in custody a 28-year-old white Finn who used to be a municipal candidate for the Islamophobic Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party but now belongs to the far-right Sinimusta Liike (Blue-and-Black Movement), according to Helsingin Sanomat.

The police’s intelligence gathering of the suspect led to a search of his home, where arms were found. KRP is investigating the suspect’s activities and if other suspects are involved.

The case is not the first white Finnish suspect. In December 2021, the police announced the country’s first far-right terrorist case. In November, detective inspector Toni Sjöblom told Migrant Tales that charges would be brought against five suspects “within a few weeks.” By mid-March, no charges have been brought against the suspects.

The Finnish Security and Intelligence Service’s (SUPO)In National Security Overview 2022 said that the threat of a terrorist attack in Finland would come from “supporters of right-wing extremist or racial Islamist ideology, and from small covert cells [comprising] of such individuals.”

The latest terrorist suspect, who studied law, was a Perussuomalaiset (PS) candidate for councilperson who lobbied at the university against “woke culture” and “cultural Marxism,” a concept used by far-right activists.

The same type of bias in how the media, politicians, and even the police treat “white” terrorism is evident in the case of the 28-year-old. He was active with the PS Youth of Lapland, representing the party’s most far-right views, and was a strong proponent of ethnonationalism.

One active member of the PS Youth of Lapland was Johannes Sipola, who was convicted with Toni Jalonen for ethnic agitation in 2020. Sipola blamed in a tweet below the Christchurch massacre on multiculturalism.

An election pact with the devil

Posted on March 21, 2023 by Migrant Tales

Sometimes, the hunger for power is so voracious that politicians and their parties will make pacts with the devil. It was the case in September in Sweden when the conservative Moderate Party joined forces with the Sweden Democrats, a party with neo-Nazi roots. Finland will hold its election on April 2, and there is the same trend: the National Coalition Party (Kokoomus) is looking at the radical-right Perussuomalaiset (PS)* to form a government.

Apart from losing credibility, a conservative party that goes to bed with a party like the Sweden Democrats or PS may devour the party’s support.

The Moderate Party came in second place after the Sweden Democrats. The arrangement was like in Denmark with the Danish People’s Party (DPP), which supported a minority government in return for concessions on the anti-immigration front.

Contrary to the DPP and the Sweden Democrats, the PS has said it will support a minority government arrangement. In Finnish political terms, it means they have to either win the election, giving them the power to form the next government, or be an integral part of the new government if Kokoomus wins.

**Finland will hold its parliamentary election on April 2.** **Source: vaalit.fi**

The Social Democrats (SDP), Left Alliance, Greens, and Swedish People’s Party have said they will not form a government with the PS. The reason? SDP Prime Minister Sanna Martin has branded the PS a racist party.

With the parliamentary election only 12 days away, recent opinion polls show Kokoomus, SDP, and the PS neck-and-neck for the top spot.

Media Monitoring Group of Finland: Will the Perussuomalaiset’s xenophobic campaign help it win the election?

Posted on March 18, 2023 by Migrant Tales

Finland’s parliamentary election is only 16 days away on April 2, and the question is if the radical-right Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party will capitalize on its Islamophobic campaign message.

The assertion that the PS uses a migrant crime topic to attract voters before an election isn’t far-fetched.

One of the most interesting discoveries of our first report published Friday is the link between the Swedish parliamentary election of September and the rise of news stories about “street gangs” in Finland.

As we know, gang violence in Sweden is a serious social problem and is unique in Europe. Thanks to this problem, the Sweden Democrats, a party with neo-Nazi roots, and the conservative Moderate

Party successfully used the issue in their campaigns to win the election.

Historically, the PS had lured voters through news stories involving migrants and asylum seekers committing crimes in the n 2011, 2015, and 2019 parliamentary elections. One of the many big “migrant scandals” the PS wants to exploit for the April election is the threat of “youth gangs.”

Since it’s easy to understand the PS’ campaign strategy, the big question is if they will succeed in attracting voters in the upcoming election.

**The PS leader, Riikka Purra, denies that the party is racist.Read the full article here.**

Have the Perussuomalaiset succeeded in their quest for a migrant crime story to attract voters?

Posted on March 13, 2023 by Migrant Tales

Fool me once shame on you fool me twice shame on me.

The question is neither far-fetched nor provocative: The xenophobic Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party has used and exploited in the past three elections of 2011, 2015, and 2019 the migrant crime theme.

Understanding the success that the Sweden Democrats, a party with neo-Nazi roots, and the Moderate Party in September had in the Swedish election with criminal gang violence, PS head Riikka Purra bet she had found the “perfect” story to succeed in Finland’s April election.

But did she? The jury is still out on that one.

*MTV* works closely with the police to spread an image of fear about “youth gangs.” A knife on the left and police chief Seppo Kolehminen. on the right

About eight formerly undocumented immigrants were found guilty of sexually abusing minors in the Oulu cases four years ago. However, a skewed and unfavorable narrative supported by the police, politicians, and media came close to hysteria. Yle published 77 articles on the topic between 14 November 2018 and 13 February 2019, including 13 articles alone on 14 January!

Thanks to the Oulu sexual cases, the PS almost won the election. Even so, the whole issue faded into the background after the election.

Will the same happen to the “youth gang” [1] story?

Convicted openly racist and fascist party MP candidate eyes parliament

Posted on March 6, 2023 by Migrant Tales

Ville Nurmela, a candidate for the openly racist and fascist Sinimusta Liike convicted for ethnic agitation and vandalizing the Turku synagogue in 2020, is running for parliament, according to Helsingin Sanomat, Finland’s largest daily.

A former member of Finland’s neo-Nazi group, Nurmela has convictions for using and possessing explosives, assault rifle cartridge cases, and drugs.

Writes Ville Nurmela (left):” I am a 29-year-old metal worker, athlete, and war veteran from Uusakaupunki.
I have years of experience in street-level activism, and the [fascist] Sinimusta Liike is my first step into party politics. I am the secretary of the party’s Southwest Finland chapter and running for parliament in the next election.
I favor policies that support large Finnish families with children, our [markka] currency, domestic entrepreneurship, and complete political independence [from the EU]. I was ready to defend Europe’s freedom in a war against Russia. I am prepared to do the same today for Finland, but by parliamentary means.” See [right] *Migrant Tales*.

In an interview with STT in December, Sinimusta Liike chairperson Tuukka Kuru admitted that the party could be considered openly racist and fascist.

According to investigative journalism by Helsingin Sanomat, other Sinimusta Liike candidates for parliament were convicted of various crimes.

Katja Marova: Living next door to Russia

Posted on February 23, 2023 by Migrant Tales

As war rages on in Ukraine and we near the first anniversary of that tragic conflict on February 24, one question we should ask is how Finland’s Russian-speaking community is faring. Katja Marova, who lives in the border city of Lappeenranta, says that matters have not changed much in her home city, even if war rages in Ukraine.

“It seems that as there are now sanctions against Russia,” she continued, “it’s ok to discriminate freely as well [against Russians].”

**Katja Marova lives in the border city of Lappeenranta.**

Apart from discrimination, some Russians complain about racist harassment in public.

Marova, a Left Alliance candidate for parliament in Lappeenranta, wrote on Facebook about an incident at a bar when she spoke to a Russian friend.

“On Friday, we were at a bar in our city [Lappeenranta] when a man walked by us and purposely bumped into my friend,” she said. “The man apologized, and my friend said it was ok. But then he started to say Slava Ukraini (Respect Ukraine).”

Marova said that her friend was shocked by the man’s reaction.

A question for Ilta-Sanomat: Why didn’t you mention the name of the security company and who was in the video?

Posted on February 23, 2023 by Migrant Tales

An example of you-can-eat-your-racist-cake-and-have-it journalism: The chief executive of a private security firm posts a video wearing a uniform about how a member of the Romany minority shoplifts. The security firm’s representative uses his personal TikTok account to publish the racist post.

The security guard chief executive took down the video after a representative of the Romany community confronted him.

An apology follows: “Since my motive wasn’t racist, I was surprised [by the reaction]. When the representative [of the Romany organization] justified its case, I understood that it [the video] could be seen that way. I promised them that I would remove the video.”

In Finland, white privilege is so ingrained in society that one can make a racist video and claim ignorance.

Stealing is one of the oldest stereotypes about the Romany minority.

Even if the media will not publish the chief executive’s name and company, it is FS Security.

Since the end of December, security companies like Avarn Security and Securitas have been under close scrutiny concerning the use of excessive force. In January, they caused the death of a victim they apprehended.

The present story is only a further example of the challenges faced by security companies.

The story’s author did not reply to an email by Migrant Tales on why the tabloid did not publish the name of the security company and its chief executive.