Category: Enrique Tessieri

A warning to Finland from Washington

Posted on by Migrant Tales

TOPLINE

One of the big questions to arise from the Capitol storming on Wednesday by hordes of President Donald Trump followers is if the same could happen in Finland and other European capitals.

The dust from the Capitol building’s storming by Trump hordes is still settling on a political landscape that appears threatening.

Whatever your view of why and what happened on January 6 will be remembered as one of the worst days of US history. It also serves as a warning to us in Europe.

The Washington Post published a relevant story about that day of infamy headlined, “The end of American exceptionalism.”

KEY BACKGROUND AND QUESTIONS

  • Four Trump thugs and terrorists died. One of these is a police officer, Brian Sicknick, 42, who was killed in the line of duty by the enraged crowd,
  • The hordes were encouraged to go to the Capitol to stop the electoral college’s voting, which confirmed Joe Biden as the 46th president of the United States.
  • The storming of the Capitol building was planned for weeks on social media and different websites. Even so, law enforcement was caught with their pants down,
  • The action of the Capitol police raises a lot of questions. Why did some of them open the gates to the hordes, and why did some of them appear in selfies with these domestic terrorists?
  • Is there complicity on a higher level, and was the assault on US democracy a coup attempt?

THREAT TO DEMOCRACY IN FINLAND

In Finland, we have experienced the rise of a radical right populist party, the Perussuomalaiset (PS)*. The party under its leader Jussi Halla-aho has veered further to the right.

In one of many tweets showing support for Trump, Halla-aho, in a tweet below, claims that the outgoing US president is the best thing to happen to the United States and the Western world.

The love affair between the PS and autocratic rulers who shun democracy is nothing new. Even after the assault on the Capitol building on Wednesday, there is an eerie silence of complicity among the party.

Continue reading “A warning to Finland from Washington”

Migrant Tales (24.12.2020): Ask the Perussuomalaiset if they still “love” US President Donald Trump

Posted on by Migrant Tales

THE STORY WAS UPDATED

TOPLINE

Considering the Trump-fueled terrorism in Washington Wednesday, I ask once again the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party the following question: Do you still “love” President Donald Trump?

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Näyttökuva-2021-1-7-kello-4.47.03.png
Source: Twitter
Are we headed in the same direction with the PS leading the charge? Disturbing scenes from Washington DC on Wednesday. The PS’ lobbying for “free speech” would lead to mob rule. Sources: MTV and YouTube, and Washington Post.

KEY BACKGROUND

With the Trump presidency making its rambunctious exit after four years of chaos and moral decay, our attention should shift to Finland. Do we want this type of government in Finland and, if so, which party would promote such a sad state of affairs?

If today’s the United States would be a reality in Finland, we would do away with the welfare state to excuse that it is every person for him or herself with mob rule and intimidation being the norm.

Under such a system like in Trump’s USAmerica, corruption would flourish and, at the cost of social equality, an important cornerstone of the Finnish Nordic welfare state.

Such a situation would flourish because the scapegoats would be the Muslims, people of color, and non-white migrants in general.

As the evil face of Trump’s administration stoops to new lows, we should ask which parties in Finland would like to install a Trumpist political and economic order?

One party that would gladly do this is the Perussuoalaiset (PS)* of Finland. They would not only make way for Trump-style conservatism and racist policies but add icing to it with Hungary’s Viktor Orbán, Vladimir Putin, Jaros?aw Kaczy?ski, and other autocrats.

KEY EVIDENCE

Disagree?

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Näyttökuva-2020-12-13-kello-0.56.50.png
Tweets Jussi Halla-aho: “I dig him. Trump is the best that could have happened in a long time to the United States and Western world.” Source: Twitter.
Continue reading “Migrant Tales (24.12.2020): Ask the Perussuomalaiset if they still “love” US President Donald Trump”

PS’ Jyrki Åland wishes Corona to kill migrants in Varisuo, Turku

Posted on by Migrant Tales

TOPLINE

Jyrki Åland, the chairperson of the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* chapter of Turku, was quoted as saying that it would be a positive matter if Covid-19 deaths would “would do a lot of good” to Varisuo, a neighborhood of Turku where 48% of its inhabitants don’t speak Finnish or Swedish as their mother tongue.

The statement by Åland was criticized by the party. PS party secretary, Simo Grönroos, who said such statements have no place in the party.

CRITICAL QUOTE

“Yes, I would place an order for some [Covid-19 deaths like in Sweden] here for Turku’s Varisuo [neighborhood]. It is a neighborhood where migrants live and possibly a small Corona cleansing job would do a lot of good there.”

Jyrki Åland’s quote in the interview where he wishes that migrants living in Turku’s Varisuo neighborhood would die from Covid-19. Source: Twitter

The following day, Åland is contacted by tabloid Iltalehti about his statement, which was not supposed to be taken seriously.

Iltalehti: Do you really wish that people will die of Corona in Varisuo?

Åland: No, no, no. It wasn’t said seriously. It was only meant for the audience [listening to the interview] as a joke, a sort of a bad joke, but anyway.

Iltalehti: Is it a joke if you say something like that in such a straightforward manner?

Åland: Well, it depends on the person and how he interprets what I said. You should not take it too seriously.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

Åland did admit that using hindsight, his statement was a bad idea. He said he plans to apologize.

Even if Åland appears to regret what he said, this is not the first time that the PS has made racist and hostile statements against migrants and minorities.

Piia Kattelus-Kilpeläinen: Put another fascist feather in my PS cap

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Piia Kattelus-Kilpeläinen is the latest example of the bedfellows of the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party. The councilperson from Seinäjoki, where she works as a police officer, offers an odd New Year’s greeting, all with a fascist Lapua Movement, Lapua like, (1928-1932) pullover, an ax, and a chain.

A publicity stunt of a media-hungry person craving for attention. Yes, true. Moreover, a person who would care less about the police’s image.

The PS has had several politicians who are from the police force. How could we forget Olli Sademies, convicted of ethnic agitation, Leena Meri, Tom Packalén, Mika Raatikainen, and others?

Former Helsinki substitute councilperson Sademies played dumb in court about his racist comments.

“I haven’t done anything wrong,” he was quoted as saying in 2017 by Demokraatti . “What is that ethnic group anyway that I have agitated? Charging me is absurd, and it’s a racist opinion.”

So what did Sademies actually say about Africans and Muslims?

Sademies’ post in May 2015 on Facebook suggested that since Africans threaten to destroy Finland’s social welfare system because they have so many babies. Therefore it “would require forced sterilization of African men [after three children], which would stop such a flood [of people coming to Finland] from obtaining a better living standard by shagging.”

Writes Kattelus-Kilpeläinen: “During the following year [2021], the Perussuomalaiset will become trendy and will be able to walk on Bulevardi street [in Helsinki] with a coffee with the colors of the Lapua Movement [a fascist group that was dissolved in 1932 after attempting a coup] [in Helsinki] without creating a commotion.”

All of the above-mentioned police officers who are PS politicians are known for their anti-Islam stances, which are so blatant at times that one wonders if it forms part of their police training.

Continue reading “Piia Kattelus-Kilpeläinen: Put another fascist feather in my PS cap”

Hall of Shame: Finland’s 2020 Islamophobic and Afrophobic network

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Choosing the key figures in the Islamophobic and Afrophobic Hall of Shame wasn’t difficult even during a year ravaged by Covid-19. The task was to choose the most obvious culprits and other ones in the media that fuel and maintain such a toxic environment.

In putting together this year’s Hall of Shame, I was quickly overwhelmed by many politicians and other players of Finland’s Islamophobic and Afrophobic network.

We are looking at Islamophobia and Afrophobia because it is the most common and vile form of racism found in Finland. This has been well documented by The European Islamophobia Report 2019 and The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), and others.

One matter that Islamophobia, Afrophobia, and other forms of racism seek is to exclude others from enjoying their equal rights. Their narrative and actions are based on reinforcing prejudices and placing all types of obstacles.

Source: Islamophobia-definition.com. See also European Islamophobia Report 2019, which states: “When talking about Islamophobia, we mean anti-Muslim racism. […] Islamophobia is about a dominant group of people aiming at seizing, stabilizing and
widening their power by means of defining a scapegoat – real or invented – and
excluding this scapegoat from the resources/rights/definition of a constructed ‘we’
Source: European Network Against Racism.

Thus politicians, political parties, and the media build their racism and stereotypes on the wings of lies, those that cause harm to not only its victims but to society in the erosion of human rights and democracy. The list of the central figures of Finland’s Islamophobic and Afrophobic network is published to challenge their toxic narrative and to never forget who they are.

Central Figures

Political Parties and Politicians

The most Islamophobic and Afrophobic political grouping in Finland is the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party, with the National Coalition Party (Kokoomus) and Christian Democrats getting close honorable mentions.

Key parties in Finland’s Islamophobic and Afrophobic network are the PS, National Coalition Party, and Christian Democrats.

Under its former leader, Timo Soini, the PS discovered that there is a lot of potential for growth by capitalizing on racism targeting Muslims and Somalis. It is the only modern party in Finland that has exploited this social ill to gain political power. Their moment came in 2011 when the party gained in the parliamentary election 39 seats from 5 previously.

Even if it would be challenging to find a PS MP who did not use the Islamophobia card to get elected, the same applies to the whole party. The PS gets part of its hate fuel from its ties with far-right and neo-Nazi groups. The few that aren’t Islamophobes in the party are the pins in a haystack.

Some of the most “notable” PS politicians who made it to the Hall of Shame list are Juho Mäenpää, Riikka Purra, Ano Turtiainen (former parliamentary member) Veikko Villen. The two PS members that are the dark forces or the enablers behind Finland’s toxic racist environment are Jussi Halla-aho and Matias Turkkila.

Continue reading “Hall of Shame: Finland’s 2020 Islamophobic and Afrophobic network”

The PS appears desperate as their source for alternative news dims with the end of US President Trump’s administration

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The Perussuoalaiset (PS)* party’s tactics are in a desperate mode as the days in office of their US political mentor, President Donald Trump, ends on January 20.

PS MEP Laura Huhtasaari, a staunch Trump supporter who nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize, is one of Finland’s most representative white supremacist politicians.

Her aide, Olli Kotro, is also well known for his absurd statements and views. The latest one was seen on Saturday when he claimed that the words “Finland Suomi” did not appear on passports issued in Finland.

Kotro, who commonly uses fake news to drive home his extremist views, claimed that the source was a post on Instagram, whose identity he could not reveal for fear that the person would suffer attacks on social media.

Olli Kotro claims that the picture on the left is authentic. When asked (right picture) if it is authentic, he states that the picture is of a private person whose identity he wants to keep a secret. Source: Twitter

Kotro’s narrative is a copy-and-paste job of his boss, Huhtasaari, who in term constantly copy and pastes Islamophobic and alt-right diatribes. The strategy of far-right politicians like Kotro and Huhtasaari is not truth but raising the absurdity level to get attention. Their followers are like chronic fast-food consumers.

Their followers don’t mind since they are gullible if the fake news reinforces their prejudices.

Huhtasaari is such an avid white supremacist that she must spend hours shining her whiteness with the help of hair dye and makeup.

Pictures of showing the distinct phases of Huhtasaari’s “whiteness.”
Laura Huhtasaari in “good” company together (left) with far-right politicians like Marine Le Pen and Matteo Salvini. With US Vice President Mike Pence and the “nice” members that comprise (right) the EU’s far-right Identity and Democracy (ID) parliamentary bloc. Surprisingly, the Finnish media forgets to mention the PS’ membership in the ID bloc. Source: Facebook

Mayday, Mayday! Two women and six children entering Finland

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Following on and off news about the repatriation of Finnish citizens from the al-Hol refugee camp raises a lot of questions about our society. The opposition, namely the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* and National Coalition Party (NCP), are working overtime to score brownie points with the voters and fearmongering.

The commotion is now stirred by the repatriation of two women and six children. Considering that Finland is a country that claims to abide by social justice and the rule of law, some politicians’ behavior is shameful, self-centered, and cowardly.

Even if the path to repatriating the women and their children is a winding and difficult road for the government of Prime Minister Sanna Marin, the best matter that could be done is to repatriate all the Finnish citizens.

Why?

According to a statement by the ministry of foreign affairs, “Under section 22 of the Constitution of Finland, Finnish public authorities are obligated to safeguard the basic rights of the Finnish children interned in the camps insofar as this is possible.  The basic rights of the children interned in the al-Hol camps can be safeguarded only by repatriating them to Finland.”

Forgetting that in our society, a person is considered innocent before proven guilty, politicians from the PS, NCP, and Supo, the Finnish Security and Intelligence Service are busily in lynch-mob mode.

The tweet below by Orpo on Sunday reads: “The repatriated adults [two women] are, according to Supo, a security risk to Finland. The government has the responsibility to ensure that those who committed crimes and involved in terrorist activities face justice and that the safety of the Finns isn’t endangered.”

Has anyone noticed how National Coalition Party head Petteri Orpo changed his look using different glasses and haircut? Orpo before (left), with less hair, and on the right with more har and thicker glasses. What kind of image do the two pictures evoke? Despite these image stunts, the National Coalition Party continues to do poorly in opinion polls. Sources: Yle and Helsingin Sanomat.
Continue reading “Mayday, Mayday! Two women and six children entering Finland”

Reija Härkönen: Rasisteista puhutaan liian ylevin termein

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Valtakunnan politiikassa on joukkio, joka esiintyy räyhäkkään rasistisesti, hyökkäävästi ja syrjivästi. Media kohtelee tätä sakkia pehmeästi, jopa hyväksyvästi. Vain harvoin käytetään heitä selkeästi kuvailevia termejä: rasistit, rasistipuolue, uusfasistit, uusnatsit, eduskunnan häiriköt, kansanryhmää vastaan kiihottajat.

Termi, jota media usein käyttää, on ”populisti”. Sana on niin mukavan pyöreä ja pumpulinen ja kuulostaa ihan popmusiikilta. Moni persu julistaakin ylpeästi kuuluvansa populistipuolueeseen. Kirjoittihan persuperustajakin gradunsa populismista. Mutta medialta se on määrityksenä rimanalitus, kun keskustellaan puolueen rasistisista ulostuloista. On totta, että kansaa voidaan kiihottaa ja houkutella myös rasismin avulla, mutta sitä ei voida pitää normaalina tai hyväksyttävänä tapana.

Populistiset ”isänmaan puolustujat” eivät uskalla näyttää naamaansa julkisuudessa. Media on lähtenyt leikkiin mukaan ja julkaisee kuvia takapuolista. Savon Sanomat/Lehtikuva/Antti Aimo-Koivisto

Toinen perussuomalaisista ja muista rasisteista usein käytetty termi on ”maahanmuuttokriitikko”. Se on rasistien itse itselleen kehittämä ja median huojentuneena käyttöön ottama ilmaus. Medialle se on niin miellyttävä! Päästään puhumaan koko rasistisakista siten, että sen toiminta kuulostaa ihan asialliselta. Näin ei loukata ketään, vaikka kirjoitetaankin perussuomalaisten rikollisista toimista.

Yksi varsin harhaanjohtava, rasisteista usein käytetty termi on ”konservatiivi”. Konservatiivisuuteen kuuluu toki perinteisten arvojen korostaminen ja usein uudistusten vastustaminen tai hidastaminen, mutta konservatiivi ei ole rasisti. Jotkut puolustavat rasistisiin ulostuloihin syyllistynyttä ystäväänsä: ”No se nyt vaan on niin konservatiivinen, ei se mikään rasisti ole”. Normaalijärkinen konservatiivi oppii vielä vanhanakin olemaan käyttämättä rasistisia ilmaisuja ja lallattamatta mulliturpaloruja.

”Kansallismielinen” on myös termi, jonka taakse toimittaja usein kätkeytyy, kun pitää kirjoittaa henkilöistä, jotka eivät halua päästää maahan suomalaista miestä tummempaa ja naisiakin vain hyväksikäyttötarkoituksessa. Suomen itsenäisyyteen ja oman kulttuurin kehittämiseen noita ajatuksia ei mitenkään saa nivottua.

Kaikken ristiriitaisin termi rasismilla retostelevasta joukkiosta käytettynä on ehkä kuitenkin ”isänmaallinen”. Eiköhän liene niin, että vain maamme yhteisiä asioita eettisesti ja moraalisesti kestävällä tavalla hoitavia poliitikkoja voidaan kutsua isänmaallisiksi.

Miksi te toimittajat lähdette tällaiseen? Ettehän te murhaajiakaan kutsu oman käden oikeuden käyttäjiksi tai henkikriittisiksi.

Isänmaallista kuvastoa Jussi Halla-ahon Facebook-seinällä.

Alkuperäinen kirjoitus voi lukea tässä.

KOTOUTUMINEN #13: There is no good Finnish word for inclusion just like with integration before

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For decades, Finland has been such a far-flung country that it still does not have any good word for inclusion, never mind any willingness to promote it to newcomers. The same happened to the word “integration,” which became part of the Finnish language in the late-1990s.

Those were the good old days when foreigners and minorities were excluded and how white Finnish society monopolized all social, political, and economic power.

In Finland, we too often confuse these two words: equality (yhdenvertaisuus) and equity (oikeudenmukaisuus). Without equity, there is no social equality. Source: MF.

I would go as far as to state that a good Finnish term for inclusion does not exist because outsiders are expected to be indefinite outsiders.

A word like “inclusion” reveals volumes about Finnish society and how we see Others and keep them excluded. If you want people to integrate or be equal members of society, Finland should promote inclusion instead of integration.

But that is a tall order. By promoting inclusion, you are effectively giving real power, whereas, by integration, people accept the status quo.

See also:

*Kotoutiminen is the Finnish term for integration. It came about in the late-1990s because there was no such term in the Finnish language.

Another reason that reinforces Denmark as one of the most Islamophobic countries in the EU

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Who could forget the former minister of immigration and integration, Inger Stojberg? Apart from her Islamophobic rhetoric, she is also remembered with a cake celebrating in 2017 the 50th tightening of Danish immigration laws.

There seems to be no shortages of Islamophobic politicians in Denmark.

The former minister is in a lot of hot water today for misleading parliament on the illegal order of separating certain married couples at asylum reception centers, reports The Local.

Writes The Local: “A further conclusion of the report is that the former minister, during the parliamentary hearings, ‘gave a different impression of the directive as it was communicated to the (immigration) service than was the case (in reality).’”

Bashy Quraishy, an anti-racism activist, wrote on Facebook: “Shouldn’t Inger Stjoberg be disqualified from her political position, and the law should punish her as Erik Ninn Hansen was after the Tamil Case?”

When he was minister of justice, Hansen tried to hinder Tamil refugees’ family reunification despite their legal rights as stipulated in Danish law.

The scandal led to the resignation of Poul Schlüter’s government in 1993.

Cartoon (left): Former minister of immigration and integration, Inger Stojberg tells the little girl if she does not have arms, she cannot have any cake.