Below are two quotes. One is by the present foreign minister, Timo Soini, and the other below is by former Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja. Soini is a member of a party that made its mark in politics thanks to its anti-immigration and isolationist rhetoric.
Since Soini and his party, the Perussuomalaiset (PS)*, base their rhetoric on false promises that have been broken after becoming a member of government, their popularity has taken a nosedive in the polls.
What they say and promise have nothing to do with present-day Finland because they are based on lies and if they had free reign they’d legally turn migrants and minorities to third-class citizens.
Everything they propose to demote migrants and minorities in Finland is unconstitutional.
But the show must go on before the PS ship sinks for good as the Titanic did in 1912.
Let’s check out two very different quotes by Soini and Tuomioja about the carnage that took place in Paris Friday.
Soini was quoted above as saying on Uusi Suomi the following about the Paris attacks: “We have to take what happened [in Paris] seriously. The simple message shouldn’t leave any doubt that democracy will be defended. We will neither give these forces the upper hand nor bow to them but we’ll attack and challenge them.”
In contrast, Tuomioja, who is a member of the Social Democratic party, was quoted as saying the following: “We have to create a condition where people don’t take part in such extremist actions. People have to be better integrated into society.”
Both comments are like day and night.
I’d ask Soini if what he suggests, we’ll attack and challenge “them,” isn’t what we’ve been doing all these years?
Is defending democracy spreading Islamophobia and xenophobia? Do you strengthen democracy by demonizing those that escape the terror you want to “attack and challenge?”
Take a look at Iraq, Libya, Lebanon never mind Syria to name a few places where we have “attacked and challenged them.”
Total fail.
Thumbs up to Tuomioja and thumbs down to Soini, who is trying to score brownie points with his voters. His hawkish response is no different from the Republican candidates running for president in the United States. Bomb our enemies and send them back to the Stone Age.
The key word is integration or inclusion as Tuomioja pointed out. People of all backgrounds must have social equality, respect and permitted to be part of our society. Without it you breed terrorism.
But the PS wants the total opposite: It wants to exclude migrants and minorities and turn them into second- and third-class members of society.
They are a hostile party to migrants, minorities and to our ever-culturally diverse society.
* The Finnish name of the Finns Party is the Perussuomalaiset (PS). The English-language names adopted by the PS, like True Finns or Finns Party, promote in our opinion nativist nationalism and xenophobia. We therefore prefer to use the Finnish name of the party on our postings.
So what part of ISIS ideology we should accept? And where to draw a line?
Internetnetsi I don’t trust Soino or the PS. As the PS have shown in government, the first thing they do when they get power is break their campaign promises. All that Soini states is intended for political consumption. There is nothing substantive in his words.