Former Minister of Justice Antti Häkkänen, 34, is a conservative politician of the National Coalition Party (NCP) who doesn’t like Muslims and refugees. His recent tweet about Peussuomalaiset(PS)* party leader Jussi Halla-aho shows how the NCP has helped to make the PS and racism normal in Finland.
One of the matters that people say about Häkkänen in his home town of Mänyharju (pop. 5,900) is that apart from politics, he has never had a regular job.
What did Häkkänen tweet?
“Jussi Halla-aho [the chairperson of the PS who was convicted for ethnic agitation and breaching the sanctity of religion in 2012] has strong confidence from the people due to his thoughts and actions. He is a politician with whom you should cooperate.”
* The Perussuomalaiset (PS) party imploded on June 13, 2017, into two factions, the PS and New Alternative, which is now called Blue Reform. In the last parliamentary election, Blue Reform was wiped off the Finnish political map when they saw their numbers in parliament plummet from 18 MPs to none. A direct translation of Perussuomalaiset in English would be something like “basic” or “fundamental Finn.” Official translations of the Finnish name of the party, such as Finns Party or True Finns, promote in our opinion nativist nationalism and racism. We, therefore, at Migrant Tales prefer to use in our postings the Finnish name of the party once and after that the acronym PS.
“No party is immortal and there are clear signs of the Perussuomalaiset* party’s vulnerability. Their success hinges on how much they can scapegoat migrants and play down global warming. The fact that migrants are not a threat to Finland and that global warming is a very serious threat ensure an eventual fall from political grace for the PS.”
Valkoinen valta means white power in Finnish. This picture was taken on a school wall in Mikkeli. Photo: Enrique Tessieri
* The Perussuomalaiset (PS) party imploded on June 13, 2017, into two factions, the PS and New Alternative, which is now called Blue Reform. In the last parliamentary election, Blue Reform was wiped off the Finnish political map when they saw their numbers in parliament plummet from 18 MPs to none. A direct translation of Perussuomalaiset in English would be something like “basic” or “fundamental Finn.” Official translations of the Finnish name of the party, such as Finns Party or True Finns, promote in our opinion nativist nationalism and racism. We, therefore, at Migrant Tales prefer to use in our postings the Finnish name of the party once and after that the acronym PS.
“Harmony makes small things grow. Lack of it makes big things decay.” ? Sallust
Migrant Tales julkaisi vähän aikaan sitten listan “anna hukkua” -eurovaaliehdokkaista. Nämä ehdokkaat katsoivat, ettei ole EUn velvollisuus pelastaa siirtolaisia hukkumisvaaralta Välimerellä. Kolme näistä eurovaaliehdokkaista valittiin parlamenttiin 26.5.: Teuvo Hakkarainen ja Laura Huhtasaari perussuomalaisista sekä Henna Virkkunen kokoomuksesta.
Alma Media vaalikoneen väitteessä 13 lukee: “EU:n velvollisuus on pelastaa kaikki hukkumisriskillä Välimeren ylittävät Eurooppaan pyrkivät siirtolaiset.”
Vaikka ei olekaan yllätys, että islamofobiset puolueet, kuten perussuomalaiset, olisivat “täysin eri mieltä” tai “eri mieltä” yllä mainittusta väitteestä, melkein kaikissa puolueissa oli eurovaaliehdokkaita, jotka olivat eri mieltä tai suhtautuivat neutraalisti väitteeseen numero 13. Virkkunen oli “eri mieltä” väitteestä.
Kaiken kaikkiaan, 36,3% (85/234) suomalaisista eurovaaliehdokkaista olivat täysin eri mieletä, eri mieltä tai neutraali väitteseen.
Se, että näin suuri määrä eurovaaliehdokkaista arvelee, ettei ole EU:n velvollisuus pelastaa ihmisiä hukkumisvaaralta Välimerellä – välittämättä politiista seurauksista – osoittaa, kuinka syvälle me yhteiskuntana olemme vajonneet omaan suohomme.
Holokausistakin tiesi suuri joukko ihmisiä, joista enin osa kuitenkin päätti sulkea silmänsä, olla kuulematta toisten ihmisen kärsimyksistä: juutalaisten, romanien ja muiden vähemmistöjen, Natsi-Saksan vihollisien.
Virkkunen seisoo sanojensa takana ja lähetti seuraavat twitit:
“Harmony makes small things grow. Lack of it makes big things decay.” ? Sallust
Migrant Tales published recently a list of “let them drown” European election (MEP) candidates who felt that it wasn’t the EU’s obligation to save the lives of migrants crossing the Mediterranean. Three of these candidates got elected on May 26: Teuvo Hakkarainen and Laura Huhtasaari of the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party and Henna Virkkunen of the National Coalition Party.
Statement #13 of the Alma Media election compass reads: “It is the EU’s obligation to save all those migrants who are at risk of drowning attempting to cross the Mediterranean to Europe.”
While it isn’t surprising that members of Islamophobic parties like the PS and candidates like Huhtasaari and Hakkarainen “strongly disagree” with the above statement, there were candidates of most of the mainstream parties who disagreed or were neutral about statement #13. Virkkunen “disagreed” with the statement.
All in all, 36.3% (85/234) of Finnish MEP candidates disagreed or were neutral about the Alma Media election compass statement.
The fact that so many Euro election candidates can agree that it isn’t the EU’s obligation to save people from drowning in the Mediterranean without any consequences shows how far we have stooped as a society.
A lot of people knew about the Holocaust but the vast majority closed their eyes and became deaf to the suffering of the Jews, Roma, other minorities and enemies of the Nazi regime.
Virkkunen stood by her answer and tweeted the following:
People always have to be helped. My answer in (not the Alma Media) election compass 1/2: “We must stop migrant smugglers already at the port. We have to make migrant smuggling economically unprofitable by creating legal paths to job-seeking migrants who want to move to Europe. And the way @HennaVirkkunen to put an end to migrant smuggling is disagreeing with this [election compass] statement: “It is the EU’s obligation to save all those migrants who attempt to come to Europe and are at risk drowning in the Mediterranean.”My answer continues: “European officials should be given the possibility to handle applications and grant the needed permissions [to migrants]. Moreover, the situation of the migrants’ country should be improved through, among other matters, common [EU] foreign policy, trade policy, and through development aid policy…”The answer continues:…” by fostering peace, stability, better living conditions by investing in better administration, education, entrepreneurship, and investment possibilities” I am not of the opinion that people should be allowed to drown. But the smuggling of people must end.
I tweeted this question to MEP Virkkunen but never got a reply:
I asked you Tuesday @HennaVirkkunen what was your opinion about human rights? (1) Human rights are old fashioned and should be shelved or forgotten; (2) Human rights should be preserved; (3) Human rights should be strengthened.
* The Perussuomalaiset (PS) party imploded on June 13, 2017, into two factions, the PS and New Alternative, which is now called Blue Reform. In the last parliamentary election, Blue Reform was wiped off the Finnish political map when they saw their numbers in parliament plummet from 18 MPs to none. A direct translation of Perussuomalaiset in English would be something like “basic” or “fundamental Finn.” Official translations of the Finnish name of the party, such as Finns Party or True Finns, promote in our opinion nativist nationalism and racism. We, therefore, at Migrant Tales prefer to use in our postings the Finnish name of the party once and after that the acronym PS.
Seeking asylum and/or a better life is not a crime.
What is one to think of plans by the new government to use electronic ankle tags to monitor the movements of asylum seekers whose asylum application is rejected. Is it ok?
How would you like to wear an electronic ankle tag? Would it enhance your feeling of human worth or be just another example of Finland’s ever-worsening hostile environmentagainst migrants and minorities?
Moreover, the use of ankle tags by asylum seekers reveals a fact about how Finland sees asylum seekers, especially those who are Muslim. It shows the authorities do not believe asylum seekers’ suffering and plight.
Source: @Amnestyusa
If one thinks that the hostile environment in Finland began in 2015, you should think twice. The hostile environment is an integral part of this country’s history throughout its independence.
Disagree?
How come it took almost 66 years after independence, in 1983, for Finland to have in force its first immigration law?
Things were much worse. So much so, in fact, that few people ever moved to this country.
Even if far-right parties made some gains in the European elections on Sunday, their project to disrupt and destroy the EU was crashed by the Green wave that swept Europe.
To Halla-aho, Huhtasaari, Salvini, Le Pen, Farage I have a simple message: Your brand of fear-mongering and scapegoating is going down. We will make sure that your attacks on our democratic institutions and racism are remembered by future generations, our children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. We will not forget what you said, what you did, and who you are/were.
We will not also forget the near-silent mainstream politicians throughout Europe and the white media, nearly toothless when migrants and minorities are attacked and scapegoated, that allowed the far right to raise its ugly head.
And that is what they exactly did in the 1930s that sparked World War 2. My Bostonian uncle Alexander Cherkassky, who lived part of his childhood in Mikkeli, Finland, died on April 24, 1945, a day before victory was proclaimed in Italy against fascism and Nazi Germany.
“Tanska puolestaan on kiristänyt maahanmuutto- ja kotouttamispolitiikkaansa lukuisilla tavoilla 2000-luvun alusta lähtien. Tiukennukset ovat koskeneet työperusteisia oleskelulupia, humanitaarista maahanmuuttoa ja kotouttamispolitiikkaa. Myös valtion maksamia tukia pakolaisille on laskettu.
‘Tanskan ammatillisen keskusjärjestön FH:n mukaan tiukentunut kotouttamispolitiikka on vaikeuttanut maahanmuuttajien integroitumista Tanskaan ja maan työmarkkinoille. Politiikka on myös pahentanut työvoimapulaa ja aiheuttanut Tanskalle imagohaittaa,’ SAKn Eve Kyntäjä toteaa.”
Kysymys: Suomessa on kiristetty maahanmuuttopolitiikka. Kuinka se on vaikeuttanut maahanmuuttajien integroitumista?
The European elections on Sunday elected 13 MEPs from Finland. Three of them were Migrant Tales “let them drown” Euro candidates.
Did you know that 36.3% of Finnish MEP candidates who answered (85/234) Alma Media’s election compass stated that they either “strongly disagree,” “disagree” or are “neutral” (have no opinion) about the following claim: “Is it the obligation of the EU to save all those migrants who attempt to come to Europe and who are at risk of drowning in the Mediterranean?”
In plain English, it means that these MEP candidates below don’t mind if people drown, or had no opinion if humans drown in the Mediterranean.
Shameful and cowardly.
All those newly elected MEP that “strongly disagree” that it is the EU’s obligation to save migrants from drowning in the Mediterranean were from the Perussuomalaiset* party.
Teuvo Hakkarainen and Laura Huhtasaari. Source: www.perussuomalaiset.fi
Henna Virkkunen of the National Coalition Party “disagreed” that the EU should save people from drowning in the Mediterranean.
Hanna Virkkunen. Source: https://www.hannavirkkunen.fi
Migrant Tales would like to dedicate the following video to Hakkarainen, Huhtasaari, and Virkkunen:
* The Perussuomalaiset (PS) party imploded on June 13, 2017, into two factions, the PS and New Alternative, which is now called Blue Reform. In the last parliamentary election, Blue Reform was wiped off the Finnish political map when they saw their numbers in parliament plummet from 18 MPs to none. A direct translation of Perussuomalaiset in English would be something like “basic” or “fundamental Finn.” Official translations of the Finnish name of the party, such as Finns Party or True Finns, promote in our opinion nativist nationalism and racism. We, therefore, at Migrant Tales prefer to use in our postings the Finnish name of the party once and after that the acronym PS.
Eurovaalit pidettiin suununtaina ja Suomesta valittiin 13 eurokansanedustajaa. Kolme heistä olivat Migrant Talesin “anna hukkua” -eurovaaliehdokkaita.
Tiestikö, että 36,3%* suomalaisista eurovaaliehdokkaista (85/234) vastasi ”täysin eri mieltä,” ”eri mieltä” tai ”neutraali” Alma Median vaalikoneen väitteeseen: “EU:n velvollisuus on pelastaa kaikki hukkumisriskillä Välimeren ylittävät Eurooppaan pyrkivät siirtolaiset.”
Selvällä suomen kielellä tämä tarkoittaa, että kyseiset eurovaaliehdokkaat eivät välittäneet tai piitanneet hukkuvatko ihmiset Välimerellä.
Häpeälistä ja raukkamaista.
Eurokansanedustajat, jotka olivat “täysin eimieltä” siitä että EU:n velvolisuus on pelastaa kaikki siirtolaiset hukkumisriksillä Välimerellä olivat perussuomalaisia.
Teuvo Hakkaraina ja Laura Huhtasaari. Lähde: www.perussuomalaiset.fi
Henna Virkkunen kokoomuksesta oli erimieltä, että EU pitää pelastaa ihmisiä Välimereltä.
The racism that originates from the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* and their youth chapter is no surprise. The latest posting by the PS Youth is just another example of how they get attention.
It’s a simple and effective method used by far-right parties like the PS Youth.
How it works:
Say or post something outrageous and racist. Sit back and wait;
You know you have succeeded when your message is picked up by the media and social media;
When a storm raises, you have succeeded. It is now time to back down but never apologize;
The principal aim of the message is to your followers who have read what you said or posted.
Indeed, there are a lot of crocodile tears shed in the process.
When the ministry of education threatened to cut the PS Youth’s 115,000 euros in state aid, we read the following statement 5 days after they posted the following on Facebook but without an apology, according to Yle News:
“My tweet was thoughtless and I acted impulsively when the idea struck me,” writes Toni Jalonen, the PS Youth’s vice chairperson. “I later realized that it was misguided, but the damage was already done. I have learned my lesson and moving forward, I will use better judgment when it comes to the organization’s communications.”
