THE OPINION PIECE WAS UPDATED
Much of Finland’s hostility towards asylum seekers and visible minorities lies on President Sauli Niinistö, who hosts today his last Independence Day gala. For some, like me, this is good news. Hopefully, Finland’s next president will have a greater understanding of migrants, cultural diversity and peace-building.
Ahti Tolvanen, who is a member of the Migrant Tales board, believes that President Niinistö failed in his job number one.
“One of the areas that President Niinist failed was maintaining Finland as a peacekeeping nation,” he said. “He just walked away from decades of a tradition in The Helsinki Spirit.”
The Helsinki Spirit was the basis of Finland’s foreign policy grounded on détente and non-involvement and not taking sides in conflicts.
President Niinistö dancing with his wife Jenni Haukio at the Independence Day gala.
During the past eight years of his mandate, President Niinistö has shown his hostility towards asylum seekers, especially Muslims, and other people of color. He was never a friend of such communities.
President Niinistö’s prejudices and apparent ignorance about racism are one source that feeds Finland’s hostile environment against migrants and minorities. Some of his comments and stances (see below) leave some scratching their heads.
Tell us which of these gaffes is your “favorite.”
Below are some of his most infamous comments by President Niinistö:
- President Sauli Niinistö throws weight behind opposition’s election campaign by citing youth gang “problem” (12.12.2022)
- Finland’s President Sauli Niinistö panders (again) to the racists (3.1.2023)
- President Sauli Niinistö’s announcement about the fate of the al-Hol Finns in Syria will most likely be the government’s (16.12.2019)
- Presidentti Sauli Niinistön sitaatit maahanmuutosta ja moninaisuudesta paljastavat jotain ikävää hänestä (2.5.2019)
- Finnish President Sauli Niinistö’s disinformation bubble about racism and Others (26.4.2019)
- President Sauli Niinistö office wants to censor the Feminist Party of Finland (24.1.2018)
- How the Finnish government, institutions and President Sauli Niinistö pander to anti-immigration sentiment and groups
- The two extremes claim by Finnish President Sauli Niinistö and the government is nothing more than an Okie from Muskogee (23.3.2017)
- The anti-immigration narrative of politicians, the police and President Sauli Niinistö is no mistake (6.2.2016)
- President Sauli Niinistö claims that asylum seekers threaten Finland and Europe (3.2.2016)
- What President Sauli Niinstö forgets to state when he claims that migrants should “do as the Romans do” (19.10.2015)
- Finland President Niinistö’s “information-gathering exercise” about dual citizenship should worry us a lot (23.8.2019)
- President Niinistö’s New Year’s Day address sidelined immigrants and New Finns (1.1.2013)