I mention only two infamous days on Migrant Tales annually: the coup in Argentina on March 24, 1976, and the man who went on a murderous rampage against 77 people on 22/7.
Let’s offer a moment of silence to the victims, killed, and those who survived this atrocity.
Source: Migrant Tales
Further reading:
ANALYSIS – Commemorating July 22, 2011: Violence in the name of ‘fighting Islamization’
Hateful and racist words can turn into bullets.
THE STORY WAS UPDATED
Two days and nine years had gone by when Norway and Europe witnessed the horrific events of 22/7 that left 77 people dead and many others with physical and psychological injuries for the rest of their lives.
One of the matters that we can learn from the far-right terrorist is that words can turn into bullets.
Continue reading “The Norwegian mass murderer, 22/7, and Jussi Halla-aho”In his manifesto, “2083 a European Declaration of Independence,” he cites the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* and its chairperson Jussi Halla-aho as a credible (sic!) source on the takeover of Europe by Muslims.
The far-right was riding the crest of the wave in 2011. In Finland, the radical right Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party had scored their historic parliamentary victory. But then three months later, Anders Breivik appeared from nowhere and went on to murder 77 people to save – according to him – Europe from being overrun by Muslims.
On a day like this, the only thing we can and must do is not to forget.
Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg, who is no friend of Muslims, said in her speech Wednesday that Norwegians must “fight every day for the values which were targeted by the terrorist.”
“July 22nd reminds us that life can be endangered when hate is allowed to stand unchallenged,” she said.
While no sensible person will deny the crimes by Breivik were horrific, we must acknowledge that he grew up in a country that armed him with such hate.
Until January, the Islamophobic Progressive Party (FrP) share power with Solberg’s conservative Høyre. The FrP ditched the government because of the repatriation of a Norwegian woman allegedly linked with Isis had her five-year-old child, who needed medical treatment.
I am certain that Breivik’s stain on Norway will never wipe off. And this is good because it is a reminder of what hatred and racism can do.
In August, Norway almost underwent another Breivik-style terrorist attack when a young man attacked the Al-Noor Islamic Center near Oslo. Fortunately, a 65-year-old man foiled the attack.
A report by the Norwegian Police Security Service (PST) warns that Norway and Europe may suffer from terrorist attacks in the next few months against Muslims, Jews, and the LGBTQ community, reports Yle, citing the Norwegian Police Security Service.
PST cites the Christchurch attack against two mosques in New Zealand in March as a source which may encourage some to act.
Apart from
Even PS Chairperson Jussi Halla-
Considering that “quiet” Norway suffered its worst attack after World War 2 on July 22, 2011, when Anders Breivik murdered 77 innocent victims, and a new attack happened in August when a young white Norwegian did not succeed at killing Muslims at the Al-Noor Islamic Center near Oslo.
Writes PST: “Some right-wing groups internationally will insist on urging their members to carry out terrorist attacks. The groups are spreading terrorist propaganda as part of their goal to launch a revolution and a racial war.”
What about Finland? Has the Finnish Security Intelligence Service (SUPO) conducted a similar assessment? I’m certain that they have but why haven’t they warned the public?
Considering that radical right groups like the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* are spreading the very hatred that fuels and feeds white terrorism, this may discourage them from being too public about the threat.
Finnish exceptionalism and simple ignorance on the impact of racism may also be factors.
Words have consequences and those words are copied by the PS and other hard-right groups. Apart from fueling racism and discrimination, it’s pretty clear that labeling Muslims and Africans as a threat to Finland is the poison pill that these white terrorists like to hear.
All of the PS MPs who got elected this year used Islamophobia or some form of populist anti-immigration rhetoric in their campaigns.
Racism and and spreading ethnic hatred has become so normal in Finland that the PS’ first vice-president, Riikka Purra, asks with a poker face if it is racist to call an African rapist “human scum.”
Indeed, it is racist, especially when the person making such a comment is white and belongs to an Islamophobic party like the PS.
As words have consequences so does spreading racism. Racism is like a rabid dog that populist anti-immigration politicians use to impress their voters. They walk around with this dog but keep it on a short leash. Since the dog knows no master, it can bite its owner hard.
The rise in hate crime in Finland is already one indication that should start to worry.
Let’s hope that this concern turns to action to tackle all forms of hatred.
* The far-right 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 has 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.
Anders Breivik committed a horrendous act six years ago on July 22. While anti-immigration groups want us to forget what happened, we can never forget. Breivik is the smoking gun that proves that those that preach hatred have the potential to spread fear and death.
One must ask what the end-game of those that spread racial, ethnic and cultural hatred is? We have many examples but, like what Breivik did six years ago, society and some politicians want to forget. Every time we forget, we edge closer to the peak of the hate pyramid where hatred has the potential of turning into genocide.
What can one person do?
We can do a lot to prevent the likes of Breivik and his fanatical followers from taking us on the same path of our moral demise as a society.
Continue reading “Six years after 22/7: What can one person do?”
On the fifth anniversary of when Anders Breivik went on the rampage in Oslo on 22/7 by killing 77 victims, we saw another gunman in Munich follow his footsteps. We now know with pretty much certainty that there is a connection between what the shooter did in Munich and what happened in Norway exactly five years ago.
Reports the BBC: “Munich police chief Hubertus Andrae said there was an ‘obvious’ link between the new attack and Friday’s fifth anniversary of Breivik’s attacks in Norway, when he murdered 77 people.”
Apart from the fact that nine people died and 27 were injured at the hands of a person who appears to like mass shootings and terrorists like Breivik, Perussuomalaiset (PS)* Youth chairman Sebastian Tynkkynen said in a statement a day before that punishable offenses like ethnic agitation and breaching the sanctity of religion should be stricken off the penal code.
Considering the role that hate speech had in the killing of victims in 22/7 and yesterday, Tynkkynen’s and the PS Youth’s suggestion to scrap hate speech from the penal code sounds reckless and dangerous.
Gavan Titley exposes with three sentences how the media interpreted what happened in Munich Friday. He writes on his Facebook wall:
Continue reading “White Finnish privilege #30: Whitewashing and racializing the news”
Is it a coincidence that Perussuomalaiset (PS)* Youth leader Sebastian Tynkkynen wants to make hate speech possible by doing away with laws that prohibit it? Is it a coincidence that he states openly and publicly, like PS MP Teuvo Hakkarainen, that Finland should rid itself of Muslims?
PS Youth put out a statement a day before the fifth anniversary of the mass killings in Norway by Anders Breivik that asks those punishable offenses like ethnic agitation and breaching the sanctity of religion should be stricken off the penal code.
Not only has the PS remained silent and in holiday mode in the face of what Tynkkynen and Hakkarainen said, but there’s been total silence as well from the leaders of the Center Party and National Coalition Party.
Considering that the 77 deaths committed by Breivik in 2011 were and still are the worst case of terrorism to strike the Nordic region, it is shocking how rapidly we have forgotten and allowed hate speech, racism, and bigotry to grow in the past five years.
Even if many have forgotten what happened on 22/7 and would care less about hate speech, we and many others haven’t forgotten.
* The Finnish name for the Finns Party is the Perussuomalaiset (PS). The English names of the party 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. The direct translation of “Perussuomalaiset” is “basic” or “fundamental Finn.”
This week we heard Anders Breivik’s closing statements in his defense for killing 77 innocent victims. In his final tirade of how multiculturalism is responsible for fuelling the Islamization of Europe, the mass killer showed no remorse.
“The attacks on July 22 were preventive attacks to defend the indigenous Norwegian people,” he said. “I therefore demand to be acquitted.”
In a recent column, Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party MP Olli Immonen writes at the same time as the Breivik trial is ongoing: “…it is clear that current developments [concerning Islamization] will lead to a situation where our Western way of life in Finland and elsewhere in Europe will be threatened. The confrontation between Islamic and Western culture is one of the megatrends of this century.”
Shivers went up my spine when I read both quotes. While they convey the same message, there is a difference: Breivik went on a killing rampage while Immonen didn’t.
The Norwegian mass killer uses Islamization to justify what he did; Immonen uses the same arguments but to attract media attention and, crucial to his political career, future votes. One is being tried in a courtroom for mass murder while the other is in parliament spreading Breivik’s Counter-Jihadist views.
In many respects, the debate revolving around whether Breivik is insane or not when he carried out the killings speaks volumes about how we want to continue seeing ourselves as a people and society irrespective of 22/7.
The question is an exceptionally tough one: Are Breivik’s thoughts “sane” but what he did “insane?” In other words, is it ok to spread hatred, racism and prejudice of other groups as long as you don’t take the law in your hands and start killing people?
If Breivik were Immonen and Immonen, Breivik, the verdict would be clear: Breivik would be “sane” and Immonen “insane.”
The landslide victory of Norway’s opposition Conservatives (Høyre) on Monday was short-lived after the country’s next prime minister, Erna Solberg, faced tough coalition talks with the anti-immigration and populist Progress party (Fremskrittspartiet) of which Anders Breivik was a member and whose cold-blooded killings continue to haunt the country, reports Reuters.
Outgoing Labor Party Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg and his allies were able to win 72 seats compared with the 96 that Solberg and its allies won, which is 11 more needed for a majority.
Høyre won 48 seats, Progress party (29), Christian Democratic Party (10) and the Liberals (9).
Even if the Progress party has tried to distance itself from the xenophobic Sweden Democrats and Danish People’s Party, Breivik’s shadow continues to haunt the party as well as the country.
After 22/7, when Breivik gunned down in cold blood 69 Labor Party youths on the island of Utøya (69 dead) and eight more from a bomb explosion in Oslo, life has not changed in Norway but in the Nordic region as well.
The election result of the Progress party lags behind pre-22/7 results. In September 2011, it lost 6.1% percentage points in the municipal elections and on Monday it lost 12 seats.
Even if some believe that Norway has forgotten what happened on 22/7, it’s unlikely that anti-immigration rhetoric and populism can make something so horrific disappear.
Perussuomalaiset (PS) chairman, Timo Soini, reveals in a recent blog that he got four death threats recently. Interior Minister Päivi Räsänen’s Christian Democratic party received a bomb threat as well, which was reported by tabloid Iltalehti. The death threats are similar to what Swedish-language journalists received a while back. Migrant Tales has been a victim of death threats as well.
The question that we should ask in light of the latter is what these threats say about Finland and where we’re heading today as a country.
One matter it says loud and clearly is that our response to intolerance is far from satisfactory. Those that fuel ethnic hatred, racism and make it their business to polarize society between “us” and “them,” believe opportunistically that hate speech can be their political servant.
How wrong they are! Mass murderer Anders Breivik of Norway is one recent example of how you cannot keep xenophobia and racism on a short leash because it can bite back at its owner, and hard.
Ali Esbati, a survivor of 22/7,* when Breivik murdered 77 innocent victims on his Islamophobic rampage in Norway in 2011, was quoted as saying on The Local, which cites an op-ed on Aftonbladet, that Norway had learned little from the massacre. He claimed that the “undergrowth of hateful rhetoric” had recovered from the attacks by Breivik.
While anti-immigration parties in the Nordic region suffered election losses due to Breivik, the approval rating of the anti-immigration Progress Party (FrP) of Norway has swelled today to 20% in the polls.
An editorial on Oulu-based daily Kaleva writes about the death threats against Soini.
”Hate speech has been raging for a long time, and there are among Perussuomalaiset MPs people who have been sentenced for ethnic agitation. From the mouthes of the Perussuomalaiset we’ve read uncensored text that is written off as humor.
Death threats show that the hate speech can travel the other way. The party’s figurehead Soini is the victim of such a situation.”
To use a recent example of how the PS fuels hatred in Finland, one of its MPs, James Hirvisaari, published on Facebook the wonderful time he spent with Seppo Lehto, a far right agitator who was imprisoned for inciting ethnic hatred.
On the same weekend, he said in a tweet that a reporter working for tabloid Iltalehti ”masturbated wildly” when he was interviewed by him on the phone.
Add to the latter the near-constant hate speech against gays, elites, immigrants, and groups like Muslims from parties like the PS and a broader worrisome picture emerges of the problem.
Intolerance breeds more intolerance until it snaps like on 22/7 or turns into something more sinister like Germany 1933.
*I was surprised to see The Local use 22/7 to describe the mass murders that took place in Norway in 2011. Using a date for a tragedy is a way to honor and respect the victims.