Tag: Far-right parties

Should Finland adopt a citizenship test?

Posted on by Migrant Tales

By Enrique Tessieri

What would an anti-immigration hardliner like MP Olli Immonen of the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party seek when he believes that Finland should adopt a citizenship test like in countries like the United Kingdom? Immonen offered a written question Thursday on the matter to the speaker of the house.

Before we get to the bottom of what is behind Immonen’s written question, please visit his website and check out who he is. Behind him stands a smiling PS head Timo Soini.

One matter that becomes clear from his official website is that Immonen does not like Muslims: “Just say no to Islamization” together with links to Hommaforum and Scripta, both are multiculturally challenged websites that regurgitate urban legends about immigrants.

Moreover, you’ll find a link as well to the Nuiva manifesto, a far-right assimilation model for immigrants, never mind a “I support free speech” icon.

Migrant Tales defines multiculturalism to mean cultural diversity and the right of people to practice and be proud of their cultural backgrounds.

I personally believe that if we live in a culturally diverse society, mutual acceptance and respect are crucial. A culturally diverse society should work like any society with the difference that it is made up of different cultural groups that accept, respect and treat each other as equals.

Britain is officially a multicultural country, which promotes two-way integration not one-way, or assimilation. The other two officially multicultural countries in the world are Canada and Australia.

Taking into account Immonen’s extremists views on immigration and especially on Muslims, does he want Finland’s citizenship test, if ever adopted, to measure assimilation?

If that is the case, which I believe it is, his proposal should be flatly rejected as a sham.

Spiegel Online International: Racism in Germany – A Story of Death Threats and Casual Insults

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Comment: Here is another story published by Spiegel Online International on the harrowing experiences of a family in Germany perpetrated by a far-right group.

Migrant Tales has published and commented on a number of stories about the worrying rise and crimes of the far right in Germany.  In Finland, we have seen the rise of similar parties as well. If we want to know what kind of a threat they represent to our society, Germany would be a good place to begin. 

Writes Spiegel Online International:  “Four weeks was the amount of time that passed between the two death threats the Krause family (eds. note: not their real name) found in their mailbox. The first letter came in August 2011. The sender had cut letters out of a newspaper to form a message warning that Mr. Krause and his family would be killed if they didn’t leave Germany.

Why? Because Mrs. Krause and the couple’s two children have dark skin. Because Mrs. Krause comes from East Africa.

The second letter came in September, and the sender spent far less time on it. He simply drew four crosses on a sheet of white paper — one for each member of the family. For the son, for the daughter, for Mr. Krause and for Mrs. Krause.”

What is the lesson we can learn from Germany on racism and far-right groups? 

Silence is a poor response to such an ominous threat to our society. 

____________

Germany was shocked to learn the extent of the crimes committed by a recently uncovered right-wing extremist group. But racism is hardly an anomaly in Germany. One family’s experience shows just how widespread prejudice and hate really is.

Read whole story.

The snow job of the far right in Finland

Posted on by Migrant Tales

By Enrique Tessieri

The shocking revelations in Germany, whereby 140 people have died since 1990 as a result of far-right violence, is a wake-up call for us in Finland as well.  How is it possible that so many people are killed by a far-right terror cell without anyone raising a question? 

Writes Spiegel Online International: “Now, Germany has been startled from its slumber. Ever since the discovery of an underground far-right terror group which apparently targeted Turkish small businessmen all across Germany for many years, the law enforcement agencies have been asking themselves how they could have overlooked something that is actually impossible to overlook.”

The guardian.co.uk reports: “The German parliament has passed a cross-party resolution expressing ‘deep shame’ that a neo-Nazi terror cell was left unchecked to murder 10 people during 13 years on the run.”

Supo assured Finns in early November that while it takes the far right seriously, it does not consider these groups dangerous, according to Helsingin Sanomat.

What does “dangerous” mean? Should we be concerned?

Any person with some understanding of what has happened this year should be concerned. A party like the Perussuomalaiset (PS), which got 19.1% of the votes in April from a tad over 4% in 2007, has received a dubious reputation in only eight months after its election victory. Just over a week after the election, it became pretty clear what some of their MPs thought about racism. Then came other issues concerning democracy, sexism, homosexuals never mind links to neo-Nazi associations like the Suomen Kansalinen Vastarinta (SKV).

Denial is one of the oldest snow jobs in the books: Racists never admit they are racists never mind the far right telling us that they are extremists.  That is why the role of  academics, analysts, writers and journalists who are on the ball are crucial at exposing these groups for what they are.

Some sectors of Finland, especially the police and Supo, have pretty conservative views about Finnish society. For some of them, the PS and groups like Suomen Sisu aren’t an issue because they identify with their ideology.

Even so, we at Migrant Tales see a worrying trend in Finland after April even though we feel that more Finns than ever expected are standing up to this menace posed by racism and nationalism.

By extremists we mean the SKV, Suomen Sisu and “light” versions of the latter like the PS, especially the Nuiva manifesto faction led by Jussi Halla-aho.

Should we be concerned or not in Finland?

I would be.

Further momentum against racism in Finland

Posted on by Migrant Tales

By Enrique Tessieri

Here is a story published Sunday on Savon Sanomat of Kuopio that shows members in the right-wing populist Perussuomalaiset (PS) party giving the thumbs down to racism. Jukka Kotimäki, PS organization secretary of Siilimäki near Kuopio,  states that he does not want openly racist people to be a part of his party. 

Even though we are speaking of a small community in Eastern Finland, it shows that there is already debate in the PS on this important issue. We should applaud a member of the PS, who states that racism has nothing to do with his party.

While this is a very good sign, the PS still has a lot of work and issues to resolve concerning its stand on discrimination and racism. One of the persons we’d be happy to hear and make a break with this type of anti-social behavior is PS head Timo Soini.

Migrant Tales wrote recently about how most parties in Finland are giving the thumbs down to racism.

In my opinion, the mere idea that Finland could turn into a Denmark or that some politicians believe that they could become a Finnish Geert Wilders or even a modern Arthur Seyss-Inquart exposes not only their delusional opportunism but their ignorance on immigration.

While there is still a lot of work to do on the anti-racism front in Finland, there is hope  especially for our children and grandchildren so they may live in a country where racism and hatred of other groups are shameful and rare.

Shortly after this latest blog entry was published, @HelsinkiObs tweeted the following:Please also note that @anon_finland have taken a very strong stance. #anti-racism.

Thank you for the heads up!

When racism attacks its eager keeper in Finland

Posted on by Migrant Tales

By Enrique Tessieri

Racism is a serious social ill that festers in all societies. Some parties, like the Persussuomalaiset (PS), appear to be dazzled by the political opportunities it offers in the way of votes, public attention and fueling their nihilism. What they forget, however, is that racism has no master and can bite back at its eager keepers. 

Anders Breivik, who went on a mass-killing rampage in Norway on July 22, is a recent example of how racism and xenophobia can turn against those that let it out of the cage.

After racism bit back at one of its keepers in Norway, we have seen anti-immigration parties in Norway, Denmark and Sweden lose ground.

The PS as well appears rightfully concerned about the negative impact of the racism and bigotry that some of their party members have spread wholesale with gusto.

This explains why PS MP James Hirvisaari, one of the most far-right anti-immigration extremists in Timo Soini’s party, is appealing the government to stop the deportation of a Vietnamese family, according to Uusi Suomi.

Migrant Tales, which has followed the PS like white on rice, knows perfectly well that Hirvisaari’s appeal is only crocodile tears. It is a cheap political stunt by him to shake off some well-earned and self-inflicted labels of his party like racism, bigotry, homophobia, male chauvinism and neo-Nazism.

Hirvisaari’s opportunistic ploy is a positive sign, however. It shows that the PS is clearly concerned about the damage that its anti-immigration stand can and has inflicted on the party.

Spiegel Online International: Neo-Nazi Killings Expose Broad German Xenophobia

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Comment: If you want to learn about how to treat neo-Nazi and far right parties, Germany would be the place to begin your search. Due to the horrific things that happened in Germany under the Nazi regime, the Germans if anyone know how self-destructive racism and xenophobia can be. 

Taking into account the rise of a populist party like the Perussuomalaiset (PS) that is anti-EU, anti-immigration and above all anti-Muslim, will we see in Finland more far-right parties gaining strength? If this happens, we have nobody else to blame than ourselves.  

We should not lay a red carpet for far-right parties. We lay a red carpet and bow to them whenever we are silent and don’t ask serious questions like journalist Lisa Bjurwald does in her latest book, “Euroopan häpeä – Rasistien voittokulku.”

Like the Spiegel Online International story below, which shows how neo-Nazi groups have been killing immigrants in Germany, an eerie question stares back at us: When will it happen here, especially after the horrific events that took place in Norway on July 22? 

During these very difficult times when racism and xenophobia are raising their heads in Finland, it is important that we look at countries where these types of social ills have been a problem before. Germany is one of these countries. 

Writes Spiegel Online International: “When racism raises its ugly specter in Germany, the response has always been the same: block it out, look the other way, change the subject. No one says anything when a woman in a supermarket in Greifswald is spit on because she looks Asian.” 

Just like neo-Nazi killings expose broad German xenophobia and racism, we should be just as concerned about the rise of these social ills in Finland. 

____________

A Commentary by Stefan Kuzmany

The discovery of a neo-Nazi terror cell in Germany has many concerned about the country’s reputation. With good reason. Racism and xenophobia have deep roots in German society — and the vocabulary used to describe the right-wing extremist crime spree is telling.

Read whole story.

KU Verkkolehti: Rasistinen äärioikeisto hivuttautuu valtavirtaan

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Comment: Lisa Bjurwald’s book, Euroopan häpeä – Rasistien voittokulku (Art House), is not only encouraging but a constant reminder of the threat that far-right and right-wing populist anti-immigration parties pose on Europe and countries like Finland. 

You can read as well about Bjurwald and the launching of her book Wednesday on Uusi Suomi and Demari. One of the many interesting points she points out is that no far-right party in Europe considers itself politically in the extreme right never mind spreading racist ideology.

There is, however, according to Bjurwald enough evidence to show that the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party is no different from other populist ones like the Sweden Democrats.  The Guardian headlined an interview with PS head Timo Soini as a “far-right Finnish politician.” 

Said Bjurwald on Uusi Suomi: “Timo Toini operates as a typical (like other populist parties in Europe) stating that the Perussuomalaiset (party) does not approve racism. But they do accept it, if not these representatives would have gotten kicked out of the party.”

She adds: “Not even our racists (in Sweden) are this stupid (as the PS).”

The job of condemning the PS’ racism and hostility towards minorities like homosexuals shows that still some of the Finnish media, political parties and the general public don’t take seriously the message of intolerance and hatred coming out of the PS.

_______________

Arto Huovinen

Euroopassa on pitkään suhtauduttu aivan liian huolettomasti äärioikeistosta tulevaan uhkaan, sanoo aiheesta kirjan kirjoittanut ruotsalainen toimittaja Lisa Bjurwald.

Read whole story.

The ever-embattled Soini of the PS of Finland

Posted on by Migrant Tales

By Enrique Tessieri

Perussuomalaiset (PS) party chairman, Timo Soini, appears more embattled every day as he watches with weary eyes polls. The latest one published by Helsingin Sanomat Saturday shows racism to be more acceptable among PS supporters.   

The latest revelations, including other ones like PS party members belonging to neo-Nazi associations such as the Suomen Kansallinen Vastarinta (SKL), show that the ever-embattled Soini has fewer explanations to offer and prefers to blame the media for being biased against his party.

If we were fair, Soini knows better than anyone else that the greatest enemy of the PS isn’t the Finnish media but the likes of PS MPs like Jussi Halla-aho, Teuvo Hakkarainen, Juho Eerola,  Tuomas Okkonen, a Perussuomalaiset (PS) party board vice president in Oulu, and others.

I’ve seen it many times happen during my long career as a journalist and foreign correspondent. Anytime a politician begins to blame the media for his problems, that politician or party is in deep water.

Ossi Mäntylahti asks  on his Uusi Suomi blog why can’t anyone comment on Soini’s blog and if he is following Halla-aho’s policy of not speaking to the media?

Soini’s cover as the “good cop” in an unpredictable party like the PS has eroded in the eyes of many voters.

Another factor that will hit the PS are the horrific events that took place in Norway on July 22, which have been a a hard blow to far right and right-wing populist parties in the Nordic region.

In light of the party’s ever-growing problems, it is surprising that Soini has  “nothing intelligent to say” as he points out on his blog.

He writes: “A political leader has two opportunities. To follow one’s plan or listen to other people’s plans. I have my own plan.”

It would be fair to Finland and to those who voted for the PS to have some idea what that plan is. At present it is entangled in a mess created by no one else but the PS.

PS of Finland: Giving racism a new respectable face

Posted on by Migrant Tales

By Enrique Tessieri

A number of far right anti-immigration Perussuomalaiset (PS) party MPs have seen an image facelift after they were elected. PS MP Juho Eerola has seen the biggest transformation. 

I suspsect that after the April election, PS head Timo Soini called MPs like Eerola and told them to get a hair cut and look more respectable.

PS MP Juho Eerola before and after. Source: Eduskunta and Wikipedia.

Even PS MPs like Teuvo Hakkarainen was learning how to use a tie after he got elected. PS MP Jussi Halla-aho, the leader of the party’s anti-immigration wing, changed his Facebook profile picture. It could not, however, stop him from making controversial statements like “multiculturalism sucks ass” or that the military should overthrow the elected government in Greece.

Even James Hirvisaari, one of the eeriest of the Suomen Sisu PS MPs in parliament, got a suit and tie.

No matter how many suits these type of politicians put on they cannot hide who they are. Despite his haircut and respectable look, Eerola was incapable of condemning his aide Ulla Pyysalo for belonging to a neo-Nazi association.

One of the matters that surprised the Allies when they caught former concentration camp SS guards and commandants was how much they looked like the next-door neighbor.

The PS may want to give a legitimate face to racism and exclusion.

What does not change behind the new persona is the questionable ideology.

eWeek Europe: Anonymous Implicated In Finnish Web Hacks

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Comment: The main aim of the hackers that exposed the vulnerability of the Finnish data security system was to expose neo-Nazi organizations like Suomen Kansallinen Vastarinta. I wonder how many red faces there would be if they’d hack the Suomen Sisu association website? 

Anonymous Finland claimed responsibility for the hacks in a statement Monday. 

Writes Anonymous Finland:  “We have no tolerance for any group based on racial, sexual and religion discrimination as well as for all the people belonging to them and sharing their ideologies, which is the reason why We decided to carry out last Monday’s attack. That said, We demand SVK to cease its social and net activities and dissolve immediately: should it not happen, We will continue to carry out attacks to its website in the form We will find more appropriate for our intentions.”

And continues:  “We have seen a massive increase of racism among large layers of the population and national politics, as well as of violent verbal and physical actions towards foreigners. We have seen the birth of groups and political movements and apparition of political figures who support racist ideologies and foster and encourage racial hatred through flamboyant rhetoric, people and movements…”

Certainly what Anonymous Finland has done is a breach of the law but what can we say about websites like Hommaforum and Scripta, which are trying to make racism a normal thing in our society? 

Here is another link to Oo News! that writes about the incident.

_______________

By Iris Cheerin

Neo-Nazi politicians were exposed in Finland – but was Anonymous really responsible?  In the largest ever breach of its kind, Finnish websites were hacked last week and personal data leaked onto a file sharing website, it has been reported.

Read whole story.