Tag: fascism

Disingenuous Jussi Halla-aho, disingenuous fascist-spirited Perussuomalaiset

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It is justified to consider the Nürnberg trials a farce. Guilt was decided in advance, and the justifications for the sentences were absurd.[1]

Perussuomalaiset* (PS) chairperson Jussi Halla-aho (2010)

Isn’t it incredible how PS Youth second vice president Toni Jalonen put himself in the eye of a political storm when he admitted over the weekend that he is “an ethnonationalist, traditionalist, and a fascist?”

Not only admitted these words in public is one matter but doing it with his Finnish fascist black shirt and blue tie adds more light to the hypocrisy of the Finnish political system and specifically on the PS.

Halla-aho was quoted as saying in Helsingin Sanomat that the PS doesn’t tolerate nazism or fascism. These assurances are as empty as Halla-aho admitting that the PS isn’t a racist party.

A 2011 campaign ad of Wille Rydman of the National Coalition Party. In some ads like this one he appears for some strange reason with photoshopped dark skin and in others with white skin. Rydman believes that his party should work closer with the PS. It is for this reason, and many others, why he is known as the Halla-aho of the National Coalition Party.

Jalonen used MP Juha Mäenpää, who is suspected for ethnic agitation over his invasive species remark of asylum seekers, as an example of why it would be injust to sack him from the party.

“I understand that if the party sacks me, but I do not see it as just if you look at what others have said [publicly] in the party,” he was quoted as saying in Helsingin Sanomat, pointing the finger at Mäenpää.

What makes the whole we’re-going-to-possibly-sack Jalonen farce by the PS leadership is itself and its track record. Jalonen’s case shows that it is fine being a fascist in the party as long as you don’t say it too loudly in public.

Halla-aho was, for example, convicted in 2012 for ethnic agitation and breaching the sanctity of religion. He was also suspended a year earlier from the party for two weeks for supporting a military regime in Greece.

“What is needed in Greece right now is a military junta, which would not need public approval and could use tanks against strikers and demonstrators,” he wrote on Facebook.[2]

The PS has, under the leadership of Halla-aho, become more radicalized. Racist concepts like ethnonationalism, ethnic replacement, fascism, and other ones are today the norm.

The same challenges former PS leader Timo Soini had with the racists in the party, which was nothing more than a power fight between him and Halla-aho, is now taking place in the party but with fascists and ethnonationalists.

Let’s not fall for the hypocrisy of the PS, but continue to focus on challenging a party that wants to turn Finland into a country like Victor Orbán’s Hungary.

[1] For an example Alber Speer (an architect) got a long sentence since he knew about the holocaust but didn’t try to prevent it. As if a person living in a dictatorship should fight against the dictatorship even if it costs his life. Source: Wikiquote (Hommaforum).

[2] Wikiquote

PS Youth vice president: “I am an ethnonationalist, traditionalist, and a fascist”

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THIS STORY WAS UPDATED

Toni Jalonen, who is the second vice president of the Perussuomalaiset* (PS) Youth and member of the Nazi-spirited Suomen Sisu, states openly in a speech below that “I am an ethnonationalist, traditionalist, and a fascist [clapping].”

Yes, you heard, right. Politically matters appear spinning rapidly out of control in the PS and some are living in an alternate reality.

Recently, PS MP Ano Turtiainen called on his followers to civil war never mind PS MP Juha Mäenpää, who said in summer that asylum seekers are “an invasive species” that had to be eliminated.

Just like former PS leader Timo Soini had a tough time keeping the racist outbursts of his party in line, Jussi Halla-aho is seeing the same problem. Even if he is on the same ideological wavelength, open fascism, and ethnonationalism are eating the party from within.

On the left is Toni Jalonen, PS Youth vice president admitting that he is “an ethnonationalist, traditionalist, and a fascist.” The Lapua Movement was a fascist organization that failed to overthrow the elected government of Finland in 1932 after which the the Patriotic People’s Movement (Isänmaalinen kansanliike, IKL) was formed. The Lapua Movement-IKL did not use brown shirts but a black one with a dark blue tie. Is it a coincidence that Jalonen is wearing a Lapua Movement outfit? Source: Twitter and Good Reads.

PS Youth substitute board member for Lapland, Johannes Sipola, has said a lot of terrible things like condoning and blaming the Christhurch killings in March on multiculturalism.

It’s clear that he is one of the first to defend Jalonen like in the tweet below.

From the second paragraph it reads: “Jalonen represents the [PS’] youth association and yes, the youth association is openly fascist. This line is supported as well by the members. That is why Jalenen was voted to his post.” Source: Twitter.

Where will all this lead?

It will not end well, I am afraid. It is only a question of time when something will snap, and we will – hopefully not – see something tragic like we are seeing today in different parts of Europe.

Spiral of hatred is a tightening noose around the neck of the Perussuomalaiset party

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Racism is like a rabid dog on a short leash. The racist shows of his dog and other racists are amazed. But a warning: The dog can bite back and hard because the sick dog knows no master.

The Perussuomalaiset (PS)* is a party that is spinning out of control, and it is self-inflicted: Ethnonationalism, fear-mongering about white Finns becoming a minority, glorifying fascism, attacking researchers and other institutions, tweets about defecation and eating feces.

The PS leadership wants us to believe that there is no connection between them and rising Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, hate speech and attacks on our institutions. The party rose with hatred in its throat, sanctimony in its message, and hatred for migrants and minorities like Muslims on its tongue.

Welcome to the PS’ style of doing politics. Frame and attack people who oppose you and blame everything on migrants.

The famous “We are not a minority” mural in Los Angeles. Photo: Enrique Tessieri.

Finland, the country with the best education in the world, produces Frankenstein politicians who can only utter words filled with hate and fantasies of Nazi Germany.

In the same way, the slaughter and mass murder of the Jews and other minorities began in Germany in the 1930s, the PS has politicians who label asylum seekers and Muslims as “invasive species.”

And let’s not forget the Holocaust deniers like Jussi Halla-aho, who plays down such mass murder in a 2004 quote:

“Retroactively opposing the Holocaust is nicer and easier than getting involved in solving present-day problems. It is nice to accuse the Germans because cosi fan tutti. Armenians are irrelevant, because Armenians don’t own Hollywood and the American media.”

The PS has steered further to the far right under the leadership of Halla-aho, who was convicted in 2012 for ethnic agitation and breaching the sanctity of religion.

If the PS ever got its way and did away with hate-speech laws in Finland as it wishes, it would lead to a free-for-all turkey shoot where the victims are migrants and minorities.

Using racism to gain more votes and power is a double-edged sword. It is like a rapid dog that can bite back as Anders Breivik did in Norway, murdering 77 victims.

There is another danger: Greed and hatred will fuel internal fighting and bickering.

Even if the PS has a nose around its neck, it is important that we deal with this menace or succumb to its fascist ways.

The Soldiers of Odin threaten to take over and defend by force the northern Finnish border checkpoint of Tornio

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The head of the far-right Nazi-spirited vigilante group Soldiers of Odin, Mika Ranta, threatened in a statement to take over the Tornio border checkpoint and defend it by force if the Swedish authorities let in asylum seekers as in 2015.

Center Party MP Mikko Kärnä states in the Center Party newspaper Suomenmaa that he has asked the police to investigate if the far-right group, which has ties with the Islamophobic Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party, broke the law by stating that it would take over the Tornio border checkpoint and defend it by violence.

The lion’s share of the over 32,000 asylum seekers that came to Finland in 2015 did so through the northern city of Tornio, located 737 km north of Helsinki. Source: Yle.

Kärnä also said that if the Soldiers of Odin’s association broke the law, they should be banned.

Soldiers of Odin founder Mika Ranta, who promises to pay 1,000 euros to anyone who knock a woman’s teeth down her throat. Source: Twitter.

What has overtaken this country if we have violent far-right public figures spread hatred with relative ease? Finland was slow to react and is still reacting. National Police Commissioner Seppo Kolehmainen and then Minister of Employment Jari Lindström openly supported in 2016 vigilante gangs like the Soldiers of Odin while then-Interior Minister Petteri Orpo was skeptical.


Source: soldiersofodin.fi

“If the Swedish border guards plan to slide from their responsibilities and imagines that it can let in people without appropriate travel documents to cross the Finnish side of the border, we will organize in Tornio to protect our people.
If the Finnish government does not before that take responsibility for the country’s internal security and initiate effective border controls to curb organized crime and prevent undocumented aliens from entering [our country], it is the task of brave Finns with their iron determination to take over the border checkpoint in Tornio. If we face after that violence from aliens, we will meet in The Hague [court of justice]. It is the same if we face violence from the authorities. We will use force if necessary.
This nonsense must stop.
Bring back respect for legality and bring the traitors to justice.

MRanta

Sticking one’s head in the snow will not make the far-right threat disappear.

That is why we need a concerted effort to challenge such groups in order to defend our Nordic democratic institutions.

*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.

Who needs a commissioner for protecting European values? What are “our” European values anyway?

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Why does the European Commission need a commissioner for the protection of “our” European values? Protection of what “European” values need protecting?

Are social exclusion and racism European values? What about the over 34,361 migrants who have died to May 2018 while crossing the Mediterranean Sea? What about Islamophobia? Fascism? Our unrepentant colonial past, among other dark spots?

What are our common values? Human rights? Respect for diversity and social equality? Are we hypocrites or do these laws only apply to white Europeans?

Apart from the 25 new commissioners being white, it’s clear that little will change concerning inequality and racism with EU President-elect Ursula von der Leyenwith.

The EU is such a hostile place for some minorities these days that even the mere suggestion of a little diversity causes a hostile knee-jerk reaction.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: When the Finnish media is obsessed with a single party and a single person

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Author, teacher, editor, and human rights activist Enrique Tessieri

Here is the Finnish version of Indian novelist, human rights and environmental activist Arundhati Roy’s quote*:

“Instead of writing editorials about the threat of populism in Finland, the media prefers to spend a lot of time publishing polls that show the rise of populism or waiting for Halla-aho to be the country’s next prime minister. And the danger with that kind of obsession with a single party and a single person is that you don’t see the society that produced them.”

*People spend so much time mocking Trump of waiting for him to be impeached. And the danger with that kind of obsession with a single person is that you don’t see the system that produced him.

We will not forget who is Halla-aho, Huhtasaari, Salvini, Le Pen, Farage and other past and present far-right politicians

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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.

Continue reading “We will not forget who is Halla-aho, Huhtasaari, Salvini, Le Pen, Farage and other past and present far-right politicians”

QUOTE OF THE DAY: Only regret but no apology from PS Youth’s racist tweet

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After publishing a tweet on Saturday that people should vote for the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* to keep Finland and Europe white, the far-right party’s youth wing vice chairperson Toni Jalonen offered after six days the following statement but without an apology, according to Yle News:

“My tweet was thoughtless and I acted impulsively when the idea struck me. I later realised 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.”

Do I believe him? Not.

Is this another prank by the far-right party to get attention?

Definitely.

The trick pulled by the PS Youth is one of the oldest tricks in the books used to get media exposure. Eventually, the outrage picks up and the politician or association making such a claim backs down. By it’s too late because the story is already out there.

The picture is from an EU ad with the following text by the youth organization: “Vote for the Peruomalaiset so that Finland won’t look like this.”

Let’s not forget that the PS is a party that gets its support and following is by making racist statements that fueling nativist nationalism. The only apology that would work is if they are voted back to the political minor leagues.

* 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 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.

Don’t vote for “let them drown” EU candidates, give them the thumbs down

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A total of 234 Euro election candidates answered Alma Media’s election compass, a total of 85 (36.3%) 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?”

Of those parties that have a seat in the Finnish parliament, all of the 19 Perussuomalaiset (PS)* candidates strongly disagreed, disagreed or were neutral about the above claim. That was followed by the National Coalition Paty (9/45% of candidates), Center Party (7/35%), Swedish People’s Party (4/20%), Christian Democrats (4/20%) and the Social Democrats (1/6.3%).

Dark green, fully agree; light green, agree; grey, neutral/no opinion; red, disagree; dark red, totally disagree. SDP = Social Democrats; Kokoomus = National Coalition Party; Keskusta = Center Party; Cihreät= Green League; Vasemmistoliitto = Left Alliance; RKP = Swedish People’s Party; Kristillisdemokraatit = Christian Democrats. Source: Iltalehti.

Of the parties mentioned above, 44/152 (28.9%) disagreed or were neutral about people drowning in the Mediterranean.

Continue reading “Don’t vote for “let them drown” EU candidates, give them the thumbs down”

The Finnish media’s ongoing fascination with Islamophobes and racists like Jussi Halla-aho

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What has surprised me about Finland is how the media and others seem fascinated by Islamophobes making racist statements. It gets media attention and helps you win elections. Why does racism and fascism appeal to us? Is it because their racist views resonate with some of us? 

By the way, where are those powerful editorials by dailies like Helsingin Sanomat that speak out against Islamophobia and racism? Where are those editorials encouraging a Finland that is more inclusive and condemning negative narratives about migrants and minorities?

Instead, our media prefers debating  Perussuomalaiset* (PS) chairperson Jussi Halla-aho’s past toxic and racist blog posts in the face of government talks. In these posts, he wishes left-green women get raped by foreigners, he insults and threatens to shoot gays, near-constantly insults Somalis and Islam.

Considering what he wrote, and we should never forget this type of open hostility, should the PS even be considered a candidate in a new government?

An apology or renouncing what he said will not do. Just like a virus, the place of his writings is either put in quarantine or destroyed altogether. 

One of the problems with challenging toxic people like Halla-aho and his extremist ideology is that it is done mostly by white Finns who may have good intentions but don’t have first-hand experience with racism, discrimination and being scapegoated. As long as Finland sits on the fence on racism and fascism and only white people speak for migrants and minorities, the problem will worsen.

Exaggerating?

Remember when Léo Custódio made the following observation below?

See original posting here.

What about adding a new line?

Continue reading “The Finnish media’s ongoing fascination with Islamophobes and racists like Jussi Halla-aho”