Finland Archives - Page 33 of 359

Finland goes to the polls Sunday – another beachhead?

Posted on March 30, 2023 by Migrant Tales

Far-right populism is an illness inflicting Europe at present and it now has a beachhead in Finland.

Migrant Tales (18.4.2011)

d. Yle published an opinion poll today showing the radical-right Perussuomalaiset (PS)*, Social Democrats, and National Coalition Party (Kokoomus) neck and neck.

Another poll published Wednesday by Helsingin Sanomat showed Kokoomus leading (19.8%), followed by the Social Democrats and PS, tied at 19.2% apiece.

Read the full story here.

Considering how close the three parties are in the opinion polls, anything can happen and have for the first time a PS prime minister. That would be quite a feat in the face of the party’s historic victory in 2011 when it raised the number of MPs to 39 from 5 previously.

I remember apprehension that election day 11 years ago. Some were in shock, while others played it down. You’ll see, it is only a matter before they implode, some said, assuring themselves.

One of the lessons learned from the entry of a major Islamophobic party in Finnish politics in the last decade is that matters only get more polarized and the rhetoric more hostile.

The PS bases its politics on anti-immigration sentiment, which has crippled Finland’s ability to debate the topic and cultural diversity civilly. Spreading fear of other groups is the elixir that the PS drinks to get political power.

The rise of the PS in Finnish politics is a blow to its exceptionalism and alleged “happiness,” as it has won for a sixth time in a row the title of the happiest country in the world. How can such a happy country house so much hatred for other groups?

A political analyst told me recently that he hoped the PS would win big on Sunday.

Media Monitoring Group of Finland: “The media reminds me that I am not wanted here”

Posted on March 30, 2023 by Migrant Tales

I don’t read Finnish newspapers and none in particular. I find them very taxing to read. Constantly, people who look like me are vilified, branded as the devil himself and the root cause of all problems. I have always known the correct term for an event that bothers me, and when I learned it, I sighed with relief. I no longer had to doubt myself and had facts to back up my feelings. It is dog-whistle politics, and even though I am a “Finn” on paper, the media reminds me that I am not wanted here. If I didn’t feel under constant attack, I could read papers.

– Asmaa

“Minä en lue suomenkielisiä sanomalehtiä enkä erityisesti mitään Suomalaisia lehtiä. Koen, että ne kuormittavat erittäin paljon, kun niitä lukee. Jatkuvasti ihmiset jotka näyttävät minulta mustamaalataan, leimataan itse piruksi ja kaikkien ongelmien juuri syyksi. Olen aina tiennyt, että tapahtumalle, joka häiritsee minua on oikea termi ja kun opin sen huokaisin helpotuksesta. Enää ei tarvinnut epäillä itseäni ja sain faktoja tukemaan minun tunteitani. Se on koirapilli politiikkaa (eng. dog whistle politics) Vaikka olen paperilla “suomalainen” niin lehdistö muistuttaa minua, etten ole haluttu tänne. Mikäli en kokisi olevani jatkuvan hyökkäyksen alaisena niin voisin lukea lehtiä.”

– Asmaa

Read the original quote here.

Racist and anti-Semitic violence will continue to grow in Finland

Posted on March 25, 2023 by Migrant Tales

THE STORY WAS UPDATED

Veteran National Coalition Party (Kokoomus) MP Ben Zyskowicz was attacked a second time Saturday in Eastern Helsinki by a man who threatened to kill him, according to Helsingin Sanomat. While waiting for the metro, a man approached the MP, started to yell, and punched him in the face.

The police apprehended the suspect.

In 2011, A middle-aged man stepped in front of Zyskowicz and tried to attack him, according to the tabloid Iltalehti.

Zyskowicz said that the man’s motive was political. He hurled insults at the MP about NATO and Jews.

All the major parties and President Sauli Niinistö condemned the attack.

The Finnish media, politicians and the police treat white far-right terrorism differently

Posted on March 24, 2023 by Migrant Tales

THE STORY WAS UPDATED

The National Bureau of Investigation (KRP) has remanded in custody a 28-year-old white Finn who used to be a municipal candidate for the Islamophobic Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party but now belongs to the far-right Sinimusta Liike (Blue-and-Black Movement), according to Helsingin Sanomat.

The police’s intelligence gathering of the suspect led to a search of his home, where arms were found. KRP is investigating the suspect’s activities and if other suspects are involved.

The case is not the first white Finnish suspect. In December 2021, the police announced the country’s first far-right terrorist case. In November, detective inspector Toni Sjöblom told Migrant Tales that charges would be brought against five suspects “within a few weeks.” By mid-March, no charges have been brought against the suspects.

The Finnish Security and Intelligence Service’s (SUPO)In National Security Overview 2022 said that the threat of a terrorist attack in Finland would come from “supporters of right-wing extremist or racial Islamist ideology, and from small covert cells [comprising] of such individuals.”

The latest terrorist suspect, who studied law, was a Perussuomalaiset (PS) candidate for councilperson who lobbied at the university against “woke culture” and “cultural Marxism,” a concept used by far-right activists.

The same type of bias in how the media, politicians, and even the police treat “white” terrorism is evident in the case of the 28-year-old. He was active with the PS Youth of Lapland, representing the party’s most far-right views, and was a strong proponent of ethnonationalism.

One active member of the PS Youth of Lapland was Johannes Sipola, who was convicted with Toni Jalonen for ethnic agitation in 2020. Sipola blamed in a tweet below the Christchurch massacre on multiculturalism.

European Islamophobia Report 2022: Finland

Posted on March 23, 2023 by Migrant Tales

While even the Islamophobic Finns Party (PS) does not object to the arrival of
tens of thousands of white Ukrainian refugees to Finland, the treatment of Muslims
is different. Politicians and other public officials continue to see Muslims as a threat
to national security. The Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) has been the target of
criticism for its arbitrary and slow pace of decisions. Finland has asylum seekers from
regions like the Middle East who arrived in the country in 2015 and are still waiting
for their residence permits.

Continue reading the European Islamophobia Report 2022 here.

The Finland chapter is on pages 203-231.

Media Monitoring Group of Finland:* The PS wants foreigners to pay taxes and get nothing in return

Posted on March 22, 2023 by Migrant Tales

STATEMENT

The chairperson of the Finns Party, Riikka Purra, has said on several occasions that her party’s long-term goal is that only Finnish citizens have the right to social welfare.

While such a plan is highly discriminatory, even racist, it is unfortunate that journalists don’t ask Purra what she means and what challenges would arise if they ban social welfare for foreigners. Apart from requiring a change in the constitution, which would have to get a two-thirds majority, is such a plan only a campaign stand and a pipe dream?

Apart from breaching EU law and human rights and being discriminatory, should foreigners in Finland pay less taxes since they will not be eligible for social welfare? Are there other hidden charges like tuition for children attending comprehensive school and health care?

According to some estimates, Finland needs about 40,000 labor migrants a year to plug its chronic labor shortage.

Such measures by the PS will certainly make Finland unattractive to labor migrants.

Why would you want to move to a country that treats you like a second-class member of society?

There is no sense in it.

For further information contact:

Enrique Tessieri

Media Monitoring Group Finland

+358 40 8400773

[email protected]

*Media Monitoring Group of Finland aims to promote fair and accurate reporting by the Finnish media of underrepresented cultural, racial, ethnic, and religious groups. As Finland’s cultural diversity continues to grow, the role of the media in forming public opinion and attitudes about minorities becomes even more relevant.

Read our first report published on 17 March here.

An election pact with the devil

Posted on March 21, 2023 by Migrant Tales

Sometimes, the hunger for power is so voracious that politicians and their parties will make pacts with the devil. It was the case in September in Sweden when the conservative Moderate Party joined forces with the Sweden Democrats, a party with neo-Nazi roots. Finland will hold its election on April 2, and there is the same trend: the National Coalition Party (Kokoomus) is looking at the radical-right Perussuomalaiset (PS)* to form a government.

Apart from losing credibility, a conservative party that goes to bed with a party like the Sweden Democrats or PS may devour the party’s support.

The Moderate Party came in second place after the Sweden Democrats. The arrangement was like in Denmark with the Danish People’s Party (DPP), which supported a minority government in return for concessions on the anti-immigration front.

Contrary to the DPP and the Sweden Democrats, the PS has said it will support a minority government arrangement. In Finnish political terms, it means they have to either win the election, giving them the power to form the next government, or be an integral part of the new government if Kokoomus wins.

**Finland will hold its parliamentary election on April 2.** **Source: vaalit.fi**

The Social Democrats (SDP), Left Alliance, Greens, and Swedish People’s Party have said they will not form a government with the PS. The reason? SDP Prime Minister Sanna Martin has branded the PS a racist party.

With the parliamentary election only 12 days away, recent opinion polls show Kokoomus, SDP, and the PS neck-and-neck for the top spot.

Media Monitoring Group of Finland: Will the Perussuomalaiset’s xenophobic campaign help it win the election?

Posted on March 18, 2023 by Migrant Tales

Finland’s parliamentary election is only 16 days away on April 2, and the question is if the radical-right Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party will capitalize on its Islamophobic campaign message.

The assertion that the PS uses a migrant crime topic to attract voters before an election isn’t far-fetched.

One of the most interesting discoveries of our first report published Friday is the link between the Swedish parliamentary election of September and the rise of news stories about “street gangs” in Finland.

As we know, gang violence in Sweden is a serious social problem and is unique in Europe. Thanks to this problem, the Sweden Democrats, a party with neo-Nazi roots, and the conservative Moderate

Party successfully used the issue in their campaigns to win the election.

Historically, the PS had lured voters through news stories involving migrants and asylum seekers committing crimes in the n 2011, 2015, and 2019 parliamentary elections. One of the many big “migrant scandals” the PS wants to exploit for the April election is the threat of “youth gangs.”

Since it’s easy to understand the PS’ campaign strategy, the big question is if they will succeed in attracting voters in the upcoming election.

**The PS leader, Riikka Purra, denies that the party is racist.Read the full article here.**

Media Monitoring Group of Finland: Finnish media coverage of the “youth gangs” and the security guards scandal

Posted on March 17, 2023 by Migrant Tales

We are a small group called the Media Monitoring Group of Finland, represented by people from different minority backgrounds. Today we published our first report in English and Finnish.

Has media coverage of “youth gangs” and the security guards scandal been fair?

In our opinion, coverage has been problematic. Please read the report and see our findings.

Have the Perussuomalaiset succeeded in their quest for a migrant crime story to attract voters?

Posted on March 13, 2023 by Migrant Tales

Fool me once shame on you fool me twice shame on me.

The question is neither far-fetched nor provocative: The xenophobic Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party has used and exploited in the past three elections of 2011, 2015, and 2019 the migrant crime theme.

Understanding the success that the Sweden Democrats, a party with neo-Nazi roots, and the Moderate Party in September had in the Swedish election with criminal gang violence, PS head Riikka Purra bet she had found the “perfect” story to succeed in Finland’s April election.

But did she? The jury is still out on that one.

*MTV* works closely with the police to spread an image of fear about “youth gangs.” A knife on the left and police chief Seppo Kolehminen. on the right

About eight formerly undocumented immigrants were found guilty of sexually abusing minors in the Oulu cases four years ago. However, a skewed and unfavorable narrative supported by the police, politicians, and media came close to hysteria. Yle published 77 articles on the topic between 14 November 2018 and 13 February 2019, including 13 articles alone on 14 January!

Thanks to the Oulu sexual cases, the PS almost won the election. Even so, the whole issue faded into the background after the election.

Will the same happen to the “youth gang” [1] story?