In 2011, when the Islamophobic and anti-EU Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party won 39 seats versus 5 in the previous election, did anyone foresee that we’d end up here? Wreaking havoc are Prme Minister Petteri Orpo’s National Coalition Party (NCP) and the PS with their two government coalition partners, the Swedish People’s Party and the Christian Democrats….
Tag: Finnish government
Close the Finnish-Russian border and leave everything to chance
I have always said that if there were another government, preferably without the National Coalition Party (NCP) and Perussuomalaiset (PS)*, the decision to shut the Russian-Finnish border would have some credibility. Source: X (formerly Twitter). The decision to close the border is first and foremost a political decision. It is a good way to shift…
Yahya Rouissi: Finnish government’s plans to ethnically profile racialized youths
Recent discussions by the Finnish government have raised concerns among human rights groups about the possibility of copying Denmark to carry out random spot checks on people in certain neighborhoods. If such a measure were ever implemented, it could lead to France’s controversial Article 24 which restricts videoing the police with the intention of “threatening…
Süddeutsche Zeitung’s Alex Rühle: “I was irritated by Wille Rydman’s repeated accusation of frivolous and false reporting”
An email published on Twitter has caused a stir since it implied that Minister Wille Rydman. I got in touch with Alex Rühle to confirm if what he wrote is true. Alex Rühe is the Nordic correspondent of Süddeutsche Zeitung. Below is the original email published Wednesday: “Dear all, The sentences quoted on Twitter come…
A “special kind of evil” to place pregnant women and children in harm’s way in Finland
The government of Prime Minister Orop plans to tighten the already vulnerable situation of undocumented migrants in Finland, according to a statement by the ministry of social affairs and health. “Removing the right of illegal residents [undocumented migrants] to non-urgent health and social services and social security…” In plain English, non-urgent health services include: There…
Radical Right Interior Minister Mari Rantanen tries to erase her racist past
Radical right politicians like Mari Rantanen, the new interior minister of Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s government, claimed with a poker face in an Uusi Suomi interview that she does not see any racism or far-right issues in her party. “I don’t know then what we are supposed to renounce,” she added. For those who have…
Stop bickering and repatriate the wives and children of ISIS fighters now
The reaction to what Finland should do about 10 Finnish women who are alleged wives of ISIS fighters and their 30 children at the al-Hola camp in northeast Syria has all the characteristics of social media lynch mob populism and Islamophobia. The biggest trolls are not anonymous persons but opposition politicians of parties like the…
Once again politicians and the media show no leadership about the terrorist attack in New Zealand
The atrocity we witnessed through the media of the cold-blooded and calculated killings that left so far 49 dead and many wounded in New Zealand were not mentioned once by some ministers on Facebook. These ministers are the ones who have fueled and nurtured Finland’s hostile environment against Muslims and migrants. Moreover, how many editorials were written in the Finnish media about what happened and how it is a warning to us too?
Finnish government and City of Oulu officials: Where is the concern and outrage?
Almost two days have elapsed since the Oulu mosque was the target of vandalism. Did you read from any government minister expressed concern about what happened? What about the City of Oulu, which has labelled all asylum seekers as potential sex offenders by banning such people from visiting child care centers and schools?
Twitter Oula Silvennoinen: A justified question to the Finnish government
Amid the hysteria caused by nine sexual abuse cases in Oulu, and the eagerness of the government to punish all Muslims and Finland’s migrant community, Oula Silvennoinen* makes an outstanding point by retweeting @JanneKuusi’s comment. He tweets: “In the face of the ministerial delegations and the millions of subsidies, how were the other 1,400 pedophile…