An interview by Uusi Suomi of National Coalition Party (Kokoomus) MP Atte Kaleva, who is part of Finland’s Islamophobic network, demonstrates a common flaw by the Finnish media that perpetuates urban tales and misconceptions spread by politicians about migrants.
Kaleva claims that implementing a quota system for “foreign” students at schools in Finland would help to tackle so-called urban segregation.
Some teachers have suggested earlier that classrooms should have quotas for the number of “foreign” pupils. It may sound like a simple solution to the problem, but it is legally impossible for several reasons:
Apart from tightening laws and plans to build a fence on parts of the Finnish-Russian border, politicians in Finland are debating shutting tourism from Russia to Finland. As I have mentioned previously, one of the biggest fears of the war in Ukraine is awakening Finland’s deep distrust and hatred of Russia.
The hatred will not only affect the Russians and our views of that country but spill over to other groups like Muslims and People of Color. If matters were shaky for these groups in Finland, they would worsen as the war drags on.
Despite all the bravado and defiance by politicians as the eye of April’s parliamentary election, some level-headed opinions are out there. One of these is Helsingin Sanomat, which wrote that the issue of visa restrictions was “not so clearcut. Restrictions must be in line with our values and goals. Sanctions should not be imposed on the basis of nationality, but according to a person’s actions or inaction.”
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.
Xenophobia tends to pile up. Like blacks in the United States, Finland’s “black” problem is Russia, and from the 1990s, Muslims.
In the 1980s, when I lived permanently in Finland, and about 12,000 foreign nationals were living in the country, the racist undercurrent that flowed like a mighty river was ever-present. It reminded you whenever you talked about the Russians and later on, Muslims became a part of that shameful picture.
That undercurrent showed itself on several occasions. It did so in the early 1990s when Somalis started to arrive in Finland. That undercurrent, especially nurtured by tabloids like Ilta-Sanomat, acted like a thug’s warning.
You will pay a high price If you get too friendly with foreigners.
That toxic undercurrent has gotten stronger in recent years. Finland’s biggest opposition party is openly Islamophobic and racist. Politicians, even in the government like MP Eveliina Heinäluoma and a long list of National Coalition Party (Kokoomus) politicians in the opposition, have cuddled up to our hostile environment.
I always say that minority rights in Finland will not improve under their leadership. And even less so if the far-right Perussuomalaiset (PS)*, Kokoomus, Center Party, Liike nyt, Christian Democrats ever get power.
Finland’s deep mistrust of Russia and Russians stems from its difficult history with that country. The war in Ukraine has only revived even more such hatred. Matters will get worse for Finland’s minorities.
We saw that in Estonia when the new government of Prime Minister Kaja Kallas announced that it would phase out the Russian language at nursery homes and schools by 2030.
About a quarter of Estonia’s population speaks Russian as their mother tongue. The right to an education and recognition will spell trouble for white Estonians by denying rights to such a large group of people.
The polarized debate in parliament Monday on renewing the Border Guard Act and Emergency Powers Act is just another example of how Finland has lurched into a dark place where human rights are a nuisance and should not take presedence The far-right Perussuomalaiset (PS), with the helping hand of the National Coalition Party (Kokoomus), and other minor parties like the Christian Democrats and Liike Nyt, are picking on their favorite target: asylum seekers.
According to some, the new laws are not in conflict with the EU, which does not allow member states to stop people from seeking asylum. Others, like European Union Institute professor of international law and human rights Martin Scheinin, believe the new laws will send Finland back thirty years.
Scheinin tweets: “Today, Parliament will finalize the content of the amendments to the Emergency Powers Act and the Border Guard Act. The idea is to introduce a constitutional derogation found in Section 23 of the Constitution, which deals with exemptions in times of crisis. This [the exemptions] turns back the clocks at least 30 years.” Section 23 of the Constitution states that fundamental rights and liberties in situations of emergency cannot breach its human rights obligations.
Here’s the question: Are the draft Border Guard Act and Emergency Powers Act in conflict with EU laws? Looking at parties like the PS and Kokoomus, who speak of asylum seekers as a threat to Finland, would be the first parties to trash human rights or severely water them down.
It was about 11 years ago on 22/7 when Norwegian Anders Breivik shocked us by murdering 77 victims. His motive? Anti-Muslim racism. Yesterday, there was a hint of déjà-vu when a 22-year-old “ethnic Dane,” a term used to mean white Dane, went on the rampage in the Fields shopping center of Copenhagen killing at least three and wounding a number of victims.
The “ethnic Dane” suspect? Source: Facebook.
While the police have not ruled out terrorism, unverified reports allege that the shooter had ties to the far right. Some eyewitnesses even heard the man shout at the scene of the crime, “Get out of my country!”
Why does the evidence point toward a deranged white Dane committing these heinous acts? For one, no Perussuomalaiset (PS)* politician has posted anything about the attack. PS chair Riikka Purra hasn’t even sent condolences to the victims.
Contrary to how far-right groups react to such a shooting, one important matter to remember is that we cannot generalize. For example, if the suspect is a white Dane and was motivated by racism, we should not label all white Danes as terrorists. The act at the shopping center was by a sick person who is a danger to society irrespective of his background.
If these accounts are true, that the suspect has ties to the far right and whose motive was anti-Muslim racism, it should be another stark reminder of how words and racism have deadly consequences.
A country like Denmark, which has a reputation for being one of the most Islamophobic countries in the EU, has not toned down its anti-Muslim rhetoric. The hardline anti-immigration policy comes straight from the government.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said that the country had been hit by a “cruel attack,” according to CBS News. “It is incomprehensible. Heartbreaking. Pointless,” she said. “Our beautiful and usually so safe capital was changed in a split second.”
The scandal that embroiled National Coalition Party (Kokoomus) MP Wille Rydman, has forced him to resign “indefinitely” from the Kokoomus parliamentary and Helsinki city council groups.
A Helsingin Sanomat investigative story exposed MP Rydman’s sexual harassment of underage girls to whom he sometimes offered alcohol. The police, who investigated the case, did not bring any charges against the MP.
Rydman, who has denied any wrongdoing, has built his political career by spreading anti-Muslim hatred and conspiracy theories like the great replacement theory. He has also pushed for closer ties with the far-right Perussuomalaiset (PS)* and asked, among other matters, to do away with hate speech laws.
One tweet suggested that apart from Rydman leaving the Kokoomus party, he could join the PS. PS MP Sanna Antikainen, in a tweet below, wished Rydman welcome to join her party.
The shift from Kokoomus to the PS would be a perfect fit for the likes of Rydman.
Source: Twitter
In the latest development, the police said they would not open the case again because there was no new evidence. Moreover, Helsingin Sanomat said it would write a new story about the scandal.
National Coalition Party (Kokoomus) MP Wille Rydman, whose xenophobic views have earned him the dubious label of being Kokoomus’ Jussi Halla-aho, is suspected by the police of harassing underaged girls. He is the same MP pushing hardline policies against asylum seekers because he is worried about sexual harassment.
Former Perussuomalaiset (PS)* chairperson Jussi Halla-aho was convicted in 2012 for ethnic agitation and breaching the sanctity of religion and has, in his blog writings, hoped that migrants rape certain MPs.
One of the far-right conspiracy theories spread by Rydman is the great replacement theory, which warns that Muslims and people of color will take over Europe and whites will become a minority.
National Coalition Party (Kokoomus) MP Wille Rydman is suspected of harassing underaged girls. Source: Helsingin Sanomat (paywall)
Helsingin Sanomat leads the story: “Several women report harassing behavior by MP Wille Rydman. Some were minors at the time of the incident, while others reported alcohol abuse and violence. In Kokoomus, Rydman’s interest in young women and girls has been widely discussed [and known] only inside the party. Rydman denies acting inappropriately.”
Rydman tweeted that he is planning to press charges against Helsingin Sanomat for writing a baseless “grossly stigmatizing article” He added that he would most probably report the matter to the police and charge Finland’s largest daily for aggravated defamation.
With the parliamentary election about 10 months away in April 2023 and a disastrous county election showing and equally depressing opinion poll results, it’s clear that the far-right Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party is desperately trying to connect with voters.
One example of these underhanded tactics is a proposal by the PS to close the border with Russia in case of hybrid threats coming from Moscow.
Two scenarios. Source: Facebook
Haven’t you wondered how parties like the PS fear-monger? It’s like they have a crystal ball to justify their racism by constructing selective scenarios.
In such stories coming from the PS, one must dig deeper and find out what is behind the proposal.
PS chairperson, Riikka Purra, claims that the measure is to guarantee the security of white Finns. OK, she does not mention white Finn, but that is what she means.
Thus, we see with the PS proposal r message: asylum seekers from Muslim and African countries threaten Finland’s white culture and society.
Purra, who heads the administrative committee of parliament, threatens to give the government’s proposal would fail to pass. In the face of the PS’ 38 MPs. the vote would not get a two-thirds majority.
Suspending the right to seek asylum, or just confining it to the Helsinki-Vantaa Airport, is not only a human rights violation but a political prank by the PS to further their election campaign in April. The EU has also stated that suspending asylum applications is illgeal.
Everyone is aware that the aim of closing the border is part of the PS’ zero asylum seeker goal.
Ever wondered why tabloids like Ilta-Sanomat continue to publish racist stories? When the first Somalis came to Finland in the early 1990s, the tabloid had a field day (see billboards below). Imagine headlines like “Somalis will remain in Finland,” “Somalis tricked (authorities) to get asylum,” and twenty years later, “10,000 illegal refugees will come this year to Finland.”
As we all know, there is no such thing as an “illegal” refugee. Refugees are refugees, period.
The latest story by Ilta-Sanomat is on EU Commissioner for International Partnerships Jutta Urpilainen, who said something positive about Islam on her visit to the United Arab Emirates (see tweet below).
What does the Ilta-Sanomat story reveal about anti-Muslim racism in Finland? It shows that Finnish tabloids and the media have successfully framed Muslims as a threat to Finland. If you say something positive about Muslims, you are a traitor and must be crazy.
