The government of Prime Minister Petteri Orpo is anticipating with some dread the opening of the Finnish-Russian border on 14 January. In order to deny people the right to asylum, Orpo has gone as far as to suggest that asylum seekers should be sent directly back to Russia supposedly because it is a safe country.
Such a suggestion, denying people the right to asylum, has received strong criticism from international law professor Martti Koskenniemi.
“I can only conclude that Orpo does not know what he is talking about,” Koskenniemi was quoted as saying in Yle. “Surely the prime minister is not proposing such a thing [like denying asylum with illegal pushbacks]. There is no need to use the English term. The proposal [by Orpo] is an excuse to breach international agreements.”
As Koskenniemi correctly asks, why haven’t politicians suggested any credible changes to international agreements on asylum?
The answer is a no-brainer: They don’t have any answers except for weakening human rights and trashing international agreements governing refugee and asylum rights.
Another important question that should concern us is what is the government’s new steps to further undermine human rights and civil rights? They are already doing this on a massive scale by weakening social, labor and migrant rights.
As far as Orpo’s government is concerned, its record on racism and human rights reveal an incompetence rarely seen in Finnish politics.
There only argument for breaching human rights is fear.
The only route of the government is to exit from power.
Radical right Perussuoalaiset (PS)* chairperson, Riikka Purra, like Interior Minister Mari Rantanen, loathes Muslims and other minorities. Slamming and suggesting that Deputy Chancellor of Justice Mikko Puumalainen is a”liberal moron,” exposes her hatred and desperation.
Purra, the one who said she’d shoot migrant youths on a train in 2008, now takes out her crystal ball and claims to be a clairvoyant.
She writes that the people coming from Russia to the border “are not genuine asylum seekers,” adding that they “have nothing to worry about and are not fleeing [war].”
If Purra claims that these people aren’t real asylum seekers, we could say that her concern about “national security” due to a few hundred asylum seekers coming to the border is hogwash. In 2015, we had thousands of asylum seekers entering Finland from Iraq and Afghanistan and nobody raised serious outcries about national security. As we can see, it is all a political stunt by Purra and her party.
But here is the question: Why is Purra so eager about trashing our international agreements that are protected, according to her, by “liberal morons.”
With war raging in Ukraine since February 2022, the latest decision by Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s government to shut all the border crossings except for one is an example of how both countries are playing hardball with asylum seekers and the Finland’s largest national group, the Russians.
Katja Marova is a human rights activist and a member of the Left Alliance of Lappeenranta, a border city located next to the Russian border.
“Those who suffer most because of these measures are people of Russian descent [in Finland] who have family in Russia,” she said, adding that on Sunday there were up to 300 people in Lappeenranta who attended a demonstration against the closing of the border.
“I have received tens of hostile messages telling me to pack my bags and go back to Russia,” she continued. “If there was hostility against the Russian community before, it has grown since the war started.”
“The photo shows Ekaterina Marova, a human rights activist living in Lappeenranta. The photo was taken at a demonstration she and a few others organized last week to criticize the government’s decision to close the border. So while this issue is grossly overblown, it is also wrong. It is wrong not to allow asylum seekers into Finland (illegal) It is wrong not to allow Russians, let alone dual citizens, to visit Russia. There was no need to combine these things, but they [the government] wanted to do so anyway. There is not even any justification for the latter. Or maybe there is, racism and hatred. Very fine traditional Finnish values. Fear, shame and insecurity can be taken from the same frame of reference, and it is from these elements that the current Finnish government, with all its parties, can be built. The fact that [Prime Minister Petteri] Orpo the coward is what he is is not surprising, but the fact that not even the Left Alliance is saying anything about it is surprising. The worst thing is not the evil of bad people, but the silence of good people, as MLK once said. So I just wonder if it is really the case that we tolerant people have to hate at least something deep down inside? So let it be this minority of 90,000 [Russian] people in Finland that no one wants to defend, even lightly mention anywhere. Ordinary people downgraded human dignity, on both sides of the border.”Finland #Russia #border #leftwing #fFinnishgovernment
Source: Facebook
“It is surprising that we allow some 60,000 Ukrainians to freely move to Finland, but when a few hundred [from countries like Syria, Yemen, Somalia and other ones] attempt to get asylum we immediately shut the border.”
Marova said that one matter that has given strength to the Russian community in Finland is that they dare to speak and express their views more freely than before.
How can you trust a party and government that builds its support on conspiracy theories about asylum seekers? You can if you are gullible.
Due to over 300 asylum seekers who came from countries with terrible human rights issues due to wars like Syria, Yemen, and Somalia, the Finnish government has decided to shut four border crossing points until 18 February 2024.
The coverage by the Finnish media of the issue and the statements given by government officials and the Finnish Border Guards resemble a taring-and-feathing event.
Perussuomalaiset Interior Minister Mari Rantanen is the ugly face of Finnish Islamophobia.. She has a long history of spreading conspiracy theories and anti-Muslim racism. Apart from tightening the screws on asylum seekers, her radical anti-immigration views are littered by hateful quotes, which have been deleted from her social media pages. Some of these are founded on the far-right great replacement theory. “Source: Yle.
Even if the trickle of asylum seekers coming to Finland are from countries with serious human rights violations, officials and the media prefer to label them as “illegal” migrants. Even President Sauli Niiinistö, whose past statements against Muslims and asylum seekers reveal his disdain for such groups, he has unsurprisingly given his support to the government.
Even the council of state defends its decision to shut the Finnish-Russian border on stopping “illegal immigration.” The anti-Muslim and anti-immigration campaign by the government is at full swing. Source: valtioneuvosto.fi
Some of the Finnish media continues to see refugees as “illegal” migrants. In this billboard, tabloid Ilta-Sanomat wants that “this year 10,000 illegal refugees” will arrive in Finland.
President Niinistö has stuck his foot in his mouth a number of times when he opens his mouth about asylum seekers. One of his most infamous comments is about an Iraqi asylum seeker, culture inside four walls.
If there is a reminder on how bad Finland’s racism problem has got, take a look at the rise of the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party since the 2011 parliamentary election and specifically its main motor, Jussi Halla-aho. Having him treated as “a normal” politician by the media and other politicians makes him look like a wretched politician in an intensive care ward.
His political life-saving support comes from his blog, Scripta, written in the 2000.
For many Finns, it is difficult to weigh how demeaning and racist his writings are and how they paint a capricious and greedy man who is a white supremacist desperately seeking recognition and approval. Halla-aho will never apologize for his racist writings because it would cut off his political life support.
Moreover, playing down and moving forward with a poker face concerning the damage he has caused on Finland and especially on minorities, would not be possible if he apologized for his racist writings.
There are many ways to skin the cat of an old racist who hides behind the cloak of democratic institutions. One of these methods is to reverse the roles of his victims in his writing to grasp how toxic the person is.
Example 1:
“I am thoroughly confused as to why muslims have such a great desire to inflict pain on those who are in a weaker position, such as animals, children and women. I think this pattern is pretty clear. Why do muslims jump around ululating with their dicks hard whenever heads get chopped off or someone gets whipped?
“I am thoroughly confused as to why muslims white Finnshave such a great desire to inflict pain on those who are in a weaker position, such as animals, children and women. I think this pattern is pretty clear. Why do muslimswhite Finns jump around ululatingdrunk with their dicks hard limp whenever a Russian’s head gets chopped off or someone gets whipped beaten to a pulp?
“It is hard for me to think about a lower reptile in the universe than a Scandinavian social democrat. The most slimy subscpecies of this reptile is the Swedish social democrat.”
“It is hard for me to think about a lower reptile in the universe than a Scandinavian social democrat a Finnish Perussuomalaiset. The most slimy subscpecies of this reptile is the Swedish social democratSweden Democrat.
Migrant Tales view: Like a furious one-two punch, thanks to two reports, Europe and especially Finland continue to see a rise of racism with near-silence and little outrage. Could we call it the Frontex syndrome? We are aware of the problem, but we turn a blind eye because we don’t really care or want to be bothered. Finland’s hostile government to immigrants, comprising the National Coalition Party, Perussuomalaiset*, Swedish People’s Party and Christian Democrats, is the least apt to tackle the social ill. Matters can only get worse from here.
In the suspected hate crime report for 2022, the number of suspected hate crimes reported to the police in 2022 rose by 21.3% to 1,245 cases from 1,026 in the previous year. The lion’s share of hate crimes was due to ethnic and national background (74.7%), up by 31.7% to 930 from 706, and religion and belief (9.7%), down to 121 from 133.
Sexual orientation accounted for 8.7% of all suspected hate crimes, rising 11.1% to 140 with disability falling 11.5% to 54 cases.
The Police University College said that those with Russian citizenship experienced the highest frequency of crimes concerning national background. Even so, Somalis and Iraqis continue to rank high in suspected hate-crime statistics. Eleven percent of all offenses were directed at the Romany minority.
Concerning religion or belief, the most common victims, as in previous years, were Muslims.
Being Black in the EU
Like the 2018 report, the latest FRA report continue to offer bad news for countries like Finland, Germany, and Austria, which reported the highest prevalence of racial harassment in the past 12 months by people of African descent (PAD).
The Perussuomalaiset (PS)* speaker of parliament, Jussi Halla-aho, is trying his hardest to have his cake and eat it. The trial that led to ethnic agitation conviction and for breaching the sanctity of religion in 2012 rose him to prominence. The very racist, anti-Semitic, Islamophobic, and homophobic writings on his Scripta blog in the 2000s brought him a handsome political career.
I wonder what people would think that after not getting elected in 2007, he became speaker of parliament in 2023. His political rise does not only say a lot about him but also about Finland. Many Finns are conservative and racist.
Thanks to Halla-aho’s blogin 2008, it gave me a good reason to continue writing Migrant Tales.I was planning to abandon the blog but thanks to Scripta, and the hostility against my blog, I planned to stick it out. That was almost fifteen years ago.
Left to right: Even if Jussi Halla-aho hopes that people will forget his racist roots, behind the gavel he uses as speaker of parliament, he will always be an evil clown show. Accepting Halla-aho would be saying that all his racist, anti-Semitic, homophobic, and far-right views are ok and normal. It’s not, even if he is running for president, where he takes the cue from other PS politicians like Laura Huhtasaari who appear abnormally white thanks to makeup and hair dye. Sources: berkeleyside.org, Suomen Kuvalehti, and.PS.
Below is some of the racist filth found on Halla-aho’s blog:
If there is one matter that one can agree with doomsday far-right anti-immigration politicians, it is that Europe and the developed world will be swamped in this century by people fleeing ever-worsening climate disasters, and civil strife.
What is hypocritical, even criminal, about the latter is that Europe and the developed world are responsible for placing people in such peril.
The EU’s answer to such a situation is the usual recipe of denial, building higher walls, more-effective surveillance, and violent pushbacks.
Finland’s answer, like that of Europe’s Frontex, to climate refugees is a fence, wishful thinking, and the populist rhetoric of politicians. Source: Kauppalehti.
With the rise of the far right in Europe and growing suspicion of outsiders gaining strength, it proves that Europe is in a state of flux. It has no answer to the migration crisis except building higher walls and toxic anti-immigration rhetoric. Europe will blame everything on migrants and asylum seekers.
Even so, the disasters suffered by people outside our borders were created for centuries by our greed and short-term answers, starting from our colonial aspirations and destructive wars. We destroy countries in regions like the Middle East and complain why people are fleeing the very homes we helped to destroy.
For those who luckily make it to Europe, are faced with walls of exclusion.
Europe is in a state of denial and our unpreparedness will cost us dearly.
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 [their] physical or psychological integrity.”
Even if such changes in the law in Finland now seem far-fetched in a country where the police have a good reputation, it is essential to examine what is happening in other European countries where far-right governments have gained power. Some of these include Switzerland, where the Swiss People’s Party is the biggest party, the ruling Brothers of Italy and Lega Nord of Italy, Fidesz of Hungary, the United Right of Poland, Sweden Democrats, and the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* of Finland.
Also, in non-EU countries like Serbia (United Serbia) and North Macedonia (VMRO-DPMNE), there are far-right parties that target migrants and refugees.
Considering that the EU is a region that abides by the European Convention of Human Rights, it is concerning that such parties above target ethnic groups and minorities and want to weaken the civil rights of such people.
One consistent pattern seen in countries where far-right ideologies have gained power is the control and manipulation of narratives to instill fear, racist conspiracy theories, and the perception of dangerous threats by migrants to the native population.
At the core of these ideologies lie xenophobia and ethnic superiority. The far-right presents itself as the savior and protector of the native population, framing every outsider—immigrant, Roma, or anyone deemed different—as an ongoing threat and suspect.
Ethnic Profiling and Suspicion
A common tactic employed by far-right governments is ethnic profiling and the disproportionate targeting of ethnic, religious, and other minority groups by law enforcement agencies. This type of profiling often masquerades as “legitimate” when the police suspect someone of drug possession or gang affiliation.
“Legalized” ethnic profiling is used to justify the increased scrutiny and surveillance of certain communities and ethnic groups even if crime does not have a specific skin color or ethnicity. But when law enforcement focuses its attention on one particular ethnic group, they are more likely to uncover crime, not because of inherent criminality but due to increased scrutiny. It can lead to a vicious cycle, where arrests and convictions are used to justify further restrictions and targeting, perpetuating the belief that these communities are inherently dangerous.
Minister of Interior Mari Rantanen
In an interview with Joona Aaltonen of Helsingin Sanomat, Minister of Interior Mari Rantanen acknowledged concerns about the country’s “growing” youth and gang crime problem. She cited a statement by Jonne Rinne, the chairman of the Association of Police Organizations, who estimated that 95% of street gang members in Finland are of foreign origin on the basis of their names and ethnic backgrounds. Rinne did not care to elaborate if these youths were born in Finland, were Finnish citizens or had a Finnish parent.
Before Rantanen was minister, she would send Islamophobic messages to then Prime Minister Sanna Marin. “Marin’s government wishes Finns a Merry Christmas,” she wrote. Source: X (formerly Twitter).
As we mentioned in our report in March, Finland’s youth gang problem is a tool used by the Perussuomalaiset and National Coalition Party to tar-and feather migrants. It is an excellent topic to drive home Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s migration policy that will disenfranchise such people.
In an Ykkösaamu interview Saturday, apart from Interior Minister Mari Rantanen’s occasional awkward giggles, the interview left out one important question: the roots of Sweden’s gang violence problem.
If you ask Rantanen, she will blame the problem on immigration policy and the “wrong” type of migration. She will not mention a word about Sweden’s exclusive and class society and the lack of opportunities for racialized people.
Certainly government programs and making Finland a more inclusive society for everyone would be a difficult question for Rantanen to answer because the government is tightening immigration policy and slashing social welfare and services to migrants.
Her answer is a dog whistle: Blame it all on the wrong kind of migrants.
Some of the tightening of government migration policy include limited three-year use of paid interpreters, and linking your knowledge of Finnish language to getting social welfare, among others.
Rantanen called the latter “incentives” even if they are really ultimatums.
