Tag: Jussi Halla-aho

The Perussuomalaiset of Finland try to play down New Zealand atrocities but fail

Posted on by Migrant Tales

In Finland, the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* is an extremist far-right party that fear-mongers about Muslims and migrants. For many PS politicians, the Oulu sexual abuse cases came as an election lifesaver until Friday, when an Australian white supremacist murdered in cold blood 49 Muslims in Christchurch, New Zealand. 

The future for the PS looks bleak. Different stories about the party speculate that some 200,000 voters are going to ditch the PS in the April 14 parliamentary elections.

From the reactions of some PS members to the atrocities in New Zealand, show a sense of dread.

What do extremists do when a murderous killing happens by people who are ideologically in the same ballpark? They find excuses to justify what happened, play it down or change the story completely.

Here is a PS Youth leader of Lapland who condones what happened.

 

What did Johannes Sipola say in the tweet?

“The New Zealand case show ever-convincingly that multicultural society does not work. When other people [of other backgrounds] rape and kill enough [people], it is only a question of time when there will be a reaction from the opposite side. First and foremost, everyone defends their own.”

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WARNING: RACIST CONTENT – Halla-aho announces that anti-immigration will be the PS’ main campaign theme

Posted on by Migrant Tales

With parliamentary elections a heartbeat away on April 14, the populist far-right Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party announced that anti-immigration will be their main campaign theme. Are we surprised? Not in the bit. 

PS Chairperson Jussi Halla-aho was quoted as saying in Yle that at the present rate, Finland’s immigration policy will destroy present levels of social welfare, undermine good salaries, good schools, gender equality among other problems.

“We want to make it tougher for people to move here,” he said. “We want to raise the requirements to get Finnish citizenship.”

See the short interview here.

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PS’ Jussi Halla-aho on TV offerng simplistic views on migration and Finnish identity

Posted on by Migrant Tales

iety Perussuomalaiset (PS)* chairperson Jussi Halla-aho was a guest on Yle’s Ykkösaamu. Convicted for ethnic agitation and breaching the sanctity of religion in 2012, the PS chairperson gave his usual simplistic views on immigration and Finnish identity.

One of these was when the reporter asked him about the party’s youth wing and their Finnish white supremacist ethnonationalistic views on who is a Finn.

Halla-aho didn’t condemn this view but blamed it instead on linguistics.

“The question who is a Finn is interesting [question],” he explained. “The problem is that in Finnish we don’t have a term that classifies who is an ethnic Finn and a Finnish citizen.”

And then adds: “If I would for some reason go to Somalia and become a Somali citizen would that make me a Somali?”

Possibly, Halla-aho, you could be a “Somali Finn” or whatever you would want to call yourself. I doubt that minorities are aiming to be white like you but seek social justice and recognition. They are tired of being labelled by Finnish white supremacists and society as eternal “people of foreign origin.”

Watch the full interview (in Finnish) here.

Halla-aho and his party have inflicted harm to migrants and minorities. Their racist rhetoric has no interest in making such people equal members of society. Their main aim is to label and exclude certain groups and attack groups like the Somalis.

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The PS is a far-right, populist party that hopes to strike election gold with the sexual assault cases of Oulu by migrants

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Imagine a political party that jumps for joy when migrants are suspected of sexual assault like in the case of Oulu. Imagine a party that taps into voters’ Islamophobia, xenophobia and hatred to get votes. Imagine a party that aims at relegating migrants and minorities to second-class members of society with the help of lies and fake news. 

It should not come to any surprise that we are talking about the far-right Perussuomalaiset* and Blue Reform, which split from the mother party in 2017 after Jussi Halla-aho was elected the new chairperson. Halla-aho was convicted in 2012 for ethnic agitation and breaching the sanctity of religion.

The difference between the PS and Blue Reform is that the former has come out of the closet with its racism while the other one is in the closet.

According to the Helsingin Sanomat, the PS plans to cut state spending by 2 billion euros if they are in government.

Halla-aho said as well that he sees the PS becoming Finland’s largest party.

 

Read the full story (in Finnish) here.

While the PS becoming Finland’s largest party is a pipe dream, the PS’ constant vilification of migrants and minorities only serves to tell us that we are not liked by some. But that is fine because it is a call for people who oppose such rhetoric to rise up and challenge its racist ideology.

Apart from ending subsidies to the wind power sector, the party wants to lower social welfare costs to people of immigrant origin by 1 billion euros.

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Islamophobia and xenophobia on steroids: Jussi Halla-aho’s latest column in MTV

Posted on by Migrant Tales

The Islamophobic Perussuomalaiset (PS)* chairperson, Jussi Halla-aho, convicted of ethnic agitation and breaching the sanctity of religion in 2012, is a columnist for television station MTV. Two matters emerge when skimming through his latest column: The media is part of Finland’s racism problem; and the PS is the first modern Finnish party to capitalize exclusively on immigration, especially Islamophobia.  

Another MTV columnist, Ivan Puopol, is in the same anti-immigration league as Halla-aho.

Both of them have one aim in their writing: Immigration is a problem but Muslims are even a worse problem.

When reading their Islamophobic opinions, one asks what is their end game?

If they want to make migrants and minorities feel hated and socially excluded, then that could be an aim of their writing

Will they be able to kick migrants and Muslims out of this country? Will they succeed at keeping Finland white?

In light of their racist worldviews, they will fail because Finland is becoming more culturally diverse, not less.

Our writing should concentrate on how to gain a louder voice and more power in Finland.

Unfortunately, too many Finns, like Puopol and Halla-aho, believe that their privilege and power is eternal.

 

Read the full text here.

* The Perussuomalaiset (PS) party imploded on June 13, 2017 into two factions, the PS and New Alternative, which is now called Blue Reform. Despite the name changes, we believe that it is the same party in different clothing. Both factions are hostile to cultural diversity never mind Muslims and other visible minorities. One is more open about it while the other says it in a different way.

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.

Uudet kansalaiset ovat positiivinen asia – onko Kokoomus samaa mieltä?

Posted on by Reija Härkönen

Viime viikolla uutisoitiin Britannian poliisin pidättäneen Suomen kansalaisen epäiltynä terroriteon valmistelusta.

Perussuomalaisten euroedustaja Jussi Halla-aho kiirehti seuraavana päivänä julkaisemaan puolueen nettijulkaisussa ajatuksiaan liian löysästä Suomen kansalaisuuden myöntämisestä. Juttu sidotaan samana päivänä julkaistuihin tilastotietoihin, mutta sisältö ja lopputägäykset osoittavat, mihin rasistinen propaganda on tähdätty.

”Suomen passilla tekemään terroritekoja”

”Suomen passi on matkustusasiakirjana arvokas. Suomalaiset voivat matkustaa ilman viisumia useimpiin maailman maihin. Tämä johtuu siitä, että näissä maissa suomalaisten arvioidaan olevan matalan riskin tulijoita.”

”Viime vuosina on uutisoitu useista tapauksista, joissa Suomen passilla matkustavia ulkomaalaistaustaisia henkilöitä on epäilty tai syytetty terrorismiin liittyvistä rikoksista. Kansalaisuuksien leväperäinen jakaminen vähentää näin ollen myös Suomen passin nauttimaa arvostusta maailmalla, Halla-aho sanoo.”

Suomen kansalaisuus Verkkouutiset

Suuri yllätys ei ollut, että Kokoomuksen Verkkouutiset piti terroristiuutisen propaganda-arvoa yhtä hyvänä, eikä malta keskittyä Tilastokeskuksen julkaisemaan positiiviseen uutiseen siitä, että Suomen kansalaisuuksia on viime vuonna myönnetty ennätysmäärä, vaan lähtee mukaan maahanmuuttajavastaiseen rummutukseen julkaisemalla “perussuomalaisten eduskuntaryhmän 1. varapuheenjohtajan Ville Tavion” ajatuksia aiheesta tyyliin ”Suomen kansalaisuuksia jaetaan kuin liukuhihnalta”.

Suomen kansalaisuus Tavio
Kokoomuksen Verkkouutiset 14.6.2018 Tilastokeskuksen uutiseen ennätyksellistä Suomen kansalaisuuden saaneiden määrästä
Suomen kansalaisuus Verkkouutiset
Kokoomuksen Verkkouutiset ja vastuullinen journalismi?

“Suomalaisterroristin” tapauksessa rasistinen öyhötys perustui jälleen kerran oletuksiin ja turhaan toivoon. Tänään uutisissa kerrottiin, että Suomen kansalainen on vapautettu eikä häntä enää epäillä terroriteon valmistelusta.

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Finland’s Perussuomalaiset party and its disdain for #metoo and our institutions

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Racism and Islamophobia are nothing more than pigheaded ignorance. 

What do you do if an Islamophobic MP called Teuvo Hakkarainen gets so drunk in parliament that he picks a fight with other MPs from the rival Blue Reform party by throwing bottles at their meeting? What about if that same MP, convicted for hate speech, grabs a fellow woman MP and forces her to kiss him? 

All of this happened on Thursday.

What about if an aid for the PS got so drunk the same day at a Christmas party in parliament that he was carried out and taken to a hospital in an ambulance?

 

Teuvo Hakkarainen on his first day in parliament in 2011.

What about if the leader of the PS, Jussi Halla-aho, believes that exposing this type of inappropriate behavior is synonymous with “undermining trust” between politicians and the media?

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Finland’s lost decade flirting with racism, fascism and the Perussuomalaiset party

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Sampo Terho, minister culture, sport and European affairs, was elected on Saturday to chair Blue Reform, a Lilliputian party that split from the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* after their plush ministerial jobs were on the line after Jussi Halla-aho was elected PS chairperson in June. 

Even if the PS imploded into two factions, the Blue Reform party continues in government despite its roughly 1% backing in the latest polls.

Terho admitted Saturday that the new party’s aim is a long and challenging one. He said that the final goal is to become the biggest party in Finland.

The new chairman of Blue Reform can fantasize about the future. The PS’ opportunity came in the 2011 and 2015 parliamentary elections but was dashed by power struggles and infighting.

Finland has paid a high price to learn today that parties like the PS and Blue Reform are a deception because the only thing they like to do is offer simplistic solutions to complex issues, scapegoat and never offer effective solutions.

The lies and the fantasies coming out of Blue Reform appear never-ending. Terho said that his party helped salvage Prime Minister Juha Sipilä’s government and thereby ensured that the country’s anti-EU stance and anti-immigration policy would continue.

“Finland has a more sensible immigration policy [now] where the economic burden of granting residence permits on humanitarian grounds, uncontrolled immigration and security risks are checked,” he said, adding that one of the government’s accomplishments, thanks to Blue Reform, is putting an end to “asylum tourism.”

Fact check: It is questionable whether there was any economic burden of Finland for granting residence permits on humanitarian grounds. The Finnish Immigration Service’s numbers speak for themselves: 2016 (50 cases); 2015 (6); 2014 (4); 2013 (11); 2012 (112); 2011 (143); and 2010 (654). 

Exaggerating and feeding fake news to the public is nothing new by politicians like Terho, who loathes cultural diversity. He also wants through the Association of Finnish Culture and Identity (Suomalaisuuden liitto) for Finland to remain white and ensure our history is thoroughly whitewashed.

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QUOTE OF THE DAY: Defecting from a single-issue party like the PS of Finland

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Pekka Sinisalo defects from the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* to the Blue Reform party because, under Jussi Halla-aho,  it is a single-issue party. Before the PS imploded in June, it was a supposedly a 1.5-issue party. The Finnish media forgets that the PS is the only party in modern Finnish history that decided to target and capitalize on Islamophobia and racism. Those that form part of Blue Reform haven’t apologized and are part of that disgraceful history. 

 

Like beauty is in the eye of the beholder, in Finland racism and fascism is a matter of interpretation. Source: YLE.

* After the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party imploded on June 13 into two factions, the PS and New Alternative, which is now called Blue Reform. Despite the name changes, we believe that it is the same party in different clothing. Both factions are hostile to cultural diversity.  One is more open about it while the other is more diplomatic. 

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.

Tigthening immigration and asylum policy is putting a noose around our Nordic values

Posted on by Migrant Tales

I spoke this week to a Syrian refugee who got his residence to stay in Finland. He said that his wife and two children are living abroad and cannot come to Finland (because he isn’t working). He stated that he hadn’t been with his wife and children for two years.

After tightening family reunification laws last year, Center Party parliamentary group leader MP Antti Kaikkonen believes that the government has gone too far in tightening immigration policy, according to Lahti-based daily Etelä-Suomen Sanomat. The Center Party believes that the 2,600-euro/month salary requirement to bring your spouse and two children should be changed. 

The suggestion by Kaikkonen has received a flat no from the Blue Reform (“New Perussuomalaiset”*) party that defected in June from the “Old” Perussuomalaiset (PS) party to not lose their ministerial posts since the Center Party and National Coalition Party would not have accepted the PS under Jussi Halla-aho in government.

Halla-aho, who has built his political career on Islamophobia, was convicted In 2012 for ethnic agitation and breaching the sanctity of religion.

As we have seen recently, the tightening of Finnish immigration and asylum policy has not only succeeded in killing our empathy for the suffering of others but showed what novices our politicians and decision-makers are when it comes to migration and cultural diversity. We have done great harm to our own values and sense of justice with the tightening of such laws.

The case of the Syrian man who lives in despair because he hasn’t been with his family for two years is not the only case.

When Finns emigrated in mass to North America before World War 2, they not only brought their families but their relatives, neighbors, and friends. The more, the merrier!

Blue Reform MP Simon Elo gives the thumbs down to Kaikkonen’s proposal of loosening family reunification guidelines. Source: Facebook.

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