Tag: Perussuomalaiset

Interior Minister Räsänen disagrees with findings of police report on the Romany minority

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Migrant Tales asked Monday what kinds of arguments will politicians now come up with to criminalize begging after a police report didn’t reveal any links between Romany beggars and human trafficking and organized crime.

The police report not only exposed  shameful urban legends used to victimize poor Romanies from Romania and Bulgaria, who make 10-20 euros a day, but revealed the populism, racism and sheer contempt that some politicians have for this minority.

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Conservartives like Interior Minister Päivi Räsänen for her homophobic, anti-abortion and anti-immigration views. Read full story here.

After over six years, this blog has taught me an important lesson: intolerance blinds. Those who are blinded by their prejudice and bigotry have learned to dress their arguments with suits and ties. One of these concerns the Romany minority.

The old stereotype about the Romanies in Finland was that all of them are criminals and therefore shouldn’t be trusted. An old prejudice that existed in Finland at the turn of the century was they were horse thieves.

Many of the politicians who want to criminalize begging, grew up at a time where the Romany minority were seen as criminals.

The most incredible fact about those politicians who want to criminalize begging is that they’d care less for the victims. If you look closer, they are shedding crocodile tears if that.

Interior Minister Päivi Räsänen, a conservative who believes that homosexuality is an illness and claimed this summer that it’s ok to break the law (abortion) if it is against the Bible, is the first politician to comment on the police report.

“There are perceptions as well that [during 2005-09] there are links [to human trafficking and organized crime],” she was quoted as saying on YLE.

Why is Räsänen so keen on maintaining a view that these Romanies are victims of human trafficking or victims of criminal organizations? Because that’s what her argument has been all along in order to criminalize begging.

The same argument will be used by other MPs. These are National Coalition Party’s Arto Satonen and  Jussi Halla-aho and Olli Immonen of the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party, both who are members of the extremist Suomen Sisu association.

YLE interviewed on Tuesday Helsinki Mayor Jussi Pajunen, who said he would be in favor of criminalizing begging because it “isn’t something we’re used to” in the Nordic region.

We should ask Pajunen, who makes about 200,000 euros a year, more than the mayor of London, if it is in the Nordic spirit to make so much money and care so little about the needy.

Shame on Pajunen and all those that want to sweep the Romany problem under the rug.

 

Finnish police: Roma beggars are not victims of human trafficking or linked to organized crime

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Remember the hostile reception that Romany beggars have got in the past from some Helsinki municipal politicians like mayor Jussi Pajunen, Christian Democrat Interior Minister Päivi Räsänen, Perussuomalaiset (PS) MPs like Olli Immonen and National Coalition Party MP Arto Satonen, who wants to make begging illegal? 

The Finnish police now claims that Romanian and Bulgarian Roma beggars that come to Finland aren’t victims of human trafficking or in league with organized crime but come on their own will, according to Tampere-based daily Aamulehti.

The news is quite a setback for those that lobbied for a get-tough approach to Roma beggars. Just like the ludicrous claim that Muslim women should stop wearing veils and headscarfs because they are “being oppressed” by men, a similar argument is being used by some Finnish politicians to “help” Roma beggars.

The only way to end begging by the Roma – they argue – is by criminalizing it on the grounds that those that do it are either human trafficking victims and/or exploited by organized crime.

Left without any credible excuses, it’ll be interesting to see what politicians like Satonen come up with to continue victimizing Roma beggars, who make between 10 and 20 euros a day, according to the police.

PS MP Immonen said last year on his Facebook page that the only way to deal with Roma street beggars from Eastern Europe was to make begging a crime and  forcibly deport them back to their home countries.

Even if the Roma are the ones being targeted by some politicians, it’s the same suspicion and fear of foreigners that we have seen for so long in this country.

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The police’s findings coupled with the reactions of politicians reinforce what Migrant Tales has suspected all along: Shameful ignorance and racism towards the Romany minority by members of the National Coalition Party, PS and Christian Democrats.

We wrote in a blog entry over a year ago:

“But let’s try to understand the recent red-herring debate in parliament between the opposition PS and government [concerning Romany beggars]. Why are we so concerned about these people coming to Finland? Is it our racism and loathing that reflects back on us when we see them begging? Is it our failure as a society to deal with our own Romany “problem?” Are we shocked to see that there are actually people in Europe who are poor and exploited?”

Are these Roma, who make small sums of money daily, a threat to us or have they revealed that some of us are just greedy racists.

Why we must challenge anti-immigration parties across Europe

Posted on by Migrant Tales

A political party that bases its popularity on anti-immigration and populist rhetoric is like playing a risky political game of Russian roulette. The game continues until the only bullet in the revolver goes off in your head. Higher bets are placed each time that the revolver doesn’t fire: more xenophobia, more hate speech, more racist rhetoric, more prejudice…

Read the major headlines of Europe’s main dailies, social media websites and Migrant Tales to understand that we are on a perilous path. Even if we wanted to change our xenophobic ways, some of us have passed the point of no return.

One story that struck me this week happened in Paris, France. A veiled woman was beaten in a bus and later arrested by the police. The victim could be a member of the Romany community in Eastern Europe, anti-Semitism in Denmark, a black minister in Italy, or a Somali refugee in Finland.

Here’s what happened:

“Ms Lamia is a professional caregiver…On June 30 2013, at 6 pm, Lamia takes the bus like any other night to go to work. When an elderly woman gets on the bus, Miss Lamia naturally gives away her seat, but the lady refuses and violently invectives Lamia about her headscarf. Follows a stormy debate: ‘Dirty Arab, go back to your country, you should read the Koran …’ screams the lady. As she is about to get off the bus to go to work, Ms Lamia faces once again the aggressiveness of the old lady. She thinks Lamia is following her, so she shoves Lamia who, this time, replies. At that moment, a tall man comes to Miss Lamia and violently slaps her. She clings to him to hold him while calling for help. It took the intervention of a few people to stop him. Requested by Lamia, the police arrives on the scene and, instead of arresting the aggressor, decides to put Miss Lamia in custody.”

The fact that this still happens in a country like France shows that we have learned very little after about 100 million died in two World Wars. It shows as well that the medicine to treat a serious illness like intolerance is insufficient. It’s like giving aspirin to a patient with terminal cancer.

Here’s another story about the rise in hate crimes against Muslims in France:

Hostility rises when Islam is in the news, for example last year when an Islamist killed seven people or when a politician accused Muslim children of stealing classmates’ snacks, the Committee against Islamophobia in France (CCIF) said. The CCIF welcomed a European Parliament decision on Tuesday to lift the legal immunity of far-right leader Marine Le Pen so she can be tried on racism charges for comparing Muslims praying in the streets here to the wartime Nazi occupation of France. The group said in its annual report (French) that anti-Muslim acts rose to 469 last year, after 298 in 2011 and 188 in 2010. The rise reflected trends cited by other recent reports that also noted increasing levels of anti-Semitism and racism in France.

Check out the weekly headlines by I CARE:

Kosovo Jails Macedonia Mass Murder Suspects
Macedonia: Spate of Anti-Gay Attacks
A Mosque in Reykjavík Threatens Icelandic Culture
Sweden: fall in number of hate crime reports
Council of Europe’s Anti-Racism Commission publishes new report on Finland 
Council of Europe’s Anti-Racism Commission publishes new report on Portugal
Council of Europe’s Anti-Racism Commission publishes new report on San Marino
Polish Jewish leader protests handling of anti-Semitism cases
Islamophobia in the Netherlands
Position of LGBT population in Serbia “improves”
Tipton mosque blast was ‘terrorist attack’, say police (UK)
Newcastle Division’s Lee Patrick wants to gas Muslims (UK)
Harpenden Town Council condemn ‘fake’ Gypsy site notice (UK)
Right-wing extremists launch bid to revive Fascist party (UK)
Disquiet over ‘shameful’ policing of racial violence in Brent (UK)
Veiled woman beaten in a bus in Paris, the police arrests the victim (France)
Anti-Muslim acts rising in France, rights group says
Marine Le Pen expected to face charges for incitement to racial hatred (France)
Islamophobia assaults in Argenteuil (France)
Need for the immediate investigation of homophobic, sexist and racist motives behind two attacks (Cyprus)

The fact that a particular political party, like the Perussuomalaiset (PS), Danish People’s Party, Sweden Democrats and others across Europe, base their  political agenda on anti-immigration rhetoric tells you that they are playing with fire and are one of the main causes of the cancer spreading throughout Europe.

There’s still time to tackle the biggest threat to our societies today, which is right-wing anti-immigration populist ideology, and wake up those who pay homage to them with their silence.

What does the PS’ new party secretary mean by “tightening [Finnish] immigration policy?”

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Left Alliance MP Risto Kalliorinne asks Perussuomalaiset (PS) new party secretary Riikka Slunga-Poutsalo to elaborate what she means by ”tightening immigration policy?” Apart from labeling herself a chauvinist, Slunga-Poutsalo “demanded” that Finland should tighten immigration policy.

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Read original story here.

While Left Alliance MP Kalliorinne poses an important question, we all know the answer that Slunga-Poutsalo would give if she elaborated on what she said.

The answer lies with the far right Danish People’s Party’s EuroMP Morten Messerschmidt, who was invited to speak at the PS’ annual congress in June. He said recently:

“I think we need three sets of rules of immigration. One for Europeans, who will be regulated by EU-law. One for people from the rest of the Western World, including parts of East Asia, South America, etc. And then a third set of rules for the third world, who in general do not really offer anything we can benefit from…”

The latter statement by Messerschmidt is in line with the Nuiva Manifesto and the thinking of many PS anti-immigration extremists like MP Jussi Halla-aho, James Hirvisaari and others.

The interesting question, however, is why the PS hasn’t yet revealed more aggressively its DPP colors on immigration policy. The answer probably hinges on how much the PS thinks it can profit from an anti-immigration political stance.

Slunga-Poutsalo believes that the party can, which explains why she is making anti-immigration statements in the first place.

The problem lies in the PS as well. Ever wondered why its chairman plays down its far right anti-immigration faction? It’s not because he’s a nice guy and likes immigrants, but because he sees this faction as a threat to his political base.

Soini has claimed in the past that PS’ anti-EU stance played a key role (80%) and anti-immigration a minor role (20%) in its historic election victory of 2011.

If you want to know where the PS’ anti-immigration policy is heading and how it will end, study the far right DPP.  

 

 

 

 

European Court of Human Rights will not review PS MP Hirvisaari’s conviction for ethnic agitation

Posted on by Migrant Tales

The European Court of Human Rights has turned down a request by Perussuomalaiset (PS) MP James Hirvisaari to review a conviction for ethnic agitation in December 2011 by the Kouvola Court of Appeals, which was upheld last year by the Finnish Supreme Court.

There was no doubt that far right PS MP Hirvisaari stood a chance of having his conviction reviewed by the European Court of Human Rights after it was upheld by a Supreme Court decision earlier.

Migrant Tales applauds the decision.

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Lahti-based daily Etelä-Suomen Sanomat wrote about the European Court of Human Rights’ decision. Hirvisaari has declared war on the daily by boycotting it.

In his usual style, Hirvisaari lashes out against the decision not to review his conviction as ”bowing to Mecca.” On a Facebook thread he slams the president of the Kouvola Court of Appeals, Pertti Nieminen, as the ”Great Satan.”

Hirvisaari, who would never have stood a chance of being elected to parliament without the help of Timo Soini, who commonly plays down racism in the party, has been embroiled in numerous scandals during his two years as MP. Some of these include complaining about skid marks on the toilet bowls of parliament to blaming Anders Breivik’s murderous rampage in Norway on immigration policy.

Some of his most infamous remarks aren’t his homophobic views and plans to control what the Finnish media writes,  but hiring Helena Eronen as his aide.

Eronen, who is a member of the far right anti-immigration Muutos2011 party, resigned in August after she wrote a scandalous blog entry that foreigners could help the police in ethnic profiling by wearing sleeve badges.

The reaction of the Finnish and even international media to her blog entry was a clear sign how far out of touch Eronen’s “sarcasm” was with common decency and respect for immigrants and visible minorities.

The last time ethnic groups like the Jews were required to wear identifying badges was during the Nazi regime in Germany.

 

 

Former SMP leader links Immonen’s writing to Nazis

Posted on by Migrant Tales

The former chairman (1979-89) of the Rural Party (SMP), Pekka Vennamo, linked Perussuomalaiset (PS) MP Olli Immonen’s recent column to Nazis, according to tabloid Iltalehti. The far right PS MP wrote in his most recent blog entry about how nationalism should play a central role in Finnish politics.

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Vennamo, who is the son of Veikko Vennamo, the late founder and legendary political figure of the SMP from which the PS emerged in the mid-1990s, doesn’t spare Immonen much sympathy. ”[Using the term] nationalism always brings Nazis first to mind,” he said.

Immonen, who is chairman of the extremist anti-immigration Suomen Sisu association that aims to keep Finland white, didn’t take the former SMP leader’s views lightly. “Pekka Vennamo is a turncoat and an old nut,” he said.

The former party chairman said that SMP was never against immigrants and even less against the EU. “We were warmly in favor of the country joining the EU and being in the euro,” he said.

Despite assurances by PS’ chairman Timo Soini that his party isn’t racist or that it harbors racists, its anti-immigration wing has found a permanent home in the PS.

Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja has called Soini’s relationship with the PS’ far right as a pack with the devil.

He writes: “The spirit that Soini opportunistically freed from the bottle by accepting extremist [candidates] of the Suomen Sisu [association] to run for office will soon permanently tarnish the ability of the party to cooperate with other ones and may even soon threaten Soini’s position as party leader.”

PS party secretary shoots herself in the leg on immigration and chauvinism

Posted on by Migrant Tales

It’s pretty clear from an interview that new party secretary of the Perussuomalaiset (PS), Riikka Slunga-Poutsalo, gave to newsmagazine Suomen Kuvalehti that she has shot herself so badly in the foot that she’ll never recover. Not only does her murky far right anti-immigration opinions follow her as a shadow, but affirmations like ”I’m a chauvinist” as well. 

Admitting that she is a chauvinist was not a slip of the tongue when she spoke to the media right after she was elected as the PS’ new party secretary. Apart from being strongly anti-immigration and chauvinist, she admits that there are no gray areas on how she see things. “Things are usually simple and I’m generally for or against [something],” she said. “One must have opinions in politics.”

On today’s Helsingin Sanomat, columnist Minna Lindgren writes about Slunga-Poutsalo: “Soini assumes that all of us are deep down inside [Finns are] chauvinists, racists and [see everything] black and white – the issue hinges on on being honest [with oneself].”

She concludes: “I have another picture of the Finn. He isn’t a power-hungry person who runs away from responsibility, not a black-and-white chauvinist or even a racist.”

Chauvinism in a Finnish context is this country’s brand of machoism. When you are a machoist, or chauvinist, you loathe anything that promotes cultural diversity. That is why Finnish machoists, men and women alike, see immigrants, blacks, gays, feminists, Muslims, left-wingers, environmentalists and others as a threat.

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It’s no surprise that Slunga-Poutsalo will call few if any major shots in the PS since the anti-immigration and anti-EU party is effectively a one-man show run by its chairman and creator, Timo Soini.

The Suomen Kuvalehti journalist, Katri Merikallio, asks Slunga-Poutsalo if she’s in favor of Finland becoming a multicultural or culturally diverse society.

”If I have to decide, I’m against it,” she said telling us something we already knew.

Her response is typical of that of an anti-immigration party. There is strong opposition to immigration and cultural diversity but no workable solutions that take into account immigrants and other minorities.

Why? The answer is simple: There aren’t any. Holding back cultural diversity is like prohibiting people from being gay.

But don’t let her general opposition to cultural diversity fool you. If she had her way, she’d implement the far right Danish People’s Party (DPP) immigration policy to fuel xenophobia and near-halt migration from outside of the European Union.

As everyone knows, the DPP were successful for about 10 years in spearheading the most restrictive immigration policy in the EU.

Slunga-Poutsalo, like all of the anti-immigration extremists in the PS, are not only a direct threat to immigrants but to Finland.

Their political views are openly hostile to immigrants and minorities and should be openly challenged.

 

UK study links hate crime with far right EDL

Posted on by Migrant Tales

A study in the UK finds that members of the far right English Defense League (EDL) were linked to a third of the abuses against Muslims last year. Almost two in every three cases of anti-Muslim incidents go unreported in the UK, according to Teesside University’s Centre for Fascist, Anti-Fascist and Post-Fascist Studies. 

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Read full report here.

Takin onboard the findings of the UK study, we could ask the same question in Finland. Is there a connection in the rise of hate crimes in Finland to the 2011 election victory of the anti-immigration Perussuomalaiset (PS) party?

Contrary to the EDL, the Finnish Defense League is too small to have the same impact as its sister organization in the UK.  The only group with such clout is the PS.

A story reported by Migrant Tales in early 2012 appears to reinforce the latter claim. A story on Kajaani-based daily  Kainuun Sanomat claimed that racist abuse and attacks on the Somali community in Finland started to rise after the PS election victory.

Refugee of the year (2011) Saido Mohammed was quoted as saying: “After the parliamentary election [Somalis that live in] Helsinki have said that they are spat at daily.”

After the 2011 election, traffic on Migrant Tales has soared as well. This is not only an indication that immigrants are concerned about their situation in Finland, it has apparently emboldened racists and those who are opposed to cultural diversity to come out of the closet.

The study in the UK on anti-Muslim sentiment is based on the Tell Mama online helpline, where victims can report about abuse and harassment.

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Visit Tell Mama online site here.

The report states that there’s been a 150% rise in anti-Muslim hate crime in London from January to May.

Attacks against Muslims have picked up especially after the murder of Lee Rigby in May. This is in contrast to another claim that around half of the mosques and Muslim centers in Britain have been targets of Islamophobic attacks since 9/11, according to The Independent.

The interesting question we should ask is why isn’t there a study in Finland that would show the same findings as those in the UK? Is this due to lack of political will or that Finnish society still continues to play down intolerance?

 

Finland never was, is, and will be only “white”

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Whenever a far right politician like Perussuomalaiset (PS) MP Olli Immonen, Jussi Halla-aho or James Hirvisaari comment on what is or who has the right to be Finnish, they always get it wrong. Their views, that Finland is only white, is not only wrong but a hostile act towards the tens of thousands of Finns who have foreign parent(s). 

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Finns with multiethnic backgrounds are more than some would want to admit. Why are politicians, especially from the PS, denying these people the right to be accepted and treated as equals in this society? Why doesn’t anyone, like Migrant Tales, speak up courageously for them?

The extreme nationalistic view of these PS politicians is not only harmful to Finland but to the people they label and exclude as equal members of this society. Why? Because they aren’t white.

Politicians, the media and the general public should send a clear message to those who label others in such a pernicious way. This is important because the aim of these anti-immigration politicians is to divide Finland along ethnic lines. Not only do they aim to make life as hard as possible, but destroy their self-esteem as Finns.

Immonen, who is chairman of the extremist Suomen Sisu association that aims to keep Finland white, writes on an Uusi Suomi blog entry: “This national cohesion [of white Finland] shouldn’t be upset by a no boundary utopian ideological world that is based on mass immigration and a multicultural social policy.”

Has anyone ever told Immonen and his pundits that Finland never was, is or will a so-called monocultural country? No country can ever be monocultural. It is a ludicrous claim like stating that all members of Group X are criminals or that Group Y are lazy.

That social construct, which Immonen refers to, was built during the last century thanks to myths born from Finland’s extreme isolation and fear of the outside world.  

Instead of trying to breathe life into an ethnic Frankenstein that never existed, Immonen and his cronies should look at ways to encourage social and national cohesion through a policy of inclusion, acceptance and respect for cultural diversity.

Finland is a rapidly becoming a culturally diverse society and we must learn to live with this fact. Hiding our diversity or brushing it under the rug,  like Immonen aims to do, is harmful to Finland.

No matter how much anti-immigration politicians and political parties may want to opportunistically kick and bitch about the fact that cultural diversity is here to stay, there’s nothing they can do about it.

It’s time to get real and embrace diversity for the sake of Finland’s present and future social cohesion.

PS’ Slunga-Poutsalo is “extremely concerned” about Finnish immigration policy

Posted on by Migrant Tales

In a short interview on A-Studio Monday, the new party secretary of the Perussuomalaiset (PS) reinforced her anti-immigration stance. “I’m not annoyed by anything concerning immigration,” said PS secretary Riikka Slunga-Poutsalo, “but extremely concerned about the immigration policy we pursue in Finland.” 

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Don’t be fooled, the PS’ new party secretary, Riikka SLunga-Poutsalo, is in the same anti-immigration extremist camp like Jussi Halla-aho and James Hirvisaari.

It’s unfortunate that the YLE journalist didn’t press her on what she meant by “extremely concerned about immigration policy.”

If he did, Slunga-Poutsalo’s far right anti-immigration colors would have stood a better chance of being exposed. As everyone knows, immigration policy is used by anti-immigration pundits to drive home their xenophobic views.

Compared with other European countries never mind neighboring Sweden, Finland is a non-destination for refugees never mind immigrants. Claiming that you are “extremely concerned” about immigration policy is fear-mongering.

But what worries Slunga-Poutsalo so much about our immigration policy anyway? The answer is easy:  She doesn’t want Africans, Muslims and non-EU citizens moving to Finland because that means greater cultural diversity.

Her view of what kinds of immigrants should move to Finland is in line with the far right Danish People’s Party and their Euro MP Morten Messerschmidt, who spoke at their party congress on June 29-30:

“I think we need three sets of rules of immigration. One for Europeans, who will be regulated by EU-law. One for people from the rest of the Western World, including parts of East Asia, South America, etc. And then a third set of rules for the third world, who in general do not really offer anything we can benefit from…”

Slunga-Poutsalo sounded on A-Talk like PS MP Olli Immonen, especially when she spoke of her fear of ghettos.

In all truth, she doesn’t care about the plight of immigrants in Finland never mind if their children live in so-called ghettos. What she’s worried about is Finland’s ever-growing cultural diversity.

In the language of anti-immigration groups, “ghetto” is a byword for too many immigrants concentrated in one area. Would we call a white neighborhood a ghetto? What about Little China or Little Scandinavia?

I seriously doubt that immigrants, especially Africans and Muslims, will ever get any sympathy from Slunga-Poutsalo. They should therefore  treat all of her comments with a generous pinch of salt and tweezers. Her track record on immigration can be clearly seen from the Nuiva Manifesto, which she signed together with other PS anti-immigration extremists. Her mandate is clear: undermine and harm immigrants and visible minorities as much as possible.

How will Slunga-Poutsalo do this? By driving home the point that immigration is a threat to Finland.

One comment she made did reveal her true anti-immigration colors. She said that convicted immigrants should be deported. That is a favorite position of far right anti-immigration groups who constantly criticize immigration policy.