Tag: Perussuomalaiset

The lack of cultural diversity is impoverishing Finland

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Jussi Jalonen, a Tampere University history researcher, asked recently why a populist party like the Perussuomalaiset (PS) continues to grow in popularity despite the numerous scandals that have riddled the group. There is an answer: Finland’s lack of cultural diversity.

How is it possible that a party like the PS can win 39 seats in the last parliamentary elections from 5 seats previously? The answer: Finland’s lack of cultural diversity.

How is it possible that the Finnish media, politicians and the general public were swept off their feet by the PS’ anti-EU, anti-immigration and anti-Islam message up to April 17, 2011? The answer: Finland’s lack of cultural diversity.

Contrarily, if Finland were a country that would have had larger ethnic and religious minorities in the last century and if these were promoted in a spirit of social equality (tasa-arvo), we’d never be in the political and ideological mess that we are in today.

There are many examples of how a society can grow and reap synergies from cultural diversity. Some positive examples are Silicon Valley, Canada, the United States, Argentina, Australia and many others.

Since no society is perfect, never mind one that is culturally diverse, there are poor examples we should avoid. One of these is the former apartheid system of South Africa.

The recent example of the black Mannerheim movie is proof of some Finns’ hostility towards diversity and how we continue to cling at any price to our cultural and ethnic myths.

In many respects, the “one-people-one-nation“ view of white Finland is the making of our own social Frankenstein. We have promoted it from day one when we declared independence from Russia on December 6, 1917.

Even if PS chairman, Timo Soini, claims that his party has 27 “immigrant” candidates running for office in the municipal elections, it reinforces the party’s hostility towards diversity. Thanks to these candidates, PS’ “one- people-one-nation” political message is strengthened as a result.

Immigrants who have little idea about how our open society functions democratically and, worse, have no enthusiasm to throw overboard their baggage of hate and racism, is one of the threats facing our society.

It is surprising to note that many of these immigrants aren’t those with the least education, but those that have good professions and economical means to assimilate into white Finnish society.

Throughout the last century, Finland has been a negative model for cultural diversity despite the fact that 1.2 million Finns emigrated from this country between 1860 and 1999.

Finland’s social and economic life savior is not keeping Finland “white,” but becoming culturally diverse.

If we fail in this task and do not promote modern Nordic values such as mutual acceptance and respect, our society will become ever-polarized. The same Civil Rights Movements we saw in the United States emerging in the 1950s and 1960s will become a reality in Finland this century.

Since we have done everything possible to kill cultural diversity from the last century as opposed to defending and promoting it, we are paying today a high price for our shortsightedness.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mamukriit-Looks: The who’s who of anti-immigration Finland

Posted on by Migrant Tales

You’ve heard of Per-Looks, the latest fad taking the Finnish social media scene by storm last week.  We now give you Mamukriit-Looks, a gallery of Perussuomalaiset (PS) politicians running for office in the October 28 municipal elections who have built their political careers on anti-immigration and anti-Islam sentiment.

In the picture gallery below, you will find politicians that have been fined for hate speech, Counterjihadists and who have applied for membership in a neo-Nazi association. One candidate even suggested that it was a “patriotic” shooting certain politicians and boiling Muslims alive.

Sad but true.

MAMUKRIIT-LOOKS

Per-Looks: A taste of one’s own medicine for the PS of Finland

Posted on by Migrant Tales

I’ve been reading with some interest the ongoing debate on social media about the Per-Looks blog that has outraged some Perussuomalaiset (PS) party members. The blog shows a number of PS candidates running for office in the October 28 municipal elections.

Just for the record, I don’t like to make fun of people due to their ethnic background, religion, culture or looks and dress as is the case with Pers-Looks.

While the pictures published on Per-Looks aim to give an image that the PS are a bunch of Finnish hillbillies, the blog does offers the anti-immigration and anti-Islam party a taste of its own medicine.

Possibly those who feel offended by Per-Looks now understand how it feels to be a visible immigrant attacked in the Finnish media by politicians of parties like the PS.

Blaming the social democrats for the prank, Matti Puukkonen of the PS said that Per-Looks  was “a cowardly act made by losers who are in politics.”

Just like former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who commonly blamed negative media coverage on communists, the PS like to criticize eco-socialists for the critical coverage they receive in the Finnish media.

The person who made Per-Looks was quoted as saying on Nelonen TV that the aim of the blog was not to ridicule the PS candidates.

“The [purpose of the] Per-Looks blog is not to make fun or to make a political statement with the pictures,” the person said in a statement sent by email. “The pictures on displayed are just as they are found on different web sites [of the PS].”

Since the publishing of Per-Looks, other ones have appeared such as one for the National Coalition Party (Kok-Looks), Pirate Party (Pir-Looks) and Greens (Vih-Looks).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The PS’ shameful and opportunistic stand on refugees

Posted on by Migrant Tales

The Perussuomalaiset (PS) party’s municipal election program recommends that municipalities should not accept refugees because the best way to help people fleeing strife is in refugee camps bordering these war-ravaged countries. 

This stand by the PS is so extreme that many PS municipal candidates have not endorsed it except for Counterjihadists like PS MP James Hirvisaari (see question 3).

The fact that the PS recommends municipalities not to accept refugees is a clear example of how the party uses opportunistically and shamelessly the immigrant-refugee card to lure votes. Like its anti-EU line, its anti-immigration and anti-Islam stands attract votes.

Dadaab in Kenya is the world’s biggest refugee camp that houses over 400,000 refugees.

Using PS populist election rhetoric about refugees, the question we should ask is if refugee camps are effective and humane places to help people.

Take a look at a video clip of the Dadaab camp to arrive at your own conclusions.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlHWHLG_pds

Eritrean refugees in Sudan are another sad reminder of people who have lived in  camps for 30-40 years.

Click here to see video clip on the forgotten Eritrean refugees of Sudan.

 

Ajankohtainen kakkonen: Four immigrant candidates

Posted on by Migrant Tales

There’s an interesting news documentary this week on Ajankohtainen kakkonen about immigrant candidates taking part in the October 28 municipal elections. One matter that bothered me about the program was the use of the word mamu by the reporters when referring to the candidates.

Mamu is the shortened word for maahanmuuttajia, or immigrant. There are mixed opinions among immigrants about what the term implies.

Another matter that the program lacked was that we didn’t get any clear idea what these candidates stand for on major municipal issues like health care, pensioners, high unemployment and social exclusion of young people.

As immigrant candidates, I would have been interested in knowing what their stand was on the role of cultural diversity in Finland.

There was, however, one Romanian candidate of the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party, Cristian Tudose, who said he was running because Finns were too naive to protect their culture.

”Finns need foreigners to protect their culture because Finns are too naive and cannot say loudly enough that, ‘hey, now we do things our way here.’”

One of the matters that has always worried me about some immigrants who move to this country is how their own prejudices find a cosy home in Finland. Romania is far from being a model country for cultural diversity if we take into account the shameful plight of the Romany minority there.

In the last municipal elections, 96,373 immigrants were eligible to vote but only 19.6% did so. Today that number has grown by about 40,000 to 137,005. How many will vote is a good open question.

Linus Atarah, iCount campaign coordinator, said that the big problem concerning immigrant voters is that many do not know enough about the parties never mind for which candidate they should vote for.

Some 400 immigrants are running for office in the upcoming municipal elections.

 

Record number of immigrant candidates take part in Finnish municipal elections

Posted on by Migrant Tales

A record number of immigrants are candidates in Finland’s municipal elections of October 28, reports YLE. The highest number of immigrant candidates can be found in the Social Democratic Party (118) followed by the National Coalition Party (81), Left Wing Alliance (56), Green Party (55) and Center Party (around 50). 

Most of the immigrant candidates can be found in the Social Democratic Party.

In the list used by YLE, the fewest number of immigrant candidates can be found in the Perussuomalaiset Party (27).

Even if Timo Soini said that the PS has immigrant candidates, it is very small taking into account that the PS is Finland’s third-largest party.

The number of immigrant candidates isn’t too high in the other parties as well.

KHR writes: Percentages of immigrant candidates for the same parties (source).

SDP: 1,69%
National Coalition Party: 1,18%
Left Wing Alliance: 1,60%
Greens: 2,39%
Center Party: approx 0,6%
RKP: 3,04%
KD: 1,93%
PS: 0,61%

So it looks like PS and center party have the lowest proportions, and it is essentially the same for both of them. This seems to fit the observation that PS is largely invading the political space that was occupied by the center party for decades.

Conversely, RKP and the greens have the highest proportions of immigrant candidates; No surprises there.

Helsinki PS municipal candidate Belle Selene Xia didn’t consider her party racist or anti-immigration.

“They’re only people’s stereotypes against the Perussuomalaiset,” she said. “The Perussuomalaiset are strongly against racism. Moreover, the Persusuomalaiset are in favor of labor immigration.”

 

 

 

The PS campaigns for closed-door policy for refugees

Posted on by Migrant Tales

I was surprised to read the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party’s municipal election program on refugees. It states that municipalities should not accept refugees because the best way to help these people is in refugee camps bordering their country.

Finland holds municipal elections on October 28. The PS are expected to be one of the clear winners of the election, according to some polls.

Read the PS municipal election program here (in Finnish).

It isn’t surprising that an anti-immigration party like the PS believes that refugees would be “culturally closer at home” in such camps.

The PS solution to the refugee problem is to keep them as far as possible from Finland no matter how desperate their situation. Source: Benedict Wachira blog.

On top of this, PS chairman Timo Soini said today on YLE that he’s not against immigration but suggested that only super immigrants should move to Finland.

Soini said that his party wants to help Finland’s needy such as the poor, pensioners and marginalized people. For the PS, refugees do not belong in the latter group.

In his usual populist style, Soini said that Finns should not change their way of life because of immigrants.

 

 

 

We will win the battle against hate speech and intolerance

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Much is at stake as Finland and Europe speeds into the depths of the new century. One of the greatest  threats to our way of life and society today is hate speech and far-right ideology. Our resolve to identify and challenge these menaces is crucial during these times.

Even if the media, politicians and public opinion have preferred to remain largely silent in the face of these threats, it is an encouraging sign that our reaction as a society to such hazards is an ever-growing reaction.

Source: P.a.p.-Blog. Human Rights Etc.

One is off track if he or she believes that hate speech and intolerance only have an impact on immigrants and minorities. It would be naive to believe that the rise of an anti-immigration party like the Perussuomalaiset (PS) hasn’t impacted our country.

The shadow of the PS is clearly evident in our country: in the government’s EU and immigration policy we well as in our attitudes.

A debate taking place on social media about male circumcision is a case in point. Who else but the anti-Islam hardliners of the PS would be behind a bill to criminalize circumcision of under-fifteen-year-old male minors.

Like most arguments by a party that is openly anti-Islam, they are nothing more than red herrings and slippery slopes towards more radical measures like prohibiting Muslim women from wearing Islamic veils.

Every time a party takes steps to undermine minority rights, cultural diversity and our right to make lifestyle choices, we are eroding our civil liberties.

It is one good reason why we should challenge hate speech and intolerance.

 

The Rautiainen scandal: The PS’ short and selective memory

Posted on by Migrant Tales

The Amon Rautiainen* scandal, the Perussuomalaiset (PS) municipal council candidate in Kotka who suggested on Facebook that Muslims should be boiled alive, reveals the Finnish anti-immigration party’s short and selective memory. 


Freddy Van Wanterghem, the PS chair of the local association in Kotka, is a good example of the party’s double talk, or first I will say something vague to the media and then erase it vaguely and offer you a snow job instead.

The PS city councilor is quoted as saying on YLE in English:

“He [Rautiainen] is a candidate, and voters can make up their minds who they want to vote for.”

He first hints in the quote above that it is sort of ok to write that kind of hate speech on Facebook, but then disassociates the party form Rautiainen’s controversial posts.

For those who might have forgotten, Van Wonterghem was sentenced for inciting ethnic hatred in March for suggesting that it was good matter that a Muslim woman would be killed because ”it would be one less Muslim giving birth.”

Sorry Van Wanterghem but you’ve been caught with your hand in the double-talk cookie jar.

*Does anyone know if Amon is Rautiainen’s original first name?