THE OPINION PIECE WAS UPDATED Much of Finland’s hostility towards asylum seekers and visible minorities lies on President Sauli Niinistö, who hosts today his last Independence Day gala. For some, like me, this is good news. Hopefully, Finland’s next president will have a greater understanding of migrants, cultural diversity and peace-building. Ahti Tolvanen, who is…
Tag: President Sauli Niinistö
Finland’s President Sauli Niinistö panders (again) to the racists
“That’s the central issue, people who want to be here need to accept our core values: democracy, equality, human rights and all of that. If they don’t, they can’t stay in Finland.” President Sauli Niinistö in Yle News During the many years I have written about President Sauli Niinistö, he has always disappointed me. For…
President Sauli Niinistö throws weight behind opposition’s election campaign by citing youth gang “problem”
President Sauli Niinistö, who has a track record of speaking disparagingly about Muslims and asylum seekers, was quoted as saying on Yle’s 8:30 news that he fears Finland “apparently” is “moving a bit” on Sweden’s path concerning youth gang violence. “It’s a very, very unfortunate and dangerous phenomenon, we seem to be following a bit…
Jewish Community of Helsinki: Anti-Semitism is now recognized by the authorities as a problem in Finland
According to Yaron Nadbornik, president of the 1,100-strong Jewish Community of Helsinki, the Finnish authorities acknowledge that there is anti-Semitism and it is a problem. “The authorities have recognized during 2018-2019 that there is an anti-Semitism problem in Finland,” he said. “Before it was [for them] pretty unclear if such a matter existed.” According to…
The PS playbook of how to spread racism, disinformation and fake news
Perussuomalaiset (PS)* first vice president and MP, Riikka Purra, is at it again. During the postal strike, she misled people by stating that 98% of early morning mail carriers were migrants. Early morning mail carriers are a small part of the postal company’s services. According to Posti, 80% of postal workers in Finland and 70%…
President Sauli Niinistö is worried about the rise of “anti-Semitism and racism” in Finland
It is a positive sign that President Sauli Niinistö, who has been no friend of cultural diversity in the past, speaks out against the rise of anti-Semitism and racism in Finland on the formal opening of parliament on Wednesday, according to Yle News. He said: There are signs of anti-Semitism and racism being on the…
Finnish President Sauli Niinistö’s disinformation bubble about racism and Others
Is it surprising that whenever President Sauli Niinistö comments on asylum seekers, Muslims, and the Perussuomalaiset (PS)*, he sticks his foot in his mouth?
Facebook Abdirahim Husu Hussein: Migrants are individuals and you can’t paint them with a single brush
Migrant Tales insight: Everyone that lives in Finland deserves to live in a safe environment. Read the original posting here.
White Finnish privilege #55: It is that time of the year – Christmas!
Far-right poliicians and Islamophobes of varying hues commonly blame Muslims for banning traditional Christmas parties at school. Nothing, however, could be further from the truth. Those wanting to remove Christmas parties are Finns who believe that religion should not play a role in our schools since we are officially a secular state. What happens when most…
Exposing white Finnish privilege #47: President Sauli Niinistö’s “culture inside four walls”
THIS STORY HAS BEEN UPDATED Instead of showing leadership and giving a public face to our ever-growing culturally and ethnically diverse non-white society, President Sauli Niinistö does the opposite again. I have said it before and I wil say it again: President Niinistö is no friend of non-white Finland. In an interview on YLE, Niinistö gave…