Finland’s Perussuomalaiset (PS)* interior minister, Mari Rantanen, has pulled another fast one on the media. Anti-immigration politicians usually make outrageous statements that are then rebuffed by the media. It is a course in Fake News 101. Even if Interior Minister Mari Rantanen admits her claim, that millions of migrants are coming to Finland, to be…
Tag: xenophobia
Riikka Purra and the PS are desparate and fear being exposed for what they are: liars
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…
@onlinehyphen: Geert Wilders’ victory points to a surge in anti-Islam populism across Europe
By Shada Islam* Many mainstream politicians have adopted and amplified the language of the far right Dutch far-right and anti-Islam politician Geert Wilders’ success in this week’s elections in the Netherlands has been widely described as a “shock” result. It is nothing of the sort. Wilders’ Party for Freedom (PVV), whose manifesto calls for bans on mosques…
Finnish government: Storms in a teacup and fearmongering from youth gangs to asylum seekers at the Finnish-Russian border
As a non-white Finn, it’s amazing how the Perussuomalaiset (PS)*, with the support of the National Coalition Party (NCP),* work with tiny numbers and speak in the conditional. In Sweden, there are tens of thousands of people in gangs while in Finland their number total 150-200. The same strategy goes for the closing of the…
The Finnish government’s xenophobic knee-jerk response: The asylum seekers are coming! Shut the border”
Yle: “Today [Wednesday] about 70 asylum seekers asked for asylum [at the Russian border].” A-studio: “One hundred thousand people attempt to cross the Mediterranean annually [to enter Europe].” I’ve been quiet, watching with manifest unease, the actions of the government spearheaded by the Islamophobic Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party about the trickle of asylum seekers arriving at…
The EU’s immigration policy is based on denial, death, and wishful thinking. It is a recipe for disaster and remorse.
When it comes to migration policy and treating asylum seekers, the EU has three solutions: It is clear that with global warming and democracy under attack, more people will have to abandon their homes and come to regions like Europe. If I were them, I’d do the same. But the most distressing fact is that…
The tightening of Finland’s citizenship law is disenfranchisement and sheer hypocrisy by Interior Minister Mari Rantanen
Listening to the anti-immigration rhetoric of Petteri Orpo’s government and especially of its Perussuomalaiset (PS)* interior minister, Mari Rantanen, on tightening citizenship requirements, two matters come to light: racism and hypocrisy. The planned changes in the citizenship law include: Rantanen is not only a multiculturally challenged politician but does not practice what she hatefully preaches….
The Finnish youth gang “problem” is a monster concocted by the radical right
What drives the government, particularly Minister of the Interior Mari Rantanen of Perussuomalaiset (PS), to give utmost attention and tackle the issue of youth street gangs? Is it a sincere attempt tosolve such a social problem, or an opportunity to further victimize migrants and minorities in Finland? The assertion isn’t far-fetched. The PS is historically…
Espoo Perussuomalaiset councilperson reveals his and party’s ignorance of migrants
Hannu Järvinen is a Perussuomalaiset (PS)* councilperson from the city of Espoo. One of his big pastimes is speaking badly of immigrants. Like many of his party, xenophobic and especially Islamophobic opinions are his pet topics. His advice will scare away people from Finland than keep them here. Järvinen’s solution for migrants: “When you move…
The anti-racism statement has little to do with eradicating the social ill in Finland but all to do with saving the government’s skin
One of the facts about the government’s anti-racism statement is that it has more to do with injecting trust in a government after it was hit by a string of racism and far-right scandals in the summer. At least for the time being, the statement succeeded at keeping the government from dissolving after the Swedish…