xenophobia Archives - Page 71 of 92

Turun Sanomat: Finland Democrats eye PS’ anti-immigration vote

Posted on November 26, 2012 by Migrant Tales

The Finland Democrats, which bases its political agenda on the far-right Sweden Democrats, aims to become a new party and compete for the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party’s anti-immigration vote, reports Turun Sanomat. The creation of a new anti-immigration party reveals the ever-negative debate in Finland surrounding immigrants and immigration.

The PS is the only party that has attracted large number of votes due to its anti-immigration stance. Anti-immigration groups like Vapauspuolue, Muutos 2011 and other so-called taxi parties have failed to lure large number of votes.

A “taxi party” in Bolivia is one that is so small that all of its members can fit inside a taxi.

Click here to see original Facebook post.

The new party, which will be spearheaded by Jussi Yli-Paavola, established a new Facebook group Monday where the Finland Democrats “aim to defend the rights of Finns…a poor country that cannot be the social welfare office of EU brokers and Africans. We have to act before it’s too late!!”

An anonymous Finland Democrats’ member denied on Turun Sanomat that PS MPs like James Hirvisaari were going to form part of the new party. He said, however, that PS members are welcome to join the Finland Democrats if they wished.

Click here to see original Facebook post.

Apart from Hirvisaari, other far-right anti-immigrant PS members such as Freddy Van Wonterghem, Harri Tauriainen, Jani Viinikainen and Jani Salomaa are speculated to form part of the new party, according to some social media sites.

Click here to see original Facebook post.

Even if the Finland Democrats will need more than luck to challenge the PS, it is a worrying sign how a small-but-vocal group of Finns aim to make far-right ideology and intolerance acceptable in this country.

UPDATE (7:45pm Finnish time): Turun Sanomat published a story earlier today based on a bogus statement sent supposedly by the Finland Democrats. The statement claimed that a number of PS members, including James Hirvisaari, had joined the new party. The updated story in Turun Sanomat, which was cited by Migrant Tales, has a Finland Democrat source that denies any PS members such as Hirvisaari, Van Wonterghem, Tauriainen, Viinikainen and Salomaa joining the Finland Democrats.

Thus the aim of the bogus statement was to fool Turn Sanomat and apparently punish it for publishing an armband story written by Hirvisaari’s former aide, Helena Eronen, back in April.

The SD (and PS) are far-right anti-immigration parties

Posted on November 15, 2012 by Migrant Tales

There’s an interesting opinion piece on Swedish daily Dagens Nyheter about the Swedish Democrats (SD) and the spread of fascism or neofascism in the Scandinavian country. While classifying a party as “fascist” may be problematic, there are certain ideological characteristics that expose its true political colors.

Historian and journalist Henrik Arnstad writes: “Fascism is a deeply problematic word…But it is the name of a specific political ideology, which for the first time represented today in the Swedish parliament.”

In Finland we have the Perussuomalaiset (PS), which is a close ideological relative of the SD. There are many factors that unite as well as separate both parties. Nationalism is one of these.

Another matter that draws them together is their suspicion of cultural diversity. As Arnstad writes about fascism, the SD (and many members of the PS) see cultural diversity as a threat to their perceived homogenous society.

The far-right in the PS, led by PS MP’s like Jussi Halla-aho, fear – like the SD – the loss of the country’s near-white society due to immigration.

Even if the SD and Counterjihadists in the PS bend over backwards to show their pro-Israeli stances, the Jewish community in Sweden fears that it is only a question of time when their true anti-Semitic nature is revealed.

“We know where these people are coming from,” Lena Posner, president of the Official Council of Jewish communities in Sweden, was quoted as saying on Haaretz. “They [SD] are Nazi sympathizers who, under their jackets, are still wearing their brown shirts.”

“They love Israel because that sort of rhetoric is in tune with their hatred for Muslims;” she adds. “That’s it.”

It would be naive to think that the PS does not house the same anti-Semitic and far-right feelings than the SD.

Racism scandal rips far-right Sweden Democrats

Posted on November 14, 2012 by Migrant Tales

Here’s an interesting story that took place in June 2010 in Sweden involving a far-right Sweden Democrat (SD) MP, Erik Almqvist, who got rowdy and started hurling racist and sexist insults in public, reports Swedish tabloid Expressen. The MP naturally denied everything until Expressen published today a video confirming what others claimed he said.

After repeated denials, Almqvist wrote on his Facebook page that while he didn’t remember what he said two-and-a-half years ago, he was “greatly remorseful.”

Party chairman Jimmie Åkesson has tried to improve the party’s xenophobic and anti-immigration image by announcing that the SD maintain a strict zero tolerance for racism. As a result of the scandal, Åkesson has asked Almqvist to not only resign from all positions of trust in the party but to consider resigning as MP as well.

Every one knows about the SD’s neo-Nazi roots and their crackpot statements against immigrants and Muslims. Anti-immigration was the most important message of their 2010 campaign. The ad, which was banned in Sweden, is one of many examples of their xenophobia.

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

As everyone know, in neighboring Finland we have the Perussuomalaiset (PS), a close ideological ally of the SD. Contrary to Sweden, however, PS politicians can get away by saying similar or worse racist insults than Almqvist with little or no consequences.

Here is a link to a Migrant Tales’ blog entry that lists a shameful list of PS party members who got elected to city council thanks to their strong anti-immigration message.

MP Hirvisaari claims PS anti-immigration message not strong enough

Posted on November 13, 2012 by Migrant Tales

Perussuomalaiset (PS) MP James (Erkki Kalevi) Hirvisaari claims that his party did poorly in the municipal elections because it wasn’t as outspoken on immigration issues as before the 2011 parliamentary elections, according to YLE. Migrant Tales disagrees. The PS did poorly in the municipal elections because of the crackpot stuff they say and do to gain attention, listeners or votes.

Contrary to what Hirvisaari claims, the PS and his band of Counterjihadists tried very hard to raise immigration issues during the last municipal elections. See the long list of blog entries below that were published by Migrant Tales that show that Hirvisaari and other PS politicians tried to gain attention and votes by fueling anti-immigration, anti-Islam, anti-Roma and homophobic sentiment.

Moreover, the anti-immigration message of the PS sounds like a broken record at this stage. The more it plays, the more their lies and opportunism are exposed. The public, media and politicians are not eating out of their hands as they did before last year’s parliamentary elections.

Politicians like Hirvisaari in the PS, with his usual witch-hunt comments about Islam and immigrants, is one reason why the party has lost popularity and credibility with voters.

One of the PS MP’s many bizarre comments were made after Anders Brevik went on the rampage killing in cold blood 77 Norwegians on July 22, 2011.

On his Uusi Suomi blog he blamed “immigration policy” and “100% rape cases by foreigners [sic!]” for Norway’s worst tragedy after World War 2. “A sensible immigration policy could have lowered tensions and helped avoid many problems as well as the atrocity [in Norway],” he wrote. “And we still can. In Finland as well.”

Hirvisaari, who was convicted for hate speech in December, has not only lost touch with his party but with his constituents.

Here are some blog entries that Migrant Tales published before the October municipal elections that had a strong anti-immigration, anti-Islam and homophobic message:

The Finnish city of Kemi gives us Harri Turtiainen of the PS (Nov. 11)
More Mamukriit-Looks candidates of Finland (Oct. 30)
The majority of Mamukriit-Looks candidates got elected to office in Finland (Oct. 29)
PS anti-immigration candidates did well in the Finnish municipal elections (Oct. 29)
CHEATS! (Oct. 26)
Timo Soini on racism: See no evil, hear no evil (Oct. 25)
What do Finland’s political parties think about refugees and immigrants? (Oct. 24)
Parliament debates practicalities of expulsion from Finland (Oct. 21)
Immigrants that look down on other immigrants (Oct. 19)
Banning circumcision would be the first step in undermining religious freedom in Finland (Oct. 14)
The PS’ shameful and opportunistic stand on refugees (Oct. 10)
Ajankohtainen kakkonen: Four immigrant candidates (Oct. 4)
The PS campaigns for closed-door policy for refugees (Oct. 1)
The Rautiainen scandal: The PS’ short and selective memory (Sept. 26)
Perussuomalaiset candidate: Kill the prime minister, finance minister and boil Muslims alive (Sept. 25)
PS of Pori: Nazi motto to kick off the municipal elections of October (Sept. 24)
PS candidate: Vote for me and I will solve the refugee problem from Africa with rice (Sept. 20)
Racism, Counterjihadism and neo-Nazism sit well with the PS (Sept. 16)
An interesting blog that follows far-right candidates in Finland’s municipal elections (Sept. 14)
How sincere is PS MP Immonen about Finnish Karelia? (Sept. 8)
Halla-aho takes another swipe at Finland’s Somali community (Aug. 22)
PS MP James Hirvisaari does it again (Aug. 17)
Using rape statistics to fuel ethnic prejudism and racism (Aug. 4)
Finnish anti-immigration party MP claims homosexuality to be a “disability in sexual development” (Aug. 1)
James and Jussi out of control (July 25)
Let’s play fill in the blanks with with far-right Finnish MP James Hirvisaari (July 17)
Monikulttuurisuus ei ole poliittinen ideologia (July 9)
Have the PS and MP Tossavainen of Finland ever heard of the Non-Discrimination Act? (June 26)
Finnish anti-immigration party seeks to ban begging (June 5)
Will the PS succeed at its vicious campaign against immigrants and visible minorities? (May 6)
The PS and the municipal election: Vicious campaign against immigrants and minorities (Apr. 24)
PS MP Hakkarainen instigates social-media lynch mob from Singapore (Apr. 21)
Anti-immigration groups in Finland plan vicious campaign as the municipal election nears in October (Mar. 25)

Reports: Greatest threat to immigrants are not far-right groups in Sweden

Posted on November 12, 2012 by Migrant Tales

Two reports published on November 9 in Sweden show that the greatest threat to immigrants and visible minorities in that country aren’t far-right groups, but everyday intolerance and racism from white Swedes.

What does this report say about Sweden and suggest about how foreigners are treated in Finland? Contrary to our neighbor, Finland’s third-largest party in parliament, the Perussuomalaiset (PS), is staunchly xenophobic and against immigrants.

Relatives of the PS, the Sweden Democrats, are a minor force in parliament.

Cecilia Englung said: “The biggest challenge is to tackle the problem of everyday xenophobia by comments, evil staring and other negative behaviors toward non-ethnic Sweden.”

One of the reports asked 1,490 students about racism. Half of them, who were born elsewhere than Sweden, had experienced racism (28% said there is racism at their school and 24% knew of a racist assault at school).

Martin Luther King had a point when he said: “History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of social transition was not the striden clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people.”

MLK had a point but how many of those people he mentions were actually that “good?”

Finland must do more to ghostbust its race-and-blood myths

Posted on November 6, 2012 by Migrant Tales

What do the rise of an anti-immigration party like the Perussuomalaiset (PS) and Kokoomus’ Saul Schubak’s statements concerning child allowances have in common? Setting racism and greed aside, they are the ethnic and social myths that continue to be taught and reinforced at our schools, homes and society.

One of the biggest myths and social constructs about our national identity is that only one group owns it or, as Schubak claimed, rich people who make money and have conservative views have special rights and privileges in our society.

The mere fact that a person like PS MP Jussi Halla-aho can spew fascist-eugenic ideology from the 1930s and claim that certain groups have less human dignity than others, shows an enormous failure of our educational system that is haunting us today.

One clear characteristic of how racism and discrimination work in Finland is that they tirelessly aim to undermine your rights and place obstacles in front of your path. There are no solutions, only obstacles.

While many racist ideas in Finland have their roots in eugenics and nineteenth-century colonialism, they continue to flourish in some circles like the PS and Schubaks’ National Coalition Party youth wing.

At the best, parties like the PS and Schubak show that Finland is still a predominantly white society that has no intention of relinquishing its privileges to other groups. Values such as social equality (tasa-arvo) are not meant for immigrants and visible minorities. They are for white Finns.

Meanwhile, the Police College of Finland told Migrant Tales that 2011 hate crime statistics will be probably published by the end of November.

A total of 860 hate crimes reported to the police in 2010, which is a 15% fall from 1,007 cases in the previous year.

While some officials claim that ”hate crimes fell in 2010,” they may reveal a more worrying trend: Reluctance by some immigrants and visible minorities to report such crimes to the police.

Finland’s problem that is correcting itself: lack of cultural diversity

Posted on November 2, 2012 by Migrant Tales

Finland hasn’t been the same since the April 2011 elections, when the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party won its historic victory and became Finland’s third-largest party with 39 seats versus 5 seats in 2007. The PS’ latest election flop is another indication that the vast majority of Finns and immigrants are giving the thumbs down to anti-almost-everything populism.

The spoils of last years election victory appear to have weaned considerably. This is good news not only for immigrants in Finland but for the country as well. In the presidential election in January, Finns Party chairman Timo Soini got 9.4% of the votes, while in last Sunday’s municipal election the PS could only muster 12.3%, a far cry from 19.1% it gained in last year’s election.

Many have wondered how is it possible that an anti-EU, anti-immigration and especially anti-Islam party could become in such a short time a major political force in Finland. My guess is the following: Our lack of cultural diversity.

If Finland had larger ethnic and religious minorities, it’s highly doubtful that a radical populist party with a strong anti-immigration message would have ever raised to national prominence as the PS did.

One of the big debates going on in Finland presently is how our ever-growing immigrant population will change our country. While we don’t have a precise answer how it will change Finland in this century, we can say with certainty that it will change the country.

If I had the opportunity to take a fast peek into the future, I would see a society that comprises of many ethnic and cultural groups. I am confident that our cultural diversity will benefit and strengthen us for one main reason: it will ensure that no group ever gets the high ground.

No society is perfect, not even those that claim to be ”near-homogenous” like Finland. Since no society is perfect, never mind one that is culturally diverse, there are many poor examples we should avoid.

Survival-Plan-1-Flat-tire — The Perussuomalaiset party’s popularity and anti-almost-everything message resembles a a flat tire. *Source: Survival News Online.*

One of the most important are those examples that stray away from our values, which are strongly enshrined on acceptance, respect and equal opportunities.

The Finnish city of Kemi gives us Harri Taurianen of the PS

Posted on November 1, 2012 by Migrant Tales

Harri Taurianen, the new Perussuomalaiset (PS) city councilor of the northern Finnish city of Kemi, is a good example of how the PS continues to attracts a generous number of people who are multiculturally challenged.

Taurianen, who claims it’s good to uphold Finnish values and likes to spread far-right blah blah, imported his campaign slogans directly from foreign groups like the Ku Klux Klan and the American Nazi Party.

Some of Turtiainen’s campaign slogans on his Facebook page: “Save our race” and the white power symbol.

It appears that the new city councilor got a call on Wednesday from the PS in Helsinki since his Facebook page has mysteriously vanished.

Iltalehti quotes Taurianen giving the following advice to immigrants: ”Check and make sure you have a good reason to move to Finland. Make sure that you are the only person moving to Finland.”

And continues: ”It’s incredible that this human trash [convicted foreign criminals] aren’t put in their places. Put a stamp on their asses and deport them for good from Finland.”

Amon Rautanen of Kotka is another PS candidate who got a boost from his violent threats towards government officials and Muslims.

* The original story mentioned incorrectly Tauriainen’s name as Turtiainen.

The majority of Mamukriit-Looks candidates got elected to office in Finland

Posted on October 29, 2012 by Migrant Tales

Migrant Tales published earlier this month Mamukriit-Looks: The who’s who of anti-immigration Finland, which was a continuation of Per-Looks, a blog entry than caused outrage among some Perussuomalaiset (PS) candidates running for city council. Even if both blog entries were published with a dose of satire, the election of many PS anti-immigration candidates to city council is no joke.

If the Mamukriit-Looks blog entry is anything to go by, successful anti-immigration candidates running for city council cannot expose their racism too crudely since too much hate turns people off. One of these candidates was Anna-Maija Ahl from Sastamala, who got only 18 votes. The other one is Reija Hirn-Brazhevsky of Savonlinna, who got 14 votes.

Hirn-Brazhevsky’s knee-jerk comments are like an explosion of hate that leaves you stupefied. Her comments give the impression that nobody ever told her – except for now – that white people aren’t the only group living in Finland.

What is shocking is that despite the electoral setback that the PS suffered on Sunday, the majority of Mamukriit-Looks anti-immigration candidates got elected. Of the the 40 PS candidates in the blog entry, 23 got elected while 16 did not.

In the Mamukriit-Looks blog entry you will find Counterjihadists, ultra-nationalists, politicians slapped with fines for inciting ethnic hatred, candidates that admit liking fascism, some even applied for membership in a neo-Nazi association when they were drunk.

Remember Risto Helin of Vaasa, the PS candidate who wore a neo-Nazi shirt to attract votes? Well, he got elected with 234 votes.

Surprised? Check out Amon Rautianen, the PS candidate running for Kotka city council, who wrote on Facebook that it would be “patriotic” to kill government members and that Muslims should be boiled alive. Rautiainen got elected with 152 votes.

This group has some of the top ten anti-immigration candidates of Finland. From top row left to right: Olli Immonen (elected with 1,270 votes/Oulu), James Hirvisaari (elected with 191 votes/Asikkala), Matias Turkkila (not elected 276 votes/Helsinki), Jussi Halla-aho (elected with 6,026 votes/Helsinki), (second row) Juho Eerola (elected with 1,053 votes/Kotka), Freddy Van Wonterghem (elected with 189 votes/Kotka), Simon Elo (elected with 352 votes/Espoo), and Kai Haavisto (not elected 62 votes/Espoo).

Four of the eight candidates got elected to city council in this group. From top row left to right: Teemu Lahtinen (elected with 530 votes/Espoo), Petri Pulkkanen (not elected 189 votes/Espoo), Cristian Tudose (not elected 26 votes/Espoo), Amon Rautiainen (elected with 152 votes/Kotka), (second row) Mika Kujanpää (not elected 20 votes/Hanko), Kimmo Vehviläinen (not elected 96 votes/Helsinki), Reijo Tossavainen (elected with 114 votes/Savitaipale), and Johannes Nieminen (elected with 340 votes/Vantaa).

All of these candidates except for one got elected. From left to right: Mka Nikko (elected with 793 votes/Vantaa), Pasi Salonen (elected with 323 votes/Vihti), name unknown, and Teuvo Hakkarainen (elected with 197 votes/Viitasaari).

In this bunch, five of the eight candidates didn’t get elected. Top row left to right: Anna-Maija Ahl (not elected 18 votes/Sastamala), Reija Hirn-Brazhevsky (not elected 14 votes/Savonlinna), Tuomas Okkonen (elected with 37 votes/Lumijoki), Ulla Pyysalo (elected with 102 votes/Taipalsaari), (second row) Heidi Kuittinen (not elected 76 votes/Kirkonnummi), Jani Salomaa (not elected 85 votes/Salo), Sari Karlström (not elected 104 votes/Pietarsaari), and Jani Viinikainen (elected with 131 votes/Kangasala).

In this group only three candidates got elected. Top row from left to right: Jukka Wallin (not elected 64 votes/Helsinki), Risto Jääskeläinen (not elected 58 votes/Järvenpää), Jouko Vuorinen (not elected 48 votes/Tampere), Heikki Tala (elected with 206 votes/Järvenpää), (second row) Olli Sademies (not elected 334 votes/Helsinki), Petri Luumi (not elected 89 votes/Kouvola), Risto Helin (elected with 234 votes/Vaasa), and Erkki Havansi (elected with 435 votes/Kerava).

From left to right: Heta Lähteenaro (elected with 145 votes/Tuusula), Riikka Slunga-Poutsalo (elected with 647 votes/Lohja), Veli-Matti Saarakkala (elected with 633 votes/Kurikka), and Heikki Luoto (elected with 922 votes/Tampere).

PS anti-immigration candidates did well in the Finnish municipal elections

Posted on October 29, 2012 by Migrant Tales

What do Sunday’s municipal elections tell us about where Finland is heading politically? Even if the anti-immigration Perussuomalaiset (PS) party won 12.3% of the votes, which was a disappointment for Timo Soini, it reinforces Finland’s anti-EU and anti-immigration stance.

The biggest winner of the election was the Center Party (18.7%), which had lost a lot of votes to the PS in the April 2011 election, and the PS. The biggest losers were the Greens (8.5%) .

If Sunday’s results are anything to go by, the secret of being rich in votes and (in)famous is to be a PS member and be a Counterjihadist or strongly against immigration and cultural diversity.

Finland’s most notorious Counterjihadists did well in the election. Some of these include Jussi Halla-aho of Helsinki who won 6,026 votes, while Olli Immonen (1,270)of Oulu and Juho Erola (1,053) of Kotka secured a lot of votes as well. James Hirvisaari of Asikkala got in with 191 votes.

Anti-immigration candidates did well in the municipal elections. From top row (left to right) Olli Immonen (elected with 1,270 votes/Oulu), James Hirvisaari (elected 191 votes/Asikkala), Matias Turkkila (not elected/Helsinki), Jussi Halla-aho (elected 6,026 votes/Helsinki), Juho Eerola (elected 1,053 votes/Kotka), Freddy Van Wonterghem (elected 189 votes/Kotka), Simon Elo (elected 352 votes/Espoo), and Kai Haavisto (not elected/Espoo).

Other PS anti-immigration hardliners that were elected include Amon Rautianen of Kotka, who suggested on Facebook that Muslims should be boiled alive, got elected with 152 votes. Freddy van Wonterghem, who got fined for hate speech, went to city council with 189 votes.

Other PS candidates notorious for their anti-immigration stances include Teemu Laitinen (530 votes/Espoo), Sppo Huhta (509 votes/Espoo), Simon Elo (352 votes/Espoo) and Ulla Pyysalo (102 votes/Taipalsaari), MP Eerola’s aide who applied for membership in the neo-Nazi Suomen Kansalinen Vastarinta association.

All in all, the elections were a blow to the PS but it shows that Finland is still flirting with intolerance and far-right nationalism.

As one voter put it, the PS’ 12.3% result was a blow to Soini. “Things could be worse if they would had won about 16% of the votes as some polls predicted,” he said.