Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce to you the Soldiers of Odin, a far-right group with close ties with neo-Nazis. When they appeared, the media seemed to be amazed and swept off its feet, while the police played down the problem, just like the previous government did.
Just like in the Oulu sexual assault cases, the police asked white Finns to avoid contact with foreigners (see below). Even so, the most surprising matter is how the police played down the real threat: far-right vigilante gangs like the Soldiers of Odin.
Apart from Tuominen’s example, the police in Häme, which welcomed Asikkala-Turva vigilante gang despite some of its members have criminal records.
The police service of Häme is an unfortunate, disappointing example of how biased the Finnish police service is when it welcomed Asikkala-Turva’s vigilante gang activity even though one of its members has a criminal record. Criticized by then-Interior Minister Petteri Orpo for being too lenient, according to Helsingin Sanomat.
Soldiers of Odin founder Mika Ranta, who promises to pay 1,000 euros to anyone who knock a woman’s teeth down her throat. Source: Twitter.
National Police Commissioner Seppo Kolehmainen didn’t shine either in the face of these far-right groups. He stated in 2016 that vigilante gangs are fine as long as they didn’t break the law. “It’s a positive matter that [Finnish] citizens [note: not migrants] are interested in their neighborhood’s security and take part and debate in such matters,” he was quoted as saying in Helsingin Sanomat.
Apart from having a reputation for one of the best education systems in the world, Finland has the dubious honor of exporting far-right ideology.
The Anti-Defamation League warned about the presence of the vigilante gang in the United States.
It says in a statement: “Moreover, Soldiers of Odin USA is attracting adherents from both of the two largest segments of the American extreme right—white supremacists and the antigovernment extremist “Patriot” movement—and may be the most significant coalition of such extremists in the U.S. since the early 1990s.”
The Soldiers of Odin are a group that glorifies violence and Nazi ideology. In Migrant Tales, we have written a number of stories exposing their violent ideology like taking over a border checkpoint in Tornio.
The far-right Perussuomalaiset* party has close links with the Soldiers of Odin.
