True Finns’ MP convicted of inciting racial hatred

An MP from the populist right-wing Finns Party, James Hirvisaari, has been convicted for inciting hatred against an ethnic group by the Kouvola Court of Appeal.

The court ruled that Hirvisaari had published a text in his blog on the Uusi Suomi website that incited hatred against a religious, ethnic or similar group. The court said that Hirvisaari understood that the text was slanderous and likely to cause contempt and hatred towards Muslims. Hirvisaari will now have to pay 25 day-fines, which according to his income amounts to 1,425 euros.

Päijät-Häme district court threw out the charges around a year ago, saying that the text Hirvisaari published simply exercised his freedom of speech.

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UKIP welcomes European anti-immigration parties to its conference

Ukip has been accused of pandering to xenophobia by inviting two prominent figures from European anti-immigration parties to address its annual conference today.

The star speaker will be Timo Soini, the leader of the True Finns, a previously fringe nationalist party which scored a surprise success by coming third in the Finnish general election. Ukip has been attracted by the fiercely Eurosceptic outlook of the party, which tapped into opposition to offering financial support for Mediterranean nations hit by the Eurozone crisis.

But the True Finns have also described immigrants as “parasites on taxpayers’ money” and suggested ethnically Finnish women should study less and spend more time having babies.

Mr Soini will be joined by the MEP Barry Madlener, of the Dutch Freedom Party. Its leader, Geert Wilders, has attacked Islam as a violent religion and compared the Koran to Mein Kampf.

Independent, 9 September 2011

Update:  UKIP reports that Madlener “gave a strong speech on the importance of retaining national identity and received a standing ovation for his inspirational words”.

Finns’ negative views on Islam due to ‘harsh and negative picture’ presented by media

Finns hold largely negative views on Islam, according to a study on attitudes to various religions. Based on their survey responses, Finns were best disposed towards Christianity, had mostly positive impressions of Buddhism and Hinduism, and felt most critical towards Islam.

Only six percent of the survey respondents thought of Islam in positive terms, with the vast majority clearly holding negative impressions – which, says researcher Kimmo Ketola from the Church Research Institute, is mostly down to the media. “There are very few Muslim immigrants in Finland compared to many other European countries. The media can convey an exceedingly harsh and negative picture of Islam,” Ketola says.

The researcher notes that Finns’ feelings about foreign religions have changed for the better over the past couple of decades, but attitudes towards Islam have hardened in the 2000s. However, Ketola says, prejudice is not so all-encompassing.

YLE, 24 August 2011

True Finns MP asked to show more discretion following controversy over racist remarks

True Finns party chairman Timo Soini had a stern discussion with the newly elected MP Teuvo Hakkarainen on Thursday.

Hakkarainen had raised eyebrows with comments on immigration that he made in a video clip put up on the Helsingin Sanomat website.

In the interview he called for a need for faster expulsion of rejected refugees, used an expression that is generally considered to be an offensive racial slur, and made a mocking imitation of a Muslim call to prayer.

In their discussion Soini urged Hakkarainen to exercise more discretion in what he says. The fresh MP attributed his speech to his rural background.

Earlier in the day Hakkarainen, who runs a sawmill in Viitasaari, expressed surprise at the uproar that his comments had caused in the social media. “Why can’t I say how things are?” he asked.

Helsingin Sanomat, 29 April 2011

The political background to True Finns’ electoral success

The success of the anti-immigration, euroskeptic True Finns in Sunday’s elections may have proved a shock to Finland’s political elite, but the signs were already there.

Populist right-wing parties across Europe have benefited from a growing resentment towards the European Union, Islam and immigration, meaning Timo Soini’s True Finns are far from being alone.

Deutsche Welle, 19 April 2011

See also BBC News, 18 April 2011

Nordic far-right seeps into political mainstream

April elections in Finland could see the rise of yet another Northern European anti-immigrant, nationalist rightwing party that flatly rejects the far-right label while using populist rhetoric.

The True Finns is the latest such party to show signs of gaining mainstream traction. Opinion polls suggest its showing in the April 17 parliamentary election could leap from its 4.1 percent score in the 2007 election right up to 20 percent.

The True Finns, Sweden Democrats (SD), the Danish People’s Party (DPP) and Norway’s Progress Party (FrP) are all already represented in their respective national parliaments.

AFP, 29 March 2011

Finnish anti-migrant party to make electoral gains?

As Finland’s April elections draw nearer, the country’s tiny foreign population finds itself the focus of debate, with the anti-immigrant, nationalist True Finns party expected to make runaway gains.

The party has catapulted to popularity thanks to its affable, charismatic leader Timo Soini and its “Finns-first” message, seen by many as xenophobic in a country where immigrants make up just 2.9% of the population. “Immigration is a problem and not a solution,” Soini has argued in television debates.

Although the party won only 4.1% in the last elections in 2007, a recent surge in popularity saw it register 16.2% support in one January opinion poll published in Finland’s daily of reference Helsingin Sanomat.

But the party cannot quite shake off the taint of racism. A small fringe group of the party, led by Helsinki city councilman Jussi Halla-Aho, has published an election manifesto blasting multiculturalism. Halla-Aho was convicted last year over blog comments linking Islam to paedophilia and saying that Somalis are pre-disposed to mugging people and living on the dole.

The True Finns’ leadership, however, plays down Halla-Aho’s influence. “Every party has these young radicals,” says founding member Raimo Vistbacka, a member of parliament since 1987. Vistbacka insisted that official party policy, while sceptical of immigration, was not extremist or xenophobic.

AFP, 14 February 2011

Cf. Migrant Tales, 27 November 2010

Pig’s head sent to Helsinki offices of Somali League

A pig’s head was delivered to the Helsinki offices of the Somali League on Monday, according to League Chairman Abdirashid Awad Dirie. Police have opened a criminal investigation into the incident as a case of defamation.

Most Somalis are Muslims and do not eat pork. The pig’s head sent to the Somali League office from Tampere was accompanied by a note wishing a Merry Christmas. The sender of the parcel was marked as ”free thinkers.” As of Tuesday, police had no further information on who posted the package.

The Helsinki office of the Somali League has been the target of vandalism in the past. It has had windows broken, oil poured through its post slot and been pelted with eggs.

YLE, 14 December 2010

Finland: Christian Democrat calls for discrimination against Muslim refugees

Christian refugees coming to Finland should be given first preference over Muslims, according to Christian Democratic Party Chair Päivi Räsänen.

In a recent interview with Finnish university student magazine “Ylioppilaslehti”, Räsänen reasons that Christians adapt to Finland better than Muslims because of commonalities in religion and culture. Muslims are at greater risk of becoming isolated in Finnish society. This can lead to radicalisation, Räsänen says.

In response to the remarks, Green Party MP Jyrki Kasvi accuses Räsänen of discrimination against members of different faiths. Writing in his blog on the Green Party website, Kasvi sees Räsänen’s stance to be in violation of international human rights, which forbid discrimination on the basis of religion.

YLE, 30 October 2010

Half of Finns hold at least some suspicions about Islam

About half of Finns have at least some suspicions about Islam, while a very small minority – about ten percent – have a positive attitude toward the religion. Finns take a positive view of people who resemble them in appearance, culture, or other characteristics. Attitudes become more negative, the more people deviate from the prevailing to skin colour, culture, or some other characteristic.

Helsingin Sanomat, 12 September 2005