One of the most startling comments heard from politicians like Prime Minister Petteri Orpo and Anna-Maja Henriksson of the Swedish People’s Party (SPP) is that they were ignorant of the Perussuomalaiset’s (PS)* racist posts and comments on social media. The claim by the head of the SPP left a lot of political analysts with open…
Tag: press freedom
The response to Suddeutsche Zeitung’s Alex Rühle by Minister Wille Rydman’s office reveals contempt for the free media
The reply by Perussuomalaiset (PS)* Minister Wille Rydman aide to Suddeutsche Zeitung’s Alex Rühle is a clear example of how the minister and his party hold the free media in contempt. About thirty years ago as the Financial Times correspondent in Finland, a foreign ministry official suggested that I get in touch with him before…
Media Monitoring Group of Finland [1]: A Perussuomalaiset minister threatens the foreign media
The Media Monitoring Group of Finland has received some disturbing news about how Perussuomalaiset (PS) Minister for Foreign Trade Wille Rydman allegedly sent hostile messages to Alex Rühle, the Nordic correspondent of the Munich-based daily Süddeutsche Zeitung. We offer our 100% support to Rühle and condemn forcibly Rydman, the PS, and the government for intimidating…
Sebastian Tynkkynen: diapers, hate speech with a “Hungarian” heart
The far-right Perussuomalaiset (PS) party has gained significant traction by capitalizing on anti-immigrant sentiment, particularly targeting vulnerable groups such as Muslims. In addition to their hostility towards migrants and minorities, many PS supporters and politicians hold admiration for autocratic leaders like Donald Trump and view Viktor Orbán’s Hungary as an ideal country to emulate. However,…
A victory for free speech against the far-right and “racist clowns”
Due process takes a long time in Finland as the landmark Johanna Vehkoo against far-right agitator Junnes Lokka, whom she called in a Facebook “a Nazi clown” and “a racist.” Surprisingly, a Rovaniemi appeal court upheld a prior Oulu district court ruling that Vehkoo had defamed Lokka. Today’s ruling by the supreme court dismissed the…
The would-be mini Trumps: Geert Wilders, Marine Le Pen, Frauke Petry, Jussi Halla-aho and other autocrats
We have commented that President Donald Trump’s erratic and autocratic style may be a curse on the US but a blessing for Europe since his style may scare away potential voters who don’t want far-right politicians like Geert Wilders, Marine Le Pen, Frauke Petry and others.
A nightmare called the Perussuomalaiset
The populist anti-immigration Perussuomalaiset (PS) held over the weekend their party conference in Turku. There were two matters that summarize the conference: the party’s hostility towards migrants and the media.
ENAR: Charlie Hebdo killings in France: Time for mourning, not for scapegoating
As a member of the European Network Against Racism (ENAR), we repost the following statement below in light of the terrible news that we heard from Paris. If you want to read good insight on the tragedy, check out Juan Cole’s Why al-Qaeda attacked satirists in Paris (thank you Gaven Titley for the heads-up). ___________________ Brussels,…
YLE ensures that opinion pieces and news will be easily identifiable in the future
YLE emailed a Migrant Tales reader, who expressed concern Friday about an opinion piece written as news by Perussuomalaiset (PS) MP Olli Immonen. It was an odd coincidence that Immonen’s opinion piece was published in such a manner, considering that the PS MP is the new chairman of Suomen Sisu, a far right anti-immigration association. …
JSN exonerates Kirkko & Kaupunki cartoon that mocks PS MPs
By Enrique Tessieri The Council for Mass Media in Finland (JSN) has exonerated Kirkko&Kaupunki after a cartoon was published on December 14 mocking a group of Perussuomalaiset (PS) party MPs telling everyone who wasn’t a Finnish heterosexual and white conservative to leave Finland. The JSN said in a statement that Ville Ranta’s cartoon was neither…