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Tue, 15 Mar, 2016 12:09:05 AM FTimes – STT Report, Mar 15  Joensuu protesters disrupted by Prime Minister Juha Sipilä's visit to the University of Eastern Finland Campus on 14 March 2016, says Karjalainen. Photo – Lehtikuva. A demonstration staged against Prime Minister Juha Sipilä disrupted his visit to the University of Eastern Finland in Joensuuon on Monday.
Sipilä was invited as the keynote speaker to a seminar on bio-economy. He was greeted upon his arrival by about 150 demonstrators protesting against government cuts.
The protesters also tried to gain access to the lecture hall where Sipilä was speaking. The situation devolved into a scuffle with the police. Eventually, some of the demonstrators entered the main hall and shouted protests at the prime minister.
“The millionaire Sipilä cuts subsidies from the poor,” protesters shouted, shows a video posted online by the Finnish language daily Karjalainen.
“In a democratic society, it is acceptable that people may express their opinions against government decisions,” Sipilä said in a comment on the demonstration emailed to the Finnish news agency STT.
The prime minister added that the government intends to keep the policies declared in the government programme.
Director of Government Security Jari Ylitalo told the news agency STT that the State Security Department has yet to address the actual security threat of Monday’s demonstration. He pointed out that they knew about the demonstration in advance.
“We always look at these on a case-by-case basis and consider the situation in which the ministers are placing themselves, whether the situation progresses as expected, and what it all means,” Ylitalo said.
The police detained two people during the demonstration, but they were released later in the afternoon. According to Eastern Finland Police Communications Manager Markku Paksuniemi, the two were apprehended for insubordination.
In addition, the police suspect one person of triggering a fire alarm under false pretence. The fire alarm disrupted Sipilä’s speech.
There was no physical damage sustained during the demonstration.
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