Finland Times

 

Terhi Kiemunki, the first vice president of the Finns Party Pirkanmaa district chapter. File Photo Lehtikuva.

A Perussuomalaiset (Finns Party) leader has been condemned for making racial and derogatory remarks about Muslim children in a Facebook post.

 

In the post, Terhi Kiemunki, the first vice president of the Finns Party Pirkanmaa district chapter, wondered if integration is when “Muslim brats” participate in Virvonta and that she was vexed she did not have condoms to dish out. Later, she removed the post and apologised for it.

 

Kiemunki works as an assistant of Finns Party MP Lea Mäkipää, who has not decided yet whether to fire Kiemunki.

 

Mäkipää told the Finnish news agency STT that she had condemned Kiemunki’s writing about Muslim children and the Finnish tradition of Virvonta and that she was waiting for the Finns Party to handle the issue in the beginning of April.

 

“I’m taking my time in making sure that there will be a face to face discussion with the people who are involved,” said Mäkipää.

 

Kiemunki had also been active in the Shut the Borders (Rajat Kiinni) campaign. She was removed from the party leadership a couple of weeks ago.

 

Meanwhile, President Sauli Niinistö has taken a stand against racism in his Facebook posts.

 

Niinistö wrote of his shock early in the morning when he saw an interview on Yle Aamu of a dark-skinned 11-year-old boy named Valtteri.

 

“He was discriminated against and called names because of his skin colour, and a bus passed him by at the bus stop without letting him aboard. Such injustice must not be allowed to take place in Finland,” Niinistö declared.

 

The president praised Valtteri for presenting such a brave model during this anti-racism week.