Finland Times

The current tense attitude towards immigration was a common concern on Tuesday when the Kansallinen Kokoomus (National Coalition Party), the Vihreä liitto (Green League) and the Vasemmistoliitto (Left Alliance) gathered in different parts of the country.

Speaking in Rovaniemi, Interior Minister Petteri Orpo openly criticised the immigration debate in country, since, in his view, Finland only has to learn how to cope with immigration.

“There is no return to that kind of Finland which would be secluded. Immigration is a part of today’s world and Europe. Finland is a part of this,” Orpo said. On the other hand, work must constantly be done to eliminate illegal immigration and towards investment in integration of the immigrants,” added the interior minister.

Similarly, opposition parties, the Greens and the Leftists, criticised the immigration debate.

While in the eastern town of Jyväskylä, the chair of Green Party, Ville Niinistö expressed concern at the atmosphere in which Finns are pitted against each other.

All parties, according to Niinistö, must fight fear and hate mongering.

“Even though there are difficulties in the economy, values should not become harder. Then why is it said that it is because of the immigrants, low-income pensioners and the students that the economy is doing badly,” wondered Niinistö.

The Perussuomalaiset (Finns Party), which is in the government, will outline in September what its MPs are allowed to speak in the name of immigration criticism.

The party’s parliamentary group is scheduled to decide whether to suspend Olli Immonen who back in July posted an anti-multiculturalism post on the social media site Facebook.

According to Niinistö, the responsible party should make the suspension dire, if Immonen does not withdraw his previous statement and activities with extremists.

For years Immonen has flirted with extremists and presented a zealous nationalistic address.

“A parliamentarian has the right to speak, but can a member of a government party speak of Finnish people as enemies and stir up a confrontation,” Niinistö asked.

Paavo Arhinmäki, the chair of the Left Alliance was surprised that the Finns Party leader Timo Soini did not take a direct stance on the views expressed by Immonen.

“Soini does not dare to say direct words like a statesman should and hit the fist on the table since the anti-immigration grouping inside the party is so strong,” Arhinmäki said in Helsinki.

A  Finns Party employee, Matti Putkonen, on Monday sent a release in which he informed journalists that the controversy surrounding Immonen would not be dealt with during the party’s summer meetings.

Putkonen wrote that the party’s ministerial group meeting in Imatra and its parliamentary group gathering in Kotka should look forward to a peaceful working environment. He expressed his hope in the writing that the issue surrounding Immonen would not disrupt the occasions.
According to Arhinmäki, it is sad that by consistently focussing on immigration issues, the real problems facing the Finnish society are masked.

People are concerned about jobs, income and the future, the leftist leader said.

“It is a classic propaganda,” Arhinmäki summed up.

It is Arhinmäki’s hope that all the political parties re-sign the 1998 Charter of European political parties for a non-racist society as had been proposed by the Social Suomen Sosialidemokraattinen Puolue (Social Democratic Party of Finland).