Tag: racism

Worrying news about British police forces

During recent months there have been a lot of worrying news about British police forces. Recent report about the Metropolitan Police stated that it is “broken and rotten, suffering collapsing public trust and is guilty of institutional racism, misogyny and homophobia” (1). There have been some disturbing cases where a police officer has used his position to prey on women. Metropolitan police officer Wayne Couzens abducted, raped and murdered Sarah Everard in March 2021 (2). Elite Metropolitan police officer David Garrick carried out 85 serious offences, including 48 rapes, against women over a period of 17 years (3). According to data from the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) more than 1,500 police officers have been accused of violent offences against women and girls over a period of six months, between October 2021 and April 2022, but less than 1% of those have been sacked (4). Data from the the Police Federation, the staff association for police officers, revealed that approximately one in 100 police officers in England and Wales faced criminal charges, including for sexual offences, last year. The number of officers facing criminal charges has skyrocketed by 590% since 2012. (5)

References:

1) “Met police found to be institutionally racist, misogynistic and homophobic” The Guardian 21.3.2023

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/mar/21/metropolitan-police-institutionally-racist-misogynistic-homophobic-louise-casey-report

2) “Police ‘could have saved Sarah Everard,’ says victim – as killer cop Wayne Couzens sentenced for flashing” LBC 6.3.2023

https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/wayne-couzens-sentenced-indecent-exposure/

3) “Elite Metropolitan police officer David Carrick revealed as serial rapist” The Guardian 16.1.2023

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/jan/16/metropolitan-police-officer-david-carrick-revealed-as-serial-rapist

4) “More than 1,500 UK police officers accused of violence against women in six months” The Guardian 14.3.2023

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/mar/14/more-than-1500-uk-police-officers-accused-of-violence-against-women-in-six-months

5) “Revealed: one in 100 police officers in England and Wales faced a criminal charge last year” The Guardian 25.2.2023

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/feb/25/revealed-one-in-100-uk-police-officers-faced-a-criminal-charge-last-year

After Auschwitz

Curiously enough, many important and dramatic events this week have something to do with the American-Israeli alliance.

Jerusalem hosted its largest-ever political gathering during the World Holocaust Forum before the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz and the International Holocaust Remembrance Day on Monday (1, 2, 3). It is important to remember what kind of horrors the all-engulfing hatred led to during the 1930s and later on. I haven’t visited Auschwitz, but I visited former Dachau concentration camp near Munich in November 2008 and that somber memory will stay with me the rest of my life.

We see again the rise of right-wing populism and extremism. Antisemitism has increased in many countries. However, just like during the 1930s, also many other ethnic, religious and other groups are targeted.

The OSCE ODIHR hate crimes data gives some idea of the nature and amount of hate crimes in various countries. Here are just some examples of the hate crimes statistics from year 2018 (4):

On the left hand side of the table you can see in brackets the total amount of hate crimes recorded by police in each country.

The hate crimes statistics don’t necessarily give the whole picture of the situation. For example, a large survey conducted by Citizens UK, a British umbrella organisation of faith and community groups, suggested that the huge amount of hate crimes in 2018 was just a tip of the iceberg (5). Famous political scientist Cas Mudde pointed out in 2018 that even though victims have reported hate crimes in USA, many law enforcement agencies haven’t necessarily classified them as hate crimes. Almost one in five law enforcement agencies didn’t submit any hate crime reports during years 2009-2014. The National Crime Victimization survey suggested that there may have been as many as 250 000 annual hate crimes in USA during years 2004-2015. (6, 7)

References:

1) “Jerusalem hosts largest-ever political gathering for Holocaust forum” The Guardian 22.1.2020

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jan/22/jerusalem-hosts-largest-ever-political-gathering-for-holocaust-forum

2) “World leaders gather for Holocaust commemoration, 75 years after the liberation of Auschwitz” NBC News 23.1.2020

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/world-leaders-gather-holocaust-commemoration-75-years-after-auschwitz-n1121051

3) UNESCO – International Holocaust Remembrance Day 2020

https://en.unesco.org/commemorations/holocaustremembranceday

4) OSCE ODIHR Hate Crime Data 2018

https://hatecrime.osce.org

5) “Hate crimes double in five years in England and Wales” The Guardian 15.10.2019

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/oct/15/hate-crimes-double-england-wales

6) “Hate crimes are as American as apple pie” The Guardian 27.12.2018

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/dec/27/hate-crimes-america-cas-mudde

7) “Hate Crime Victimization, 2004-2015” Bureau of Justice Statistics June 2017

https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/hcv0415_sum.pdf

How right-wing populists and extremists use Christianity

Mark Galli, editor-in-chief of American religious magazine Christianity Today, wrote last week that President Trump is “morally lost” and should be removed from the office (1). Trump lashed out at the magazine in his tweets (2):

“A far left magazine, or very ‘progressive,’ as some would call it, which has been doing poorly and hasn’t been involved with the Billy Graham family for many years, Christianity Today, knows nothing about reading a perfect transcript of a routine phone call and would rather have a Radical Left nonbeliever, who wants to take your religion & your guns, than Donald Trump as your President.”

During recent years right-wing populists and extremists have used Christianity to promote their own ideology and to justify their actions. For example, Hungarian far-right leader Viktor Orbán has used Christianity to strengthen his authoritarian control. Some years ago, Orbán wanted to build “an illiberal, a non-liberal state”, but recently he has called his country “a Christian democracy” (3, 4). Dutch far-right politician and infamous Islamophobe Geert Wilders has wanted to enshrine “the dominance of the Judeo-Christian tradition” in the Dutch constitution (5). Far-right groups and parties in many countries have organized anti-immigration and anti-Muslim demonstrations and political stunts on the pretext of defending Christianity or Judeo-Christian values. For example, German far-right anti-immigration and anti-Muslim movement PEGIDA has had religion-themed demonstrations in front of Frauenkirche in Dresden, British far-right group Britain First has organized “Christian Patrols”, French far-right party National Rally (former National Front) has organized commemoration march for their Catholic saint Joan of Arc, Italian far-right party Northern League had a political rally where their leader Matteo Salvini swore to “put the gospel into action” and Spanish far-right party Vox vowed to start a new “reconquista” (reference to the era when Christians defeated the Moors and “reconquered” Southern Spain). (6, 7, 8) In USA, among the myriad of right-wing populist and extremist groups there are also extreme anti-abortion, anti-government and even anti-taxation militias who find excuse for their violent actions from the Bible (9).

Steve Bannon, former chief strategist of President Trump, tried to get European far-right leaders to join his organization The Movement, but that operation hasn’t been as successful as he expected. However, Bannon also has another elaborate plan: he wants to educate next generation of far-right leaders, or “culture warriors”, at an “academy for the Judeo-Christian West” in Italy. The academy would be run by a right-wing Catholic think thank Dignitatis Humanae Institute which was founded by Bannon’s close associate Benjamin Harnwell. The academy would become a “school for gladiators” and it would offer instruction in theology, philosophy, history and politics but it also would “institutionalize the thoughts and political insights of Steve Bannon.” However, the project has run into difficulties with Italian government. (11, 12, 14) American Cardinal Raymond Burke, who was named honorary president of the Dignitatis Humanae Institute, resigned. In his resignation letter Cardinal Burke wrote (13):

“In recent times it (i.e. the institute) has become more and more identified with the political program of Mr Bannon. While I have urged the institute to return to its original purpose of promoting the respect of human dignity it has not done so… I have therefore, effective immediately, terminated any relationship with the Dignitatis Humanae Institute.”

Bannon has also tried to build opposition against Pope Francis. Bannon advised Italian far-right leader Matteo Salvini to attack the pope over the issue of migration and refugees. Pope Francis has made the plight of refugees important part of his papacy and he has asked for compassion towards migrants. Bannon sees Pope Francis as “enemy.” (14)

Also other people close to Trump have used Christianity in their endeavors. When Secretary of State Mike Pompeo gave his speech in Cairo, Egypt, in January, he said (15):

“In my office, I keep a Bible open on my desk to remind me of God and His Word, and The Truth.

And it’s the truth, lower-case “t,” that I’m here to talk about today. It is a truth that isn’t often spoken in this part of the world, but because I’m a military man by training, I’ll be very blunt and direct today: America is a force for good in the Middle East.”

Pompeo also believes that it is possible that President Trump could be a new “Queen Esther” who will save Jews from “the Iranian menace.” Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu thinks that evangelical Christians, such as Vice President Pence and Secretary of State Pompeo, are actually more reliable allies of Israel than liberal American Jews. (16) Trump’s lawyer Jay Sekulow and his family run many non-profit organizations, for example Christian Advocates Serving Evangelism (CASE). It has turned out that the Sekulow family has used tens of millions of dollars of the money that was donated to their organizations for their own vast salaries as well as unusual loans and property deals. (17, 18) Sekulow is the leader of Trump’s personal legal team and his son Jordan is also member of the team (19, 20).

Even though right-wing populists and extremists use Christianity in their political activities and propaganda, polls suggest that their supporters are actually disproportionately irreligious. Church attendance seems to be one of the strongest statistical predictors for voting against the populist far right. (6) Many Christian religious leaders have condemned the use of Christianity in the far-right propaganda and hate mongering (6, 7). There is also a lot of interfaith dialogue and cooperation organized by United Nations and many other international and national organizations, for example Parliament of the World’s Religions, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue (KAICIID) and National Forum for Cooperation of Religions in Finland (CORE Forum). (21, 22, 23, 24)

References:

1) “Calling Trump ‘Morally Lost’, ‘Christianity Today’ Editor Calls For His Removal” NPR 20.12.2019

https://www.npr.org/2019/12/20/790130632/christianity-today-editor-discusses-calling-for-trumps-impeachment

2) “Trump attacks Christianity Today over bruising editorial” The Hill 20.12.2019

https://thehill.com/homenews/news/475445-trump-attacks-christianity-today-over-bruising-editorial

3) “Full text of Viktor Orbán’s speech at Băile Tuşnad (Tusnádfürdő) of 26 July 2014” The Budapest Beacon 29.7.2014

https://budapestbeacon.com/full-text-of-viktor-orbans-speech-at-baile-tusnad-tusnadfurdo-of-26-july-2014/

4) “Orbán deploys Christianity with a twist to tighten grip in Hungary” The Guardian 14.7.2019

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jul/14/viktor-orban-budapest-hungary-christianity-with-a-twist

5) “Can Geert Wilders be more than the Netherlands’ agitator-in-chief?” The Guardian 8.3.2017

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/mar/08/can-geert-wilders-be-more-than-netherlands-far-right-agitator-in-chief

6) “Defenders of faith: why right-wing populists are embracing religion” New Statesman 30.5.2018

https://www.newstatesman.com/2018/05/defenders-faith-0

7) “Britain First’s Bury Park ‘Christian Patrol’ In Luton Condemned As ‘Intimidating’ And ‘Inflaming Tensions'” Huffington Post 26.1.2016

https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2016/01/25/britain-first-luton-march-condemned_n_9067474.html?guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmZpLw&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAACaShTChTCMlkKHnZiAKzhGrd8Fe4J5w-Bityv62sHev310E29_OQSu4g97GYsaXZ28eRIvPcEgX1myuTIYbveyxDkIvy9NAyx49wAhwKGLNct3-UcrqS3ygBB8p1eu4PtEUTbQWmV2Wf9Olh2p4igWIEwooO7ZI8O3Z28v7q9bh&guccounter=2

8) “The rise of Spanish far-right party Vox shines light into the dark corners of the country’s politics” The National 5.1.2019

https://www.thenational.ae/opinion/comment/the-rise-of-the-spanish-far-right-party-vox-shines-a-light-into-the-dark-corners-of-the-country-s-politics-1.809539

9) “Holy Hate: The Far Right’s Radicalization of Religion” Southern Poverty Law Center 10.2.2018

https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/intelligence-report/2018/holy-hate-far-right’s-radicalization-religion

10) “Steve Bannon’s stuttering European adventure” Politico 19.4.2019

https://www.politico.eu/article/steve-bannon-european-parliament-the-movement-stuttering-european-adventure/

11) “Italy disrupts Steve Bannon’s plan for a right-wing academy in a monastery” The Washington Post 31.5.2019

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/italy-disrupts-steve-bannons-plan-for-a-right-wing-academy-in-an-italian-monastery/2019/05/31/0f804838-83d1-11e9-b585-e36b16a531aa_story.html

12) “Culture ministry failed to vet right-wing religious group close to Steve Bannon” The Art Newspaper 27.11.2019

https://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/culture-ministry-failed-to-vet-right-wing-group

13) “Cardinal Burke resigns from Dignitatis Humanae Institute” Independent Catholic News 27.6.2019

https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/37362

14) “Steve Bannon ‘told Italy’s populist leader: Pope Francis is the enemy'” The Guardian 13.4.2019

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/apr/13/steve-bannon-matteo-salvini-pope-francis-is-the-enemy

15) “A Force for Good: America Reinvigorated in the Middle East” U.S. Virtual Embassy Iran 10.1.2019

https://ir.usembassy.gov/a-force-for-good-america-reinvigorated-in-the-middle-east/

16) “The Rapture and the Real World: Mike Pompeo Blends Beliefs and Policy” The New York Times 30.3.2019

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/30/us/politics/pompeo-christian-policy.html?auth=login-email&login=email

17) “Trump lawyer’s firm steered millions in donations to family members, files show” The Guardian 27.6.2017

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jun/27/trump-lawyer-jay-sekulow-donations

18) “Who Is Jay Sekulow? Trump Attorney Funnels Millions to His Family Through Nonprofits” Right Wing Watch 7.3.2019

https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/who-is-jay-sekulow-trump-attorney-funnels-millions-to-his-family-through-non-profits/

19) “Trump’s personal attorneys remain largely on the sidelines as the president contends with the impeachment inquiry” The Washington Post 3.12.2019

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trumps-personal-attorneys-remain-largely-on-the-sidelines-as-the-president-contends-with-impeachment-inquiry/2019/12/03/1076807c-150d-11ea-8406-df3c54b3253e_story.html

20) “Jordan Sekulow: President’s legal team working on two theories to bolster defense against impeachment” Fox News 21.12.2019

https://www.foxnews.com/media/jordan-sekulow-impeachment-legal-defense-president-trump-nancy-pelosi

21) World Interfaith Harmony Week United Nations

https://www.un.org/en/events/interfaithharmonyweek/index.shtml

22) Parliament of the World’s Religions

https://parliamentofreligions.org

23) KAICIID

https://www.kaiciid.org

24) CORE Forum

https://uskot.fi/en/home-2/

Hostility towards politicians soars in Brexit Britain

Daily Sabah reported that the violence and death threats against British politicians has soared during recent years. The number of alleged crimes reported by Members of Parliament was 151 in 2017 and 342 in 2018. It is estimated that the amount will be over 450 this year. Women and ethnic minorities have been targeted more than others.

Read the full story on Daily Sabah:

https://www.dailysabah.com/europe/2019/12/08/brexit-divides-britain-to-the-point-of-toxifying-countrys-protest-culture

German Chancellor Angela Merkel warns of rising intolerance during visit to Auschwitz

German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned of the rising intolerance during her visit to former Auschwitz concentration camp.

Read the full story on Politico:

https://www.politico.eu/article/merkel-warns-of-rising-intolerance-historical-revisionism-on-auschwitz-visit/

“Generation Hate” – A two-part documentary about far-right movement Generation Identity in France

If you haven’t already seen this, watch a two-part documentary about far-right movement Generation Identity (GI) in France. Here are links to the videos on Al Jazeera:

Generation Hate Part 1:

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/12/generation-hate-part-1-181226094751438.html

Generation Hate Part 2:

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/12/generation-hate-part-2-181226095511884.html

Spanish far-right party Vox and the changing right-wing politics in Spain

Spanish Social Democratic Party PSOE was the clear winner of Sunday’s general election in Spain. PSOE won 28.7 % of the votes and 123 parliamentary seats, an increase of 38 seats. However, the left-wing coalition Unidas Podemos won 14.3 % of the votes and 42 seats, a loss of 29 seats. (1, 2)

A more significant upheaval seems to be taking place amid Spanish right-wing parties. The conservative party Partido Popular PP suffered historic defeat by losing over half of its seats (loss of 71 seats) and by winning 16.7 % of the votes. Ciudadanos won 15.9 % of the votes and 57 seats, an increase of 25 seats. (1) There have been indications that Ciudadanos is becoming more right-wing and the success of the party in this election will make it challenger of the PP. (2, 3, 4, 5)

The biggest shock was the success of far-right party Vox. The party won 24 seats and 10.3 % of the votes and it became the first far-right party to enter the Spanish parliament after decades (6). Vox has become known for its strong, aggressive rhetoric and its stance against multiculturalism, mass immigration, Muslims and women’s rights. Vox has drawn inspiration from French, British and American hard-line right-win populists. Members of the party have shown their admiration for President Trump and his policies and they like to use slogans that are similar to the ones used by Trump. (7)

Vox has quite interesting connections to neoconservatives and other right-wing politicians in the U.S. camp. Leading Spanish neoconservative and former Prime Minister of Spain, José María Aznar, is seen as influencer or “tsar” of the three Spanish right-wing parties Vox, PP and Ciudadanos (8). Aznar has spoken favorably about Santiago Abascal, current leader of Vox and former member of PP. Aznar said in October that Abascal is a “boy full of good qualities.” (9) Rafael Bardají, another leading Spanish neoconservative and former advisor of Aznar, is now strategist of Vox. Bardají is well-known for his strong support for Israel and for his anti-Muslim stance. Bardají is founder and former director of Madrid-based right-wing think-tank Strategic Studies Group GEES and he is also Executive Director of the Friends of Israel Initiative. (10, 11) Steve Bannon, former advisor of President Trump, endorsed Vox after meeting Bardají, last year. Bannon has wanted Vox to be part of his European far-right alliance The Movement. (7, 10)

Even though Vox is now known for its Islamophobia, the party has actually received funding from Iranian dissident groups. When Vox was founded as a splinter group of PP in 2013, one of the founders of Vox, Alejo Vidal-Quadras, arranged funding for the new party from exiled Iranian group National Council of Resistance of Iran NCRI. According to a spokesperson for the NCRI, the organization gave funding without knowing that Vox would become a far-right party. The NCRI is now considered to be a “front organization” of Iranian terrorist cult Mojahedin-e-Khalq MEK. Several American politicians have shown their support for MEK. President Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani and National Security Advisor John Bolton consider MEK to be a legitimate opposition to the current Iranian government. (12)

References:

1) “Analysis: How did Sunday’s elections change Spain’s political landscape?” El País 29.4.2019

https://elpais.com/elpais/2019/04/29/inenglish/1556519911_184823.html

2) Elecciones generales 2019 – Resultados El País 29.4.2019

https://resultados.elpais.com/elecciones/generales.html

3) “Everyone against Ciudadanos” El País 30.11.2017

https://elpais.com/elpais/2017/11/30/inenglish/1512056948_465189.html

4) “Spain’s Albert Rivera shifts party rightward ahead of vote” Financial Times 24.3.2019

https://www.ft.com/content/1774e27e-4a29-11e9-8b7f-d49067e0f50d

5) “Ciudadanos disputa al PP el liderazgo de la derecha” El País 29.4.2019

https://elpais.com/politica/2019/04/28/actualidad/1556462369_564500.html

6) “Spanish election: socialists win amid far-right gains for Vox party” The Guardian 29.4.2019

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/apr/28/spain-election-socialists-to-win-most-seats-far-right-vox-resurgent

7) “Vox: Who are the Trump-inspired far-right Spanish nationalist party and what do they stand for?” The Independent 11.1.2019

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/vox-andalusia-santiago-abascal-spain-steve-bannon-donald-trump-a8723121.html

8) “A Darkening Horizon” Jacobin 17.12.2018


https://jacobinmag.com/2018/12/spain-municipal-elections-vox-far-right

9) “Abascal, busting Spain’s ‘traitors’ to resurrect far-right” Yahoo Finance 29.4.2019


https://finance.yahoo.com/news/abascal-busting-spains-traitors-resurrect-far-222819746.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmZpLw&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAMYJjsTJ3i2PaUP1Jh6mZOPRvgFACNlkpkcZ7dxqzSUZRF06chuy9BAHJ4_xb3eDp1qKBpLjTaOopzV4wuuJ0Vt8_CnFTYgweE4PSF3_H3VDr5bXtugKcJQRzoYr4iUT946T3rjKgPXVifIPB_eW73VoWyPAfOc9RigUY6L_BD40

10) “Bannon sets his eyes on Spain” European Council on Foreign Relations ECFR 24.10.2018

https://www.ecfr.eu/article/commentary_bannon_sets_his_eyes_on_spain

11) Contributors – Rafael Bardají Octavian Report

https://octavianreport.com/contributor/rafael-bardaji/

12) “Spain’s Vox Party Hates Muslims – Except the Ones Who Fund It” Foreign Policy 27.4.2019

https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/04/27/spains-vox-party-hates-muslims-except-the-ones-who-fund-it-mek-ncri-maryam-rajavi-pmoi-vidal-quadras-abascal/

Far-right populist Finns Party

The parliamentary elections in Finland on Sunday turned out to be a real cliffhanger. Social Democratic Party (SDP) won the elections with a very narrow margin. Far-right populist, anti-immigration Finns Party (Perussuomalaiset) came surprisingly close to victory. (1)

Members of the Finns Party are known for their Euroscepticism, ethno-nationalism, xenophobia, anti-immigration stance, racism and Islamophobia. In 2012, Finnish Supreme Court ordered Jussi Halla-aho, current leader of the party, to pay fines for his Islamophobic blog posts dating back to year 2008. Halla-aho is well-known in the counter-jihad circles, his comments have been published for example on Gates of Vienna website. (2, 3) Sebastian Tynkkynen, new MP of the party, was convicted of incitement against an ethnic group and breaching religious peace in 2017 because of his anti-Islamic Facebook posts during summer 2016 (4). Ano Turtiainen, also new MP of the party, was fined for inciting violence against the Red Cross in 2018 (5). Teuvo Hakkarainen, veteran MP of the party, was fined because of his anti-Muslim comments on Facebook in 2017 (6). Olli Immonen and Juho Eerola, both MPs of the party, and Jussi Halla-aho have been members of Suomen Sisu, a far-right, enthnonationalistic, Nazi-spirited organization (7, 8). Immonen caused an uproar in 2015 with his Facebook post against multiculturalism:

“I’m dreaming of a strong, brave nation that will defeat this nightmare called multiculturalism. This ugly bubble that our enemies live in, will soon burst into a million little pieces. Our lives are entwined in a very harsh times. These are the days that will forever leave a mark on our nation’s future. I have strong belief in my fellow fighters. We will fight until the end for our homeland and one true Finnish nation. The victory will be ours.” (9)

Immonen’s post was compared to the manifesto of Norwegian mass-murderer Anders Breivik and Immonen happened to publish his post around the time of the anniversary of the terrorist attacks in Norway (10, 11). Laura Huhtasaari, MP of the party, seems to have become Finnish poster-girl for the far right. Huhtasaari is an admirer of President Trump and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and, alongside Jussi Halla-aho, one of the leading Islamophobes in Finland. Huhtasaari likes to imitate President Trump by using motto “Finland First.” (12, 13) When British far-right figure Katie Hopkins visited Finland with prominent counter-jihadist Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff in January (14), Hopkins arranged a live interview with Huhtasaari in Helsinki. During the interview, Huhtasaari repeated her motto “Finland First” as well as her Islamophobic and anti-immigration views. When Hopkins asked, who Huhtasaari would like to meet, Huhtasaari mentioned that she had already met Jordan B Peterson (Canadian far-right academic) and that she would like to meet Paul Joseph Watson (British far-right vlogger). When Hopkins asked again, who Huhtasaari would like to invite to Finland, she said she likes Nigel Farage (British far-right Brexiteer). (15)

References:

1) “SDP takes top spot, populists rally, heavy losses for PM’s Centre in Finnish election” YLE News 15.4.2019

https://yle.fi/uutiset/osasto/news/sdp_takes_top_spot_populists_rally_heavy_losses_for_pms_centre_in_finnish_election/10739392

2) “Supreme Court orders Halla-aho to pay for hate speech” YLE News 8.6.2012

https://yle.fi/uutiset/osasto/news/supreme_court_orders_halla-aho_to_pay_for_hate_speech/6171739

3) “Jussi Halla-aho” Gates of Vienna website

https://gatesofvienna.net/repression/jussi-hall-aho/

4) “Ex-Finns Party youth leader convicted of hate speech” YLE News 16.1.2017

https://yle.fi/uutiset/osasto/news/ex-finns_party_youth_leader_convicted_of_hate_speech/9406509

5) “Finns Party pol fined for inciting violence against Red Cross” YLE News 12.9.2018

https://yle.fi/uutiset/osasto/news/finns_party_pol_fined_for_inciting_violence_against_red_cross/10400019

6) “Three Finns Party politicians in court over online hate speech” YLE News 4.1.2017

https://yle.fi/uutiset/osasto/news/three_finns_party_politicians_in_court_over_online_hate_speech/9388039

7) “Three anti-immigration PS MPs will pay Hirvisaari’s fine for hate speech” Migrant Tales 1.3.2012

http://www.migranttales.net/three-anti-immigration-ps-mps-will-pay-hirvisaaris-fine-for-hate-speech/

8) “What is Suomen Sisu?” Varis 13.12.2018

https://varisverkosto.com/2018/12/what-is-suomen-sisu/

9) “Finns Party Member Olli Immonen Wants to End the Nightmare Called ‘Multiculturalism’” Finland Today 26.7.2015

https://finlandtoday.fi/finns-party-member-olli-immonen-wants-to-end-the-nightmare-called-multiculturalism/

10) “PM: ‘I cannot accept Immonen’s remarks'” YLE News 26.7.2015

https://yle.fi/uutiset/osasto/news/pm_i_cannot_accept_immonens_remarks/8182347

11) “Norway attacks: at least 92 killed in Oslo and Utoya island” The Guardian 23.7.2011

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/jul/23/norway-attacks

12) “WARNING: ISLAMOPHOBIC CONTENT – Laura Huhtasaari (Suomen Uutiset)” Migrant Tales 14.1.2019

http://www.migranttales.net/warning-islamophobic-content-laura-huhtasaari-suomen-uutiset/

13) “A Guide To The Far-Right Power Players Tearing Europe Apart” Huffington Post 25.8.2018

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/guide-far-right-players-europe_n_5b7bf18ee4b0a5b1febee47a

14) “With Katie Hopkins and Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff in Oulu” Tundra Tabloids 14.1.2019

http://tundratabloids.com/2019/01/14/with-katie-hopkins-and-elisabeth-sabaditsch-wolff-in-oulu/

15) Katie Hopkins interviews Laura Huhtasaari

https://youtu.be/XtgGVTFkQoE

“Time for some structured anarchy” – British hard-line Brexiteers preparing to fight for Brexit

With less than three weeks to the official Brexit day, Prime Minister May is expected to face another defeat on Tuesday, when the parliament will vote on her Brexit deal proposal. The hard-line Brexiteers are getting ready to fight for Brexit. The hard-liners also seem to want to polish their image.

Boris Johnson wrote on The Telegraph on the 24th of February:

“…I am getting sick of the constant suggestion that anyone who sticks up for Brexit must have far Right tendencies. I can’t understand why people are suddenly claiming that anyone who wants to get out of the EU – and follow the instructions of the British people – is a zealot, or an extremist, or Ukip, or Blukip, or some kind of ultra-conservative bigot. Where is this stuff coming from?” (1)

Johnson himself has become infamous for his racist and Islamophobic remarks. Last year he caused an uproar by comparing veiled Muslim women to “letter boxes” and “bank robbers.” Bizarrely, Johnson was not considered to have breached the Conservative Party’s code of conduct. (2)

Last Tuesday, chairman of the European Research Group ERG Jacob Rees-Mogg once again accused May’s government and the Remainers of trying to block Brexit. He wrote in The Sun:

“…the extreme Remainers do not just want an extension — they want ­reversal (i.e. of Brexit referendum) and see this as a first step.

It is worth remembering that those who love the European Union prefer it to democracy and always have done.”

“…the Government must prove that it is committed to the referendum result, for that is the authoritative ­constitutional voice.

No responsible government ought to allow the constitution to be subverted because of its own weaknesses. The ­conventions are there for good ­reasons and, if ignored, confidence in the system that has served well for ­centuries will be damaged — with ­consequences that could include the rise of extremist parties. Failure to deliver Brexit would be a gift to Tommy Robinson.” (3)

Leave Means Leave campaigner Nigel Farage tweeted yesterday that “it’s time for some structured anarchy.” He also advertised March To Leave campaign and “historic rally of Brexiteers” on Parliament Square, London, on the 29th of March. (4)

References:

1) “Brexiteers are not far-Right zealots. Just ask the younger Tony Blair” The Telegraph 24.2.2019

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2019/02/24/brexiteers-not-far-right-zealots-just-ask-younger-tony-blair/

2) “Conservatives rule Boris Johnson comparing Muslim women in veils to letter boxes and bank robbers was ‘respectful'” The Independent 21.12.2018

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/boris-johnson-cleared-burka-niqab-bank-robber-letterboxes-conservative-party-a8693761.html

3) “We the people have spoken on Brexit… let us now have have lift-off ” The Sun 5.3.2019

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/8570432/jacob-ress-mogg-people-have-spoken-on-brexit/

4) Nigel Farage on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/nigel_farage

British Conservative Party suspends 14 members because of alleged Islamophobia

The Tories have suspended 14 members after abusive Islamophobic comments were uncovered on social media. Many of the comments were found on a Facebook group supporting hard-line Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg. The Muslim Council of Britain and former Conservative Party chairman Sayeeda Warsi repeated their calls for an inquiry into the anti-Muslim abuse and Islamophobia within the Tory Party. Mrs Warsi said that the party had “a deep-rooted problem of anti-Muslim comments, Islamophobic comments, racist comments” and that the party chairman and the prime minister had not taken the problem seriously enough.

Read the full story on The Guardian:

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/mar/05/tories-suspend-14-members-over-alleged-islamophobia