RUSSOPHOBIC TENDENCIES IN FINLAND

RUSSOPHOBIC TENDENCIES IN FINLAND
 
by Dr. Johan BÄCKMAN (Finland)

Speech at the OSCE Human Dimension Implementation Meeting, Warsaw, 24.9.2013 (Working Session 2)

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Many Russians in Finland are victims of constant racism, hate crimes and human rights violations. Finnish press is often tinted with anti-Russian views, which Russian inhabitants of Finland may find insulting. Finnish officials are sensitive about racism and xenophobia, but they deny the existence of anti-Russian sentiments and Russophobia in Finland. There are up to 8,000 Russian-Finnish registered families living in Finland at the moment. Many Russian children are being mobbed at Finnish schools. Many Russian mothers and children are victims of repression by the social services, who have already seized dozens of Russian children with unfounded basis. Finland is not compiling reliable statistics about Russian inhabitants of the country, but according to estimates from May 2013, there are 62,500 Russian-speakers living in the country at the moment. In many regions, number of Russian-speakers is much more than the number of Swedish-speakers. Unfortunately, The Swedish National Party of Finland, their politicians and members of the Swedish-speaking intellectual elite are very strongly opposing any improvements to the position of Russian language and minority in Finland. Despite the fact that many Finns are even promoting the idea to replace compulsory Swedish language at Finnish schools with Russian, the Finnish minority ombudsman Eva Biaudet, herself representing the Swedish minority, is strongly against any new rights for Russian-speaking minority. Actually, the Swedish National Party of Finland and their politicians are not a result of democratic processes, but the political and educational privileges of the Swedish minority in Finland. New OSCE High Commissioner Astrid Thors is one of the most famous examples of this privileged minority, and we should be aware of the fact that opposing all reforms in favor of Russian language has always been a priority for the Swedish minority in Finland. The Finnish government does not even admit that a Russian minority exists in the country. On the contrary, the official documents and press mostly speak about Russian-speaking minority. Speaking about Russian Orthodox Minority in Finland is practically non-existent, although majority of Russians in Finland are Russian Orthodox. One of the main goals of Swedish minority politicians of Finland is seemingly to prevent any Russian national party from Finland from emerging, and in this way, to maintain the undemocratic elite privileges of the Swedish minority of Finland. It seems that the Finnish state is doing everything possible to prevent politicized Russian community from emerging.
Thank you for your attention.

SYSTEMATIC VIOLATIONS OF THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD IN FINLAND

by Dr. Johan BÄCKMAN (Finland)

Speech at the OSCE Human Dimension Implementation Meeting, Warsaw, 24.9.2013 (Working Session 2)

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Finnish and Russian media have for years been covering shocking materials about severe human rights violations against mothers and children in Finland. The Finnish government cannot deny the fact that the United Nations Committee of the Rights of the Child criticizes every year Finland of severe violations of the rights of the child, but without any reaction from the Finnish officials. In addition, the United Nations Committee against Torture is constantly criticizing Finland of inhumane psychiatric treatment. Many Finnish human rights activists are talking about trade with children: the private children’s homes and foster families are utilizing a corrupt system to gain maximum profit with seizured children. The Finnish government cannot deny the fact that nobody is controlling private children’s homes in Finland. The Finnish officials provide no reliable statistics about the number of seizure children or private children’s homes. A recent number says there are approximately 17,000 seized children in Finland. The new Finnish law on “child protection” gives the authorities right to seizure children without court order or evidence. The private children’s homes are using various kinds of punishments, including “carpet therapy”, meaning wrapping the child into a carpet. The Finnish government cannot deny the fact that the “carpet therapy” is officially accepted means of co-called child protection in Finland. In addition, the private children’s homes are using prison chambers to punishing children. A Finnish human rights activist Mr. Lari Kunnas posted into YouTube a shocking video showing 2 Finnish social workers and 2 police fetching his children from home without showing him any court order or written document. Recently A group of Finnish human rights activists (Mrs. Tiina Liljeberg, Mrs. Birgitta Wulf-Luhtanen, Mrs. Sirpa Aho, Mrs. Solveig Holmström and Mrs. Ani Leikonniemi) wrote a letter to the Russian children ombudsman Mr. Pavel Astakhov demanding for help, because the Finnish children’s ombudsman Mrs. Maria Kaisa Aula has never done anything to improve the situation. Recently the inhuman treatment of children in Finland has become an issue of concern for Russian Federation. The Finnish government cannot deny the fact that Finnish diplomats assisted in illegal abduction of under-aged Russian citizen Anton Salonen, who was smuggled in a trunk of a Finnish diplomatic vehicle from Russia to Finland. Finnish government cannot deny the fact that Finnish diplomats did not have any legal rights to assist in the abduction or contraband in the trunk of the Finnish diplomatic car of a Russian child Anton Salonen. In Finland, the illegally abducted child Anton Salonen was then prohibited to speak his mother tongue Russian or carry out any actions in relation to his Orthodox religion, including a prohibition to pray. Another example discussed between Finland and Russia is the seizure of four children from a Russian mother Anastasiya Zavgorodnyaya in Finland, including the seizure of a newborn child, with a prohibition to brest-feed the newborn. The Finnish government cannot deny the fact that the Finnish authorities did not have any clear motivation to this inhuman action. Very often the Finnish officials are misusing psychiatry against mothers or human rights activists, who are trying to protect the rights of the child against the private child trade industry. In the case of Kauko Oranen, the Finnish father has lost the contact to his two Russian daughters and the Russian wife Oksana Loginova for more than 10 years, all of whom are institutionalized, without any clear motivation or proper court order. An Asutralian father Mr. Warren McLachlan has lost 2 children to the Finnish private child trade industry. The boys, holding Australian citizenship, are drugged in Finnish private children’s homes already for more than 10 years without any right investigate the situation. For preventing future violations, the Russian Federation has tried for years to establish a mutual expert commission for family rights with Finland. The Finnish government cannot deny the fact that Finland has constantly refused to establish the commission or to have any co-operation in the field. We should confront the fact that the modern private child trade industry, with uncontrolled seizure of thousands of children with unclear grounds, is a sign of a new ideology of hate: the hate against families and hate against children. We should remember that anti-semitism, xenohobia or neo-nazism are not the only nor principal means of hate. You have just to read the writings of the French feminist Simone de Beauvoir to understand that the modern feminism has transformed into an ideology of hate against women and children. The Finnish government cannot deny the fact that today they are one of the main advocates of that hate against women and children.
Thank you for your attention.