Far-right movement in Finland worries Rinne

The chair of Parliament’s Constitutional Law Committee Antti Rinne, also the immediate past prime minister of the country, expressed his concern over the activities of the far-right movement in Finland, according to a report run by a Finnish language news media, the Uutissuomalainen, on Saturday.

Rinne, the former chair of the ruling Suomen Sosialidemokraattinen Puolue (Social Democratic Party of Finland-SDP) in an interview told the Uutissuomalainen that extremists could attempt to paralyse the functioning of Finnish society and governance in the same way, as it happened in the United States last week.

He also urged the politicians and news media of the country to be aware about the possible threat posed by the far-right groups, reported the national broadcaster Yle, quoting the news media.

A significant number of organised groups in a planned way spread suspicion and incite hatred towards social institutions as well as politicians, said Rinne.

The escalating situation is worrying for both democracy and freedom of expression, said the report, quoting Rinne as saying that some politicians, journalists, and even ordinary citizens avoid dealing with certain issues to avoid becoming the target of hatred by extremists.

Many of these extremist thinkers, Rinne added, are “too often” people working within or on the outskirts of the Perussuomalaiset (Finns Party), said Yle, quoting the Uutissuomalainen report.