Immigrant 'Troopers Of Odin' Raise Concern In Finland
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A group that call themselves the 'Troopers of Odin' exhibit in Joensuu, Jap Finland, January 8, 2016. REUTERS/Minna Raitavuo/Lehtikuva
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A group that decision themselves the 'Soldiers of Odin' reveal in Joensuu, Eastern Finland, January 8, 2016. REUTERS/Minna Raitavuo/Lehtikuva
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HELSINKI Sporting black jackets adorned with a logo of a Viking and the Finnish flag, the "Troopers of Odin" have surfaced as self-proclaimed patriots patrolling the streets to protect native Finns from immigrants, worrying the federal government and police.
On the northern fringes of Europe, Finland has little history of welcoming giant numbers of refugees, in contrast to neighbouring Sweden. However as with different European nations, it's now scuffling with a huge increase in asylum seekers and the authorities are wary of any anti-immigrant vigilantism.
A group of younger men founded Soldiers of Odin, named after a Norse god, late final 12 months within the northern city of Kemi. This lies near the border community of Tornio, which has turn into an entry point for migrants arriving from Sweden.
Since then the group has expanded to different cities, with members stating they want to serve as eyes and ears for the police who they say are struggling to fulfil their duties.
Members blame "Islamist intruders" for what they consider is a rise in crime they usually have carried placards at demonstrations with slogans resembling "Migrants not welcome".
While most Finns disapprove of the group, its development indicators disquiet in a rustic strained by the price of receiving the asylum seekers while mired in a three-year-old recession that has forced state spending and welfare cuts.
Finnish police have additionally reported harassment of ladies by "males with a overseas background" at New 12 months celebrations in Helsinki, as well as at some public occasions final autumn.
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This adopted complaints of a whole bunch of sexual assaults on ladies in Cologne and other German cities - with investigations focused on illegal migrants and asylum seekers - and allegations that Swedish police covered up accusations of comparable assaults by principally migrant youths in Stockholm.
Police information show reported instances of sexual harassment in Finland nearly doubled to 147 within the last four months of 2015 from seventy five in the identical interval a 12 months earlier. The figures give no ethnic breakdown of the alleged perpetrators.
NO PLACE FOR VIGILANTES
The federal government has made clear there will be no place for vigilantes. "As a matter of precept, police are chargeable for law and order within the nation," Prime Minister Juha Sipila informed public broadcaster YLE on Tuesday, responding to issues about the group. "Civilian patrols can not assume the authority of the police."
Finland received about 32,000 asylum seekers final year, a leap from 3,600 in 2014. Yet it has a relatively small immigrant group, with solely around 6 % of the population international-born in 2014 in contrast with a European Union common of 10 %.
In Kemi, the Soldiers of Odin patrol the streets day by day despite the temperatures sinking to -30 Celsius (-22 Fahrenheit). The group has acknowledged it operates in 23 towns, but police says the network operates in five. Its Fb page has 7,600 "likes".
"In our opinion, Islamist intruders cause insecurity and enhance crime," the group says on its web site. One self-proclaimed member, aiming to recruit new members within the eastern city of Joensuu, said on Facebook the group is "a patriotic organisation that fights for a white Finland".
In the jap German metropolis of Leipzig, greater than 200 masked proper-wing supporters, carrying placards with racist overtones, went on a rampage this week.
Last October, a masked swordsman in Sweden killed two individuals with immigrant backgrounds in a faculty assault that fuelled fears that the refugee inflow is polarising public opinion.
In Finland, no clashes have been reported between the Soldiers of Odin patrols and immigrants however police mentioned they're holding an in depth eye on the group. The Safety Intelligence Service has said "some patrol groups" seem to have links to extremist actions.
LET THE POLICE DO THEIR JOB
Police acknowledge patrolling alone is not a crime. "As long as the patrols only report potential incidents to police, they have the precise to take action," said Kemi police Chief Inspector Eero Vanska. Nevertheless, he added: "They should let the police do their job."
Some Troopers of Odin members play down the group's motives, saying it goals to assist folks regardless of their pores and skin color. The group has closed its website following reviews on some members' prison background. Members contacted by Reuters declined to comment.
But one of many group's founders in Kemi, Mika Ranta, made clear immigration was the main focus.
"We woke up to a scenario where different cultures met. It prompted concern and concern in the community," he instructed a neighborhood newspaper in October. "The largest difficulty was when we discovered from Facebook that new asylum seekers have been hanging around primary faculties, taking footage of young girls."
Vanska stated some asylum seekers had been seen near faculties with phones. But he added that these reviews might be easy misunderstandings and there was no concrete evidence to help the accusations.
The coalition authorities - which includes The Finns, an anti-immigration party - has criticised the patrols.
"These sorts of patrol clearly have anti-immigration and racist attributes and their motion does not improve safety," inside minister Petteri Orpo informed Reuters. "Now the police must commit its scarce resources to (monitoring) their motion."
But the government faces stress to clamp down more on asylum seekers. Support for The Finns party, which joined the coalition in Might, has plummeted partly as a result of voters are annoyed with the federal government's dealing with of migrants.
The federal government has tightened immigration policies, requiring working-age asylum seekers to do some unpaid jobs and acknowledge a "national curriculum" on Finnish culture and society.
The patrols have additionally prompted a counter-motion, with Fb communities hoping to avert confrontations on the streets. One such is the Sisters of Kyllikki, named after a personality in the national epic poem Kalevala.
"Our intention is to help folks and to construct up dialogue with all Finns as well as with immigrants," mentioned Niina Ruuska, a founding father of the group which has about 1,500 Fb members.
(Enhancing by Alistair Scrutton and David Stamp)
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