Police have detained three counter-demonstrators who disrupted the anti-immigrant ‘Close the Borders’ demonstration in Helsinki Saturday.
According to the Helsinki Police, the persons apprehended were disturbing the otherwise peaceful procession, and so the police held them until the demonstration was over and charged them a fine for insubordination.
Mika Hentunen, a reporter for Yle described the people who were removed from the demonstration as “leftist radicals”.
There is an idiom in Finnish that ‘to use something as a hobby horse’ is to use something as a pretext for your true intentions. The group of counter protesters were all riding hobby horses, likely meant to accuse the demonstrators of hiding their racist motivation behind what they say is their interest in keeping the country safe.
“A few carloads of riot police and mounted police were on hand,” Hentunen reported.
Hentunen estimates that some 150 people took part in the Close the Borders procession, which began at Helsinki's Kamppi square and proceeded down Mannerheimintie to end at Senate Square. The demonstration culminated in a candlelit vigil on the steps of the Helsinki Cathedral, in honour of a 17-year-old girl killed one year ago in the southwestern city of Pori by an Afghan national.
Helsinki Police say about 200 people turned out for the anti-immigrant march, dwindling to 100 by the end. A similar procession took place without incident on Saturday in Pori.
Not in my name
Meanwhile, a short distance away at the square adjacent to the Central Railway Station, a separate demonstration under the banner ‘No Racism in My Name’ took place.
Hentunen said 200 people participated in the anti-racism event, purposely scheduled to coincide with the Close the Border protest.
“There were no radical elements in the protest, it was very peaceful. People held placards saying ‘No to racism’ and there was singing and speeches,” he says.
The name of the demonstration, ‘No Racism in My Name’, refers to comments from nationalist vigilante groups that say they want to close the borders and deport asylum seekers in order to “protect Finnish women”. Photos from the event reveal that most of the participants in the anti-racism demonstration were female.