Nuair a thaobhaigh Uachtarán na Fionlainne le lucht an chiníochais

Panu Höglund

Nuair a d’oscail Sauli Niinistö, uachtarán na Fionlainne, seisiún reachtaíochta na Parlaiminte i dtús Mhí Feabhra, ba iad lucht an chiníochais i bpáirtí na bhFíor-Fhionlannach ba mhó a bhain sult as an óráid a thug sé. Ar ndóigh tháinig Niinistö féin ón eite dheis, nó bhí sé ina pholaiteoir de chuid Kokoomus, páirtí coimeádach na Fionlainne, sular bhain sé amach uachtaránacht na tíre, ach san am chéanna bhí an chuma air nach bhféadfadh sé, mar sheandlíodóir, glacadh leis an atmaisféar aindlí atá á leathadh sa tír ón mbliain 2011 ar aghaidh, nuair a bhuaigh na Fíor-Fhionlannaigh sna toghcháin an chéad uair. 

A mhalairt ghlan a fíoraíodh áfach. Thug Niinistö óráid a bhí ag cur thar maoil le reitric cheilte chiníoch na bhFíor-Fhionlannach. Dúirt an t-uachtarán scun scan go raibh an lucht iarrtha tearmainn ag bagairt ar na “luachanna iartharacha”, agus go raibh conarthaí na Ginéive sínithe faoi imthoscaí a bhí an-difriúil le saol an lae inniu, ionas nach bhféadfadh an Fhionlainn aird a thabhairt orthu a thuilleadh. Go bunúsach, is éard a dúirt sé nach acmhainn dúinn aird a thabhairt ar chearta an duine.

Na grúpaí éagsúla forairdill a bhíos amuigh ar na sráideanna s’againn ar na laethanta seo, pé ainmneacha Béarla a thugas na “náisiúnaithe Fionlannacha” seo orthu féin, ní raibh aon mhoill orthu an leid a thuiscint. D’ionsaigh ciontóirí anaithnide ionad dídeanaithe i bPetäjävesi (ceantar tuaithe i Lár na Fionlainne, in aice le Jyväskylä, “príomhchathair Lár na Fionlainne” mar a deirtear) beagnach ar an toirt: chaith siad cúig pheitrealbhuama sa teach, agus ba é an dearg-ádh nach ndeachaigh an áit trí thine ar fad. Páistí iad an chuid is mó acu siúd a bhfuil cónaí orthu san ionad áirithe seo. Thairis sin, fuair Ozan Yanar, feisire óg de phór na gCuirdíneach, teachtaireacht bhagrach a d’áitigh air “do chuid málaí taistil a phacáil” nó “tháinig a leithéid de phatról sráide ar an bhfód a threascrós lucht an chraicinn dhorcha ar fud na Fionlainne. Is féidir go n-éigneoidh muid iníonacha agus mná céile na bhfear dorcha chomh maith.”

Ar ndóigh, cloisfidh muid a lán leithscéalta anois ón uachtarán agus ó lucht a thacaíochta, agus iad ag fógairt nár baineadh an chiall cheart as a raibh le rá aige. Ar an drochuair, ba léir ó óráid an Uachtaráin go raibh sé ag tabhairt creidiúna do shluaghairmeacha na gciníochaithe seachas do na leabhair staire agus do na fíorstaitisticí. Na conarthaí a síníodh sa Ghinéiv sa bhliain 1951, fáisceadh as imthoscaí ba ghéire i bhfad ná suíomh an lae inniu: na milliúin dídeanaithe a bhí ag siúl rompu ar fud na hEorpa i ndiaidh an Dara Cogadh Domhanda ní bheadh sna teifigh ón tSiria, ón Iaráic agus ón Afganastáin inniu ach an deichiú cuid díobh. Thairis sin, is follasach go raibh tíortha an iarthair san am sin i bhfad ní ba bhoichte ná mar atá siad anois.

Ina dhiaidh sin féin chuaigh muid trína lán géarchéimeanna dídeanaíochta, agus conarthaí na Ginéive á n-úsáid mar uirlis chun teacht slán as an gcruachás. Is cuimhin leis an gcuid is mó againn na cogaí a phléasc amach san Iúgslaiv nuair a tháinig deireadh leis an gcumannachas ansin agus an mórshruth dídeanaithe a chuaigh ar fud na hEorpa dá ndeasca. Le fírinne, ba chóir nach mbeadh sé dearmadta ag Olli Immonen, duine de na feisirí is mó a chuireas in aghaidh na ndídeanaithe i bPáirtí na bhFíor-Fhionlannach, nó tá seisean pósta ar mbean ón mBoisnia.

Is follas, áfach, cad é atá á mhaíomh ag an uachtarán agus é ag labhairt faoi imthoscaí difriúla: na teifigh atá ag éalú ón Meán-Oirthear faoi láthair, tá siad níos dorcha sa chraiceann ná na teifigh Eorpacha i ndeireadh an Dara Cogadh Domhanda, agus sin é an tuige nach maith leis, ná le lucht leanúna a pháirtí, lámh chúnta a shíneadh chucu. Sin é é.

Scríbhneoir Gaeilge ón bhFionlainn é Panu Petteri Höglund.

When the president of Finland sided with racists

Panu Höglund

When Sauli Niinistö, president of Finland, inaugurated the legislative session of the Finnish Parliament in the beginning of February, the racists in the True Finns party were most delighted to hear his speech. Of course, Niinistö is himself a man of the right wing, because he was active in the traditional conservative party of the country, called Kokoomus, before he gained the presidency. On the other hand, it seemed improbable that an old jurist like him would be happy to accept the atmosphere of lawlessness that had been descending upon the country since the first election victory of the True Finns in 2011. 

The opposite turned out to be the fact, though. Niinistö gave a speech that was full of the kind of veiled racist rhetoric you’d expect from True Finns. The president said simply that refugees were threatening “western values” and that the Geneva Conventions had been signed under circumstances very different from today’s, so that Finland could not observe them anymore. Basically, he told us that we could no longer afford human rights.

The vigilante groups now walking down the streets in our country that call themselves Finnish nationalists while using English-language names were sure to pick up the cue. Almost immediately, unknown perpetrators attacked a refugee centre in Petäjävesi – in the countryside near Jyväskylä, the so-called capital of central Finland – with five petrol bombs that mercifully failed to burn down the place, which is housing mostly children. Moreover, Ozan Yanar, a young member of parliament of Kurdish extraction, was sent a threatening message telling him to “pack your suitcases” for “now there is such a street patrol that will lambast darkies all over Finland. It might be that we rape the daughters and wives of the darkies too.”

Of course we’ll now hear a lot of excuses from the president and his supporters declaring that his words weren’t interpreted correctly. Unfortunately, it was quite clear from his speech that he relies more on racist slogans than on real statistics. The Geneva Conventions were based on circumstances that were much more grave than today’s: millions of refugees were walking the roads of Europe after the Second World War, some 10 times more than those coming from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan today. Moreover, it is obvious that the western world was much more destitute then than today.

Even after that we have experienced many refugee crises, during which the Geneva Accords have been used as instruments of relief. Most of us still remember the wars that broke out in Yugoslavia after the demise of communism and the huge wave of refugees that went all over Europe as a result. In fact, one of the most anti-refugee MPs of the True Finns party should remember, because he is married to a Bosnian woman. 

It is obvious, though, what the president means when he is speaking about different circumstances: the refugees who are now coming from the Middle East are darker in complexion than those in Europe after the Second World War, and that is why he and those in his political party don’t want to help them. That’s all there is to say.

Panu Petteri Höglund is a Finnish writer of Irish expression.