'Populist theatre' — Finns Party members tour East Helsinki, but stay on bus
The group remained on their bus during a visit to Puhos shopping centre in Itäkesus, a popular spot among locals with immigrant backgrounds.
On Saturday, a group of members of the Finns Party were set to tour the Puhos shopping centre in Eastern Helsinki as part of a networking event. Puhos, a 60-year-old shopping centre, has become a hub for immigrant communities and has also hosted gatherings by far-right groups. The Finns Party member and Raisio city councillor Sini Laine explained to Ilta-Sanomat that the purpose of the visit was to experience Puhos firsthand.
Representatives from all over Finland attended, including those from Lapland, an area with fewer immigrants. However, after security personnel deemed the site potentially unsafe, the visitors remained on the bus. Those on the bus included Finns Party Vice Chair Simo Grönroos and MP Pekka Aittakumpu. Laine shared a video on Facebook, claiming there were no Finnish people in the area and using the hashtag "send them back."
Initially, Laine claimed parliamentary security staff were on the bus, but parliamentary security chief Aaro Toivonen clarified that it was Finns Party members who were responsible for security. Local residents who frequent Puhos dispute its dangerous reputation. Shakur Nuur, a shop owner, and Joonas Kervinen, co-author of a recent book about the area, told Yle they had never encountered any threats.
Kervinen criticized the Finns Party's visit as "populist theatre," arguing that negative perceptions of the area are often based on preconceived notions rather than personal experiences. Nuur emphasized that Puhos is a multicultural area open to everyone.
Written by urgent.news from Yle News Finland's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
