30 detained in right wing extremists violence in central Finland

The Finnish police had to use force to calm down a demonstration by the right wing group Finnish Resistance Movement in the town of Jyvaskyla, central Finland, on Saturday.

The demonstrators entered a department store and injured several people. A total of 32 demonstrators were taken into detention, media reported.

A local police representative said rushing into the department store appeared to have been ordered within the group. The preceding demonstration had been peaceful.

Finnish Interior Minister Petteri Orpo said the events in Jyvaskyla were serious and needed to be condemned.

"This is an indication of the fact that extremist movements are rising also in Finland and their surveillance has to be increased," Orpo told newspaper Helsingin Sanomat.

National broadcaster Yle in its news report described the Finnish Resistance Movement as "an organization that supports white race supremacy and has a national socialist ideology".

People associated with the organization have been convicted in recent years for violence including an attack against a gay pride march in Helsinki some years ago and a stabbing at a book launch in Jyvaskyla.

Security Police spokesman Rantala said the organization has only some tens of members, but it has intense ties with comparable movements in other Nordic countries.

The Resistance Movement was last in the news in June when Member of Parliament Olli Immonen attended one of its events. His party, the Finns Party, said Immonen had attended "as a private person".

Last week Immonen caused a major national reaction in Finland following his statement on his Facebook account describing multiculturalism as "nightmare".

The violence in Jyvaskyla took place four days after thousands of people demonstrated in several FInnish cities against racism. Endit