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Rejected asylum seekers behave violently in eastern Finland

Xinhua, August 24, 2015 Adjust font size:

Some 30 asylum seekers whose applications were rejected by Finnish authorities attacked a car in Joutseno, on the Finnish-Russian border, media reports said on Monday.

The car was transferring an asylum seeker to another center when it came under attack on Friday. The attackers were rejected applicants who were awaiting transportation out of Finland due in September.

Roughly half of all asylum seekers receive a negative decision in Finland and the atmosphere at the Finnish centers which temporarily house the refugees is at times strained. Meanwhile, local attitudes towards the centers and their inhabitants can be negative.

Director of the Joutseno reception center, Jari Kahkonen, described the situation as dangerous. In total, one hundred rejected asylum applicants were present during the incident.

Several police patrols attended to the situation. Kahkonen told national broadcaster Yle on Monday the situation at the center remained tense. He said the clash had been ignited on account of personal animosities among the applicants.

Reception centers are full in Finland and new centers are being opened.

In the southwestern Finnish town of Forssa, a former first class hotel is being considered for use as a reception center. On Monday, there were demonstrations in Forssa both for the opening of the new center, and against it as a source of bad publicity for the town.

Out of the 2,414 decisions processed in Finland so far in 2015, only 946 were positive, Yle reported. Endit