Roundup: Finland may ban disputed civic patrols against reported crimes by asylum seekers

As right wing style civic patrols in Finland are getting increasingly negative comments from leading politicians, some analysts see the patrols may be banned.

Civic patrols comprising a few Finnish men began to be seen in the streets of some Finnish towns during last autumn, as reports about alleged violence by asylum seekers made headlines in local media.

The most notable of them is called Odin's Soldiers. Established in Kemi, northwestern Finland, they say they have local branches now in 20 cities. They usually wear dark pilot jackets that carry the name of the organization at the back. Odin is a Scandinavian God from pre-Christian times.

Initial comments from the police force were rather low key saying that civic patrols were acceptable as long as they did not break the law, but later they insisted that the responsibility of maintaining social security belongs to the police only.

Finnish Prime Minister Juha Sipila, also head of the Central Party, on Wednesday said "patrols were not needed".

On Tuesday, he compared the patrols to voluntarism such as parents arranging supervision during youth events, but his comments on Tuesday raised eye-brows.

Conservative Finance Minister Alexander Stubb, chairman of the National Coalition Party, said on Wednesday that the government is considering whether the civic patrols could be banned.

Populist Finns Party chairman and Foreign Minister Timo Soini said on Monday that patrols should have no visible signs. The Finns Party, one of the three ruling parties, could be the most reluctant to criticize the civic patrols, the support base of which overlaps with the Finns Party.

Finns Party member and Minister of Justice Jari Lindstrom gave a statement last Saturday, saying such groups are acceptable as long as they obey the law.

The Youth Organization of Finns Party said on Tuesday they welcomed the activities, arguing it improves the security situation in Finnish towns.

Kimmo Gronlund, Professor of Politology from Abo Akademi, Swedish language university in Turku, noted in local media that while Finland has become increasingly liberal in attitudes during this decade, there is also a strong opposition to this trend.

He saw similarities between the Finnish situation and that in Germany during the early days of the rise of the Nazis, and he compared the current Finnish groups to the SA groups during the Weimar Republic that preceded Hitler's rise to power.

Gronlund said condemnation of the civic patrols by the highest political leadership in Finland would be important to make a difference between the situation in Finland and that in countries such as Poland and Hungary.

The stronger tones by Prime Minister Sipila on Wednesday were not received with unanimous applause in circles concerned about the rise of right wing activism.

Susanne Ginman, editorial analyst at newspaper Hufvudstadsbladet, wrote on the Wednesday evening edition that a strong condemnation from the prime minister is still missing.

"There are examples in history, also in this country, indicating that these kinds of developments must be silenced early," said the analyst.

Back in 1934, Finnish parliament enacted a law prohibiting political clothing. It was mainly directed against a right wing movement using black shirts and blue ties. The law was repealed in 1945. Endit