Helvetin Pastori/Pastor of Hell

This is a translation of a speech I gave at the 2023 convention of the Finnish Green Party. The original is available here. Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine has concretely highlighted what excessive dependence on authoritarian states leads to. In a short time, both Finland and the EU had to completely rebuild their Russia policy, and admit to their their previous naive approach towards Russia. Considering how quickly that message seems to have gotten across, at least one question arises for me: Why are we deliberately repeating the same mistakes regarding China? One example of this quite literally hits close to home: there are plans to built a major concentration of battery manufacturing plants in my hometown of Kotka and its surrounding areas, largely to be built with Chinese money. Despite criticism, local decision-makers have mainly focused on the economic effects of the project, while simultaneously downplaying the risks related to China. However, after Russia started its ...

Translation of a Finnish blog post. Original one available here. UN day was was observed on the 24th of October. Through out the day I saw multiple posts made on the topic which got me thinking about my own, somewhat contradictory views on the UN.  The stated goal of the UN is to uphold international peace, security, justice and human rights. These are all goals that I fully support. We're talking about an ambitious project and all of us should be on board with it. That being said, has the UN actually delivered? Let's answer the question with an example: my home country of Finland was recently elected as a member of the UN Human Rights Council. In short, the Council's job is to promote human rights via, what's effectively a form of peer review, meaning countries monitor each other and give recommendations of how to improve their human rights situation. On its own a fantastic idea, until you remember that the council also includes China and Russia as members. At this mom...

Translation of a Finnish blog post. Original available here Some of you are probably aware that recently the Finnish Greens voted in favor of an initiative calling for cannabis legalization at their party conference. The vote was close, 183 to 181. As expected, this caused some intense debate, if you can actually call it that. As somebody who was there, I guess I have to say something. Because ultimately, the idea is not as radical as it's portrayed as. The decision means that the Finnish Greens are the first party in parliament to support cannabis legalization. Obviously this is a historic moment, but ultimately we're not alone with this demand. Before the Greens three minor parties have already called for legalization. Or what about political youth groups? The Green Party Youth, which I represented at the convention, have been calling for legalization for years. From other parties in parliament, the youth wings for the National Coalition and the Left Alliance are calling for ...

Translation of my speech at the Finnish Green Party's convention on the 12th of September 2021. Finnish version available here Hong Kong is a former British colony, which in 1997 was handed over to China. Before the handover, the countries agreed on a special arrangement which was meant to secure civil liberties for Hongkongers for at least 50 years. In the Summer of 2020, China betrayed those promises by legislating the so called "National security law". For Hong Kong's democracy movement, effects of the national security law have been catastrophic: since the law was enacted, every single democrat has been kicked out, or pressured to resign from the regional legislature. Around 30 organizations, which includes political parties and trade unions. have shut down operations. At the moment of writing this 146 people have been arrested and 84 people prosecuted under the national security law. Apart from this, the Hong Kong police has issued arrest warrants on at least 10...

Translations of a Finnish blog post. Link here Well, i's happening. At the moment of writing this, the extremist group Taliban is besieging Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan and based on the most recent information is negotiating about transfer of power with the Afghani government. The whole situation feels absurd. The war in Afghanistan started in 2001, when I was only four years old. In other words, the war has been ongoing for most of my life. And when the US decides to withdraw it's troops from the country, it only takes few weeks for the Taliban to take over. I have to ask, what exactly did we achieve here?  The situation in Afghanistan is a perfect example of US foreign policy failures. The Taliban is a self created enemy: the fear of Communism during the Cold War drove the US to support local jihadists in their fight against the pro-Soviet government. But when the common enemy was defeated, the weapons were turned against the US. And once again, it's the average Afgh...

This is a translations of a blog post from my Finnish blog. Link here . A diplomatic dispute between China and Lithuania seems to be brewing. Lithuania recently announced plans to open a representative office in Taiwan, while Taiwan is opening it's own office in Lithuania. For those who don't know, these offices act as de facto embassies due to Taiwan's interesting place in international politics. On it's own this is nothing special. After all, Finland and Taiwan have a similar arrangement between them. It's the name of this representative office that is the problem: while Taiwan's representative office in Finland uses the name ”Taipei Representative Office”, the name for the office that is about to be opened in Lithuania uses the name "Taiwan". And since China considers Taiwan as it's own territory, even the name "Taiwan" in any official capacity is treated as a threat.  Now China has actually recalled their ambassador to Lithuania and ...

The European Parliament recently adopted a resolution about Hong Kong which among other things called for sanctions against Chinese officials. The resolution was adopted with quite a clear margin, with 578 in favor, 29 against and 73 abstentions. The interesting part is that the abstentions and against votes largely came from two political groups on the opposite sides of the political spectrum: ID and GUE/NGL Far rights and the far left agreeing on something? Seems like the horseshoe theory is on to something.  This same divide can be seen in Finnish politics as well. I previously posted about the case of two right wing MP's getting exposed with questionable China ties . However, questionable China ties can be seen on the Finnish left as well, especially in minor parties, namely the Communist Party of Finland (SKP) and the Communist Workers Party (KTP).   The SKP is generally described as more moderate than the KTP but I don't think this is the case. An example of this is...

Finland is one the few Western countries to still have blasphemy laws in the books. Bit of a debate rose up on the topic recently. More on that here. https://yle.fi/uutiset/osasto/news/yle_survey_most_mps_want_to_keep_blasphemy_law_but_majority_of_finns_party_greens_favour_change/12010478 Obviously I had to give my two cents on the topic and as result I wrote an opinion piece that was published on the website of Ankkuri, one of our local papers on the 7th of July 2021. This is a translation of that piece, the original one is here: https://www.pkank.fi/uutiset/mielipide-ensimmainen-pykala-kuuluu-roskakoriin-6.19.18135.dacdd6e3e6 Recently Yle asked members of parliament about their views on removing the law against "disrupting religious peace" (note: this is a literal translation, made by the writer). The law is considered problematic because among other things it bans blasphemy. In fact, the UN Human Rights Committee has told Finland to remove the law because it violates freed...

This is a translation of an opinion piece I wrote, published in Kymen Sanomat on the 4th of June 2021 (3rd of June on the website). Link to the original here: https://www.kymensanomat.fi/paakirjoitus-mielipide/4170575 For context: Suvivirsi (Den blomstertid nu kommer in Swedish) is a popular church hymn in Finland and Sweden. Due to its lyrics which celebrate the coming of Summer, it has become a popular songs in end of the year celebrations in schools. As you might guess, singing a blatantly religious song schools is something that many people oppose and as a result, Suvivirsi, while a time honored tradition, has become a topic of intense debate, which unfortunately seems to derail the wider discussion on the role of religion in general. Facebook recently brought up memories from three years ago, when I had an argument on Twitter about Suvivirsi. Now that the school year is about to end I think it's the perfect time to talk about it again. Due to the religious nature of it’s lyric...

Translation of an article by Yle, published on the 16th on October 2020. Link below. Käännös Ylen 16.10.2020 julkaistusta artikkelista. Linkki alla. https://yle.fi/uutiset/3-11599142?origin=rss Many Western countries have suspended extradition to the region after China changed the status of Hong Kong with a new law. Finland will suspend it's extradition treaty with Hong Kong. According to the proposal by the government the judicial situation in Hong Kong has become unclear, after China introduced a national security law on the region which limits the regions autonomy. President Sauli Niinistö has approved the suspension of the extradition treaty today. Finland has decided that in order to clarify the situation, a separate decision is needed about the viability of the extradition treaty. Extradition treaty's allow Finland to extradite suspected criminals at the requests of other countries, based on specific criteria. The treaty between Finland and Hong Kong has never been applie...

https://www.talouselama.fi/uutiset/te/16d1b8f4-6b49-402e-af13-5e1cac163578?ref=ampparit:a1ad Translation of an article published in Talouselämä on the 22nd of July 2020. Link below. Käännös Talouselämä-lehdessä 22.7.2020 julkaistusta artikkelista. Linkki alla. From the MEP's five supported both economic and human rights based sanctions. According to Uutissuomalainen, ten from Finland's 14 MEP's support EU-level sanctions against China due to the late June enactment of a national security law in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. From the MEP's Ville Niinistö (Greens), Alviina Alametsä (Greens), Elsi Katainen (Center), Miapetra Kumpula-Natri (Social Democrats) and Silvia Modig (Left Alliance) support sanction based on both economical and human rights based sanctions. Alametsä points out that the EU is currently negotiating with China about a massive investment deal. "The deal should include legally binding clauses to protect sustainable de...

Käännös 21.7.2020 julkaistusta RTHK:n artikkelista. Linkki alla Translation of an article by RTHK published on the 21st of July 2020. Link below. https://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/component/k2/1539019-20200721.htm Asianajajliiton varapuheenjohtaja Anita Yip sanoi tiistaina, että Britannian päätös jäädyttää Hongkongin kanssa solmittu luovutussopimus "välittömästi ja määrittelemättömäksi ajaksi" toimii "epäluottamuslauseena" kaupungin oikeuslaitosta kohtaan kiistanalaisen turvallisuuslain astuttua voimaan. Britannian ulkoministeri Dominic Raab kertoi olevansa huolissaan laista ja mahdollisuuksista lain väärinkäyttöön. Britannia on viimeisin Five Eyes-maista, joka on katkaissut luovutusjärjestelynsä Hongkongin kanssa. Kanada ja Australia ovat jo tehneet niin, vedoten poliittisen vainon mahdollisuuteen Pekingin ajettua turvallisuuslain läpi. Yhdysvallat on ilmoittanut tekevänsä samoin, Uuden Seelannin tarkistaessa sopimustaan Hongkongin kanssa. Yip sanoi, joide...

Käännös 20.7.2020 julkaistusta RTHK:n artikkelista. Linkki alla Translation of an article by RTHK published on the 20th of July 2020. Link below. https://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/component/k2/1538813-20200720.htm Demosiston entinen johtaja Joshua Wong sanoi maanantaina, että "Pekingin viranomaisten" käsitellä hänen ehdokuuttaan lainsäädäntöneuvoston vaaleissa geopolitiikan ja diplomatian kautta, hänen jätettyä hakemuksensa asettua ehdolla Kowloon Eastissa. Wong, joka nimettiin ehdokkaaksi demokraattien esivaaleissa yli 31 000 äänellä, varoitti että hänen ehdokkuutensa hylkääminen johtaisi merkittäviin seuraamuksiin Pekingille. "Ehdokkuudellani haluan näyttää, että Hongkongin asukkaat eivät suostu antautumaan, huolimatta kommunistisen hallinnon tukahduttamisyrityksistä," Wong kertoi toimittajille maanantaina. Hän kertoi, ettei aio allekirjoittaa varmistuslomaketta, jossa vaaditaan uskollisuutta erityishallintoalueelle, sanoen, ettei se ole vaatimus ehdokku...

Translation of an article by YLE, published on the 15th of July 2020. Käännös Ylen 15.7.2020 julkaistusta artikkelista. https://yle.fi/uutiset/3-11449622 According to Minister of Justice Anna-Maja Henriksson (Swedish Peoples's Party) Finland's extradition treaty with Hong Kong has been in practice suspended. The treaty signed in 2005 had to be reviewed after China tightened it's grip on the Special Administrative Region. A new national security law took effect in Hong Kong at the beginning of July. (Little correction: the treaty was signed in 2013, while negotiations on the treaty started in 2005.) Henriksson said that because of the national security law, Finland considers Hong Kong's legal status as being unclear. "We can say that in practice the extradition treaty has been suspended, because of Hong Kong's unclear legal status. As far as Finland is concerned, at the moment and based on the information we have, all extraditions are out of the...

Käännös 13.7.2020 julkaistusta RTHK:n artikkelista. Linkki alla. Artikkeli on päivittyvä, Translation of an article by RTHK published on the 13th of July 2020. Link below. Article has been updated. https://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/component/k2/1537537-20200713.htm Maanantaina hallintojohtaja Carrie Lam varoitti, että opposition viikonloppuna järjestämät esivaalit saattavat olla valtion vastaisia uuden turvallisuuslain perusteella. Järjestäjien mukaan yli 600 000 ihmistä otti osaa äänestykseen, jossa valittiin ehdokkaat syyskuun lainsäädäntöneuvoston vaaleihin. Lamin mukaan viranomaiset ovat aloittaneet tutkimukset saatuaan useita valituksia. "Jos näiden niin sanottujen esivaalien perimmäisenä tarkoituksena on saada aikaan enemmistö lainsäädäntöneuvostossa hallituksen lakiesitysten hylkäämiseksi, tämä saattaa täyttää valtion vastaisen toiminnan tunnusmerkit, mikä on yksi turvallisuuslaissa kuvatuista rikoksista," Lam sanoi. Aikaisemmin perustuslaki- ja Manner-Kii...

Käännös 10.7.2020 julkaistusta RTHK:n artikkelista. Linkki alla Translation of an article by RTHK published on the 10th of July 2020. Link below. https://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/component/k2/1537071-20200710.htm Public Opinion Research Instituten kunniapuheenjohtaja Leaung Kai-chi sanoi perjantaina, että poliisi on tunkeutunut sen toimistolle ja etsivien yrittävän viedä heidän tietokoneita. Järjestö auttoi luomaan äänestysjärjestelmän demokratia-leirin tulevia lainsäädäntöneuvoston vaaleja varten järjestämiin esivaaleihin. RTHK on saanut selville, että poliisilla oli etsintälupa Wang Chuck Hangissa sijaitsevalle toimistolle. Poliisin mukaan ratsiaa oli vastaus valituksiin, joiden mukaan ihmisten henkilötietoja, joiden joukossa oli poliiseja, oli vuodettu. Heidän mukaansa järjestön tietokoneita oli mahdollisesti hakkeroitu. Toistaiseksi ketään ei olla pidätetty. Demokraattien mukaan hallitus on lisännyt painetta lauantaisia esivaaleja vastaan ministeri Erick Tsangin var...

Käännös 11.7.2020 julkaistusta RTHK:n artikkelista. Linkki alla Translation of an article by RTHK published on the 11th of July 2020. Link below. https://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/component/k2/1537207-20200711.htm Lähes 229 000 ihmistä on antanut äänensä demokraattien esivaalien ensimmääisenä päivänä, olittäen leirin kahden päivän ajalle tavoitteleman 170 000 äänestäjän rajan. Au Nok-hin, yksi vaalien järjestäjistä tiivisti ensimmäisen päivän sanoen, että äänestys sujui pääosin rauhallisesti 250 äänestyspaikassa ympäri Hongkongia, huolimatta pienistä yhteenotoista eri poliittisia kantoja edustavien välillä. Hän pyysi ihmisiä pysymään rauhallisina provosoinnista huolimatta, sanoen sen olevan tärkeää demokratian tukijoiden sivistyksen näyttämiseksi. au lisäsi olevansa mielissään korkeasta äänestysaktiivisuudesta, ja kehotti heitä jotka eivät vielä käyneet äänestämässä paikalle sunnuntaina. Hänen mukaansa tämä näyttäisi erityishallintoalueen hallitukselle, että ihmiset haluava...

Käännös 9.7.2020 julkaistusta RTHK:n artikkelista. Linkki alla Translation of an article by RTHK published on the 9th of July 2020. Link below. https://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/component/k2/1536754-20200709.htm Demokratia-leirin lainsäätäjät syyttävät Erick Tsangia ihmisten pelottelusta, jotta he eivät ottaisi osaa viikonloppuna järjestettäviin esivaaleihin, joissa valitaan ehokkaat tuleviin lainsäädäntöneuvoston vaaleihin. Kommentit tulivat julki sen jälkeen, kun Mannermaa- ja perustuslaillisista asioista huolehtiva ministeri sanoi esivaalien mahdollisesti rikkovan turvallisuusakia. Demokraattipuolueen lainsäätäjä Lam Cheung-ting kertoi lehditölle torstaina, että aikaisemmin hänen oma puolueensa on järjestänyt esivaaleja lainsäädäntöneuvoston vaalien ehdokkaiden valitsemiseksi, eikä heidän toiminnastaan ole syntynyt syytöksiä lain rikkomisesta. Lam kuvasi Tsangin puheita "järjettömiksi" ja syytti ministeriä ihmisten tarkoituksenmukaisesta harhaanjohtamisesta, tarko...

Käännös 9.7.2020 julkaistusta RTHK:n artikkelista. Linkki alla Translation of an article by RTHK published on the 9th of July 2020. Link below. https://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/component/k2/1536725-20200709.htm Mannermaa- ja perustuslaillisista asioista huolehtiva ministeri Erick Tsangin mukaan demokratia.leirin suunnittelemat esivaalit saattavat rikkoa turvallisuuslakia. Oriental Daily-lehden torstaina julkaisemassa haastattelussa Tsang, kertoi vastuussa olevien viranomaisten tutkivan asiaa saatuaan valituksia. Hänen mukaansa useat ihmiset ovat tehneet valituksia, joiden mukaan äänestysten tarkoituksena on manipuloida lainsäädäntöneuvoston vaaleja, lisäten että osa ehdokkaista on vannonut estävänsä budjetin hyväksymisen hallinnon halvaannuttamiseksi. Tsang kertoi, että että esivaaleja suunnittelevat, järjestävät ja niihin osallistuvat saattavat rikkoa turvallisuuslain artikloja 20, 22 ja 29. Nämä lain osat koskevat separatismia, valtion vastaista toimintaa ja ulkopuolisten ...

Käännös 3.7.2020 julkaistusta RTHK:n artikkelista. Linkki alla Translation of an article by RTHK published on the 3rd of July 2020. Link below. https://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/component/k2/1535586-20200703.htm Hallitusta tukeva lainsäätäjä vaati, että "Vapauttakaa Hongkong, aikamme vallankumous" (Liberate Hong Kong, Revolution Of Our Times) iskulausetta käyttäviltä tulee evätä mahdollisuus asettua ehdolle syyskuun lainsäädäntöneuvoston vaaleissa. Business and Professionals Alliancen edustaja Priscilla Leungin mukaan, on vaaliviranomaisten vastuullaa päättää, tuleeko iskulausetta aikaisemmin käyttäneiltä evätä mahdollisuus asettua ehdolle, ennen kuin Hongkongin uusi turvallisuuslaki kielsi sen käytön. Hän kuitenkin vaati, että tästä lähtien iskulausetta käyttävät tulee hylätä. "Laki itsessään ei sisällä takautuvaa vaikutusta. Mutta jos kyseessä on jatkuva toiminta toisin sanoen, jos henkilö aloittanut Hongkongin vapauttamista vaativan aktivismin, joka Hongkongin...