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| Teuvo Hakkarainen, True Finns |
According to him, refugees and especially blacks need to be forced into doing manual labour in the forests. "every street and boulevard in Helsinki is filled with workshy niggers, who need to be put to work," said Hakkarainen. He then proceeded to mention his experiences in South America, where he travelled as a consultant for his lumber firm, Haka-Wood, where he noted that those with a 'European background' seem to be markedly more industrious than others. Hakkarainen argued that putting these 'niggers' into work "out into the hailstorm where we have also been" would also work as a natural disincentive for immigration into Finland. Teuvo Hakkarainen also added that he was not a racist.
As per usual, the True Finn leader Timo Soini quickly distanced himself from the comments, saying he personally "disagrees" and that he would "talk" with Teuvo Hakkarainen. There was a much sterner voice of disapproval from the Green party MP, Jani Toivola. Toivola takes this extremely seriously and issued a public demand for the True Finn party to denounce racism once and for all.
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| Jani Toivola, Green Party |
"I never thought that I would be listening to words like this even as an adult", Toivola said. "I've listened to slurs like this all my life, being black myself."
Toivola is worried about the influence an instigator like Teuvo Hakkarainen will have on the children in Finland. "Words like these being used will find their way into the playground. Who will take responsibility?"
"I hope this will be a turning point for the True Finns as well as the entire parliament. That they would publicly take a zero tolerance approach to racism."
