Xenophobic parade in Turku under the slogan 'White Lives Matter'
An hour earlier, another demonstration started in the city's Market Square to oppose "racism" and "fascism."
A group of far-right militants summoned by the ultranationalist movement Alliance of Nationalists paraded on Sunday through the streets of Turku, one of the largest cities in Finland.
The xenophobic demonstration 'Kukkavirta 188' started at 14:00 in Puutori, near the place where in 2017 two women were stabbed to death in the worst terrorist attack ever perpetrated by Finland.
The ultra-rightists marched under a banner with the slogan 'White Lives Matter', with which they tried to oppose the global anti-racist movement Black Lives Matter (BLM).
In a manifesto published on their website, the members of this xenophobic alliance call the followers of the BLM movement 'anarchists' and refer to the deceased George Floyd as a "criminal convicted." In May, Floyd's death by suffocation at the hands of Minneapolis police after 8 minutes of agony triggered a wave of worldwide outrage.
Anti-immigration
In a conspiracy-tinged manifesto, the members of the pro-fascist movement try to justify their hate message by drawing links and parallels between George Floyd's death, the crimes committed by foreigners in Finland, and the jihadist attacks across Europe. The group also denounce an alleged submission of the Finns to foreigners with the consent of the "unarmed" Finnish authorities.
According to their anti-immigration message, "crimes committed by people of foreign origin have grown exponentially." They explicitly mention homicides and sexual crimes and they emphasize that, to their understanding, the lives of Finns are no longer important to the Finnish authorities.
However, the latest crime statistics released by the Police show a completely opposite evolution. In Helsinki metropolitan area - where the majority of the population of foreign origin live - crimes perpetrated by immigrants have decreased in 2020.
'Turku without nazis'
An hour earlier, another demonstration called by the 'Turku ilman Natseja' ('Turku without Nazis') movement started in the city's Market Square. The stated intention of this group was to oppose "racism" and "fascism."
The police told to the newspaper Turun Sanomat that both demonstrations had requested all the necessary permits for their celebration.