Kimmo Kiljunen resigned as chairman of the foreign affairs committee of the Finnish Parliament on Friday. This happened after the media published a recording of a small meeting of the Finnish-Russian association. Kiljunen criticized the government's policy towards Russians and the closing of the eastern border. His wife is Russian.
Kiljunen resigned after the media spread his speech from a small meeting of the Finnish-Russian association held in Helsinki at the end of October.
A leading Social Democrat politician criticized the Finnish government's decision to close the border with Russia. – This is a violation human rights(…) also towards my wife – he said in the recording. He said that due to the situation, his wife cannot visit her family in Russia.
– We don't have the best government in this respect. There is a party in the coalition whose interest is in closing all borders, he criticized the government.
The politician also said that the regulations pushed by the government, which in practice prohibit Russians from purchasing real estate in Finland, are “racist” and accused the Finnish press of participating in “the spread of Russia's hybrid influence.”
After he resigned, he told reporters: “I am responsible to my homeland.” That's all. He apologized for his words, calling them “ill-considered.”
Prime Minister: it is regrettable that such words come from the mouth of such an experienced politician
The Prime Minister of Finland, Petteri Orpo, commented on the published recordings of Kiljunen's statement. – It is regrettable that such words come from the mouth of such an experienced politician as Kiljunen. His statement does not correspond to the line of either the Finnish government or parliament, he commented.
In the coming days, the SDP parliamentary club is to present a new candidate for the head of the parliamentary foreign affairs committee. The video of Kiljunen's speech has already been removed from YouTube.
Kimmo KiljunenNicolas Elsaesser / Council of Europe
Closing the Finnish-Russian border
Finland's eastern border has remained closed since last year. When making the decision, the government in Helsinki cited the threat related to the “hybrid operation” conducted by Russia. Moscow is responsible for the organized and illegal influx of migrants from the Middle East and Northeast Africa.
When the crisis at the border began, the Finnish media, reporting on conversations with asylum seekers, reported that the Russian police or army ordered them to go towards the border. They were transported by “taxi”, and at the end of the journey they were given bicycles to reach the Finnish border control.
Main photo source: Nicolas Elsaesser / Council of Europe