Finnish Resistance Movement

Finnish Resistance Movement

Native name	Suomen vastarintaliike
Founded	2008
Head union	Juuso Tahvanainen
Country	Finland
Website	Patriootti.com

The Finnish Resistance Movement (Finnish: Suomen vastarintaliike; SVL), is a militant National Socialistic organisation in Finland. The Finnish resistance movement is part of the Nordic Resistance Movement, which has branches in Sweden (Swedish Resistance Movement; Svenska Motsåndsrörelsen), Norway (Norwegian Resistance Movement; Den Norske Motstandsbevegelsen) and Denmark (Danish Resistance Movement; Den Danske Modstandsbevægelse).

Ideology

The ideology of the Finnish Resistance Movement is National Socialism. Their publications have strong elements of White supremacy, racism, environmentalism, anti-multiculturalism and antisemitism. The Finnish Resistance Movement also opposes communism, homosexuality, miscegenation, drugs, and the European Union.

Tactics

The Finnish Resistance Movement is active in at least the cities of Helsinki, Turku, Tampere, Oulu, Jyväskylä and Pori. One of the main tactics has been the planting of propaganda stickers and posters with a racist message, but the organization is becoming more and more violent. Members of the organization have been participating in acts of violence. The members are also participating in combat training arranged by the organization.^[1] Researchers have commented that it is not surprising the Finnish Resistance Movement is escalating its use of violence.^[2]

Their main communication media is the Patriootti.com website, but they also have a web shop Kadulle, which mostly sells Nazi propaganda and books. They also publish a magazine called the Kansallinen Vastarinta.

Acts of violence

The Finnish Resistance Movement has a history of using escalating levels of violence. Some of the violent attacks that have been reported by the media in English include:

• In July 2010 members of the Finnish Resistance Movement attacked a Gay Pride event in Helsinki. Gay Pride participants and bystanders were assaulted with tear gas and pepper spray. Some victims were small children. Three members of the Finnish Resistance Movement were later charged for 87 counts of assault, 71 counts of violations of political freedoms and substance possession.^[3]

• Before the Finnish 2011 parliamentary election members of the Finnish Resistance Movement attacked a National Coalition Party election official.^[4]

• In July 2012 a member of the Finnish Resistance Movement attacked a gay rights event in Oulu. One person was hospitalized due to use of pepper spray by the attacker.^[5] A member of the Finnish Resistance Movement was later arrested for the crime.

• In January 2013 three members of the Finnish Resistance Movement attacked a library discussion event in Jyväskylä.^[6] Violence included stabbing one of the event organizers with a knife, who was without proper authorization posing as a security guard for the said event. Two members of the Finnish Resistance Movement were arrested and one is still evading the law.^[7] During the police investigation it was found that a single member of the Finnish Resistance Movement had collected a database of 300 political opponents.^[8] The event was a presentation of a book examining the increasing support of the extreme right in Finland.^[9]

• In January 2014 members in Vantaa assaulted a man criticizing their fliers.^[10] On mayday of the same year, members disrupted the Pori Left Alliance Mayday parade by throwing smoke bombs into crowds of spectators, blaring sirens and shouting into a megaphone.^[11] Police detained seven neo-nazis, with harmful objects confiscated.^[12]

• In May 2015, the movement intruded upon a church assembly to hand out Magneettimedia magazines and they brawled with event security.^[13]

• In August 2015 the movement organized a demonstration in Jyväskylä, where protesters assaulted three people as a group. The victims were the doorman during the Jyväskylä library stabbing and two individuals with him. The police detained 32 people.^[14][15][16]

Leaders

• Henrik Holappa (2008-2012) founder and the first leader of the Finnish Resistance Movement.
• Juuso Tahvanainen (2012-)

References