Democracy is just an IMAGE in Oulu

(Cross-posted on the CHAFF Blog.)

I was busy all day today and did not have time to browse the Kaleva, our local nwewspaper, in much detail. When I returned from the physiotherapy session of our son, Mika, I settled down to watch one of the few TV programmes that I do watch, “Murder She Wrote”.

Annikki was busy attending to her mother. When she had given her mother her food, she joined me in the living room and asked whether I had seen a small news item in the newspaper about how the students in Oulu had been disallowed to carry out a public protest in Oulu or to set up a information tent or display banners as the Image of City of Oulu as an International City with the coming of summer would be “damaged”.

My blood boiled, just as much as Annikki’s, when I heard this.

I had just spoken to my good friend Ilari Sohlo who is in touch with the Student World, but he had not mentioned this protest. So I rang back, but he did not answer his mobile.

Then Ilari rang back. When I told him about this, he said he had missed this news item as he was busy with a seminar presentation. He immediately looked up the web and found the protest was to be between 12:00 noon and 16:15 in Rotuari, the central walking street of Oulu.

I looked at my watch, and it was just turning 16:05. I decided to make a dash to the city to see if I could catch up with some of the student leaders behind this protest.

On my way, Ilari sent me a text message giving me the name of the main Organiser, Milja Seppälä and her contact phone number.

When I reached the town centre, it was past 16:15. I noted that the protest was over and the students had packed up and gone home. So I rang Milja and had a word with her.

I asked her whether Oulu was becoming like the US where, if one needed to protest, then it had to be in “Free Speech Zones”.

Milja said she hoped that this was not so.

I then asked her for the rationale behind the City not giving the students the right to carry out a public protest. She told me that it was because it could damage the reputation of the City as an International City, especially with the onset of summer!

I was horrified.

I asked Milja whether she had any pictures of the protest for this blog entry. Sadly she did not have any and as she was just about to enter into a meeting, she had to end our interview.

I was really mad as I drove home. I told Annikki the outcome of the visit to the city and my conversation with Milja. She was just as mad as me and she immediately queried whether Democracy in Finland was going to be just an IMAGE?

I wonder whether this protest demonstration in London made that city less of an International City than Oulu?

Protest in London

Or did this protest in Paris make it less of an International City than Oulu?


Paris Student Protest

Is it not strange that we were allowed to carry out a protest in Oulu against the Iraq War but students could not carry out a protest about their student grants?


Iraq War Protest in front of
Oulu City Hall, Picture by Jacob Matthan

This is not the first time we have come across this issue of safegaurding and polishing the “Image of Oulu” by corrupt Oulu bureaucrats.

In the forerunner to this Blog, our popular internet fortnightly FINDIANS BRIEFINGS Volume No: 05 Issue No. 01 - - 28th January 1998 had this item Analysis - Journalist Pimps

When we exposed the strategy of Oulu City bureaucracy to get favourable stories in International newspapers and magazines published by Journalist Pimps, we were called to the office of the Oulu Economic Affairs Office to try to convince us that Oulu was really a great city as had been reported by these "bribed" journalist.

We concluded then:

“To cut a long story short, our meeting with Mr. Seppo Mäki ended when we asked him that if he wanted to tell the truth or just to promote a set of half-truths about our city. We compliemented him on the great job he is doing but sadly what is being done is just polishing the Finnish image in public, while underneath it stinks to the high heaven.

Sadly, Mr. Mäki is very efficient in his job. The Finnish newspapers then feed the gulible Finns with a dose of their own city handouts routed through the gulible international press as if they emanated from these great journalists. These are not journalists, but in our opinion, but glorified pimps.”

The situation between 1998 and 2006 has not changed one bit. The City of Oulu is still run by a set of CORRUPT OFFICIALS.

Students in Oulu - Are you going to stand by your principles or be brow-beaten and your natural rights trampled by your “political masters”. If the latter, forget that you live in a democracy! If these people are your "political servants" as they should be as they are in your pay - then tell them exactly what you think of their actions.

The answer lies in your hands - not theirs!