Yet another face of my woman...

(Cross-posted on the CHAFF Blog.)

Today would have been the 134th birthday of the late Mr. K. C. Mammen Mappillai (KCMM), the doyen of Kerala, my maternal grandfather.

Yesterday was "Freedom of Speech" day worldwide, a day which would have thrilled the heart of KCMM.

The leading local newspaper of Oulu, the Kaleva, had asked their readers to submit their opinions on this subject on this day.

Annikki is a powerful writer on issues she believes in.

She wrote a short and great piece, in Finnish, on the subject. I reproduce it here (in Finnish) for our Finnish audience, as I do not have a good English translation available at this moment.

Sananvapaus Suomessa Annikki Matthan KALEVA version / KALEVA Version Suomessa sananvapaus on vapaata. Se on rajattoman sallittua. Sananvapautta on monenlaista ja kaikilla. Joillakin on enemmän ja joillakin vähemmän. Keskiarvona laskettuna sitä on jokaiselle jakaa oma osansa. Se jaetaan tarkoin tasapuolisesti. Silloin sananvapaus on hiljaista. Se ei näy eikä kuulu vaan on näkymätöntä. Suursanatilallisilla on sanat hallussaan. Heillä on sananvapaus vallassaan. He kylvävät sanoja vapaasti sinne minne haluavat. Heidän palstoillaan ne kasvavat suuriksi. Ne peittävät maan ja taivaankin. He myyvät palstoja ja sanoja tiloillaan. He kasvattavat ja tuottavat sananvapautta hinnasta. Sanat ovat lukossa sanakirstuissa. Siellä ne ovat tallessa ja turvassa. Suursanatilojen rengeillä on niihin avaimet ja lupa avata kirstun kansi. Sanakirstun kanteen on kirjoitettu; salainen. Suomessa sananvapaus on salaista. Kun renki avaa kirstun kannen, sieltä tulee ulos sananvapaus metamorfoosa. Sen loistava säteily häikäisee ja sokaisee. Se näyttää hyvältä ja kauniilta katsella. Siinä on sateenkaaren kaikki värit. Se leijailee kohti korkeuksia vapaana. Sana on vapaa. Ihmiset tavoittelevat sitä haltuunsa. He ihailevat sen muotoa, värejä, keveyttä, ilmavuutta ja läpinäkyvyyttä. Kaikki, jotka näkevät sen, uskovat siihen. Se on kuitenkin hauras, eikä kestä kosketusta. Se on kosketusarka. Ne, jotka eivät sokaistu sen häikäisystä näkevät sen läpi, että se ei kestä käyttöä eikä kulutusta. Hämmästyneinä he tajuavat silloin. Mikä näyttää sananvapaudelta, onkin vain hajoava suuri imagokupla. Se särkyy käsiin tai hajoaa taivaan tuuliin. Yhä uudestaan se kuitenkin hämää ja ilmaantuu. Nyt he eivät enää vain usko siihen, vaan tietävät; sehän onkin täysin uskon asia. Suomessa sananvapaus on olemassa vain teoreettisena ajatusmallina uskon tasolla. Uskokoon ken tahtoo!

Sananvapaus Suomessa Annikki Matthan Jakobin Blogin Versio / Jacob's Blog's Version Suomessa sananvapaus on vapaata. Se on rajattoman sallittua. Sananvapautta on monenlaista ja kaikilla. Joillakin on enemmän ja joillakin vähemmän. Keskiarvona laskettuna sitä on jokaiselle jakaa oma osansa. Se jaetaan tarkoin tasapuolisesti. Silloin sananvapaus on hiljaista. Se ei näy eikä kuulu vaan on näkymätöntä. Suursanatilallisilla on sanat hallussaan. Heillä on sananvapaus vallassaan. He kylvävät sanoja vapaasti sinne minne haluavat. Heidän palstoillaan ne kasvavat suuriksi. Ne peittävät maan ja taivaankin. He myyvät palstoja ja sanoja tiloillaan. He kasvattavat ja tuottavat sananvapautta hinnasta. Sanat ovat lukossa sanakirstuissa. Siellä ne ovat tallessa ja turvassa. Suursanatilojen rengeillä on niihin avaimet ja lupa avata kirstun kansi. Sanakirstun kanteen on kirjoitettu; salainen. Suomessa sananvapaus on salaista. Kun renki avaa kirstun kannen, sieltä tulee ulos sananvapaus metamorfoosa. Sen loistava säteily häikäisee ja sokaisee. Se näyttää hyvältä ja kauniilta katsella. Siinä on sateenkaaren kaikki värit. Se leijailee kohti korkeuksia vapaana. Sana on vapaa. Ihmiset tavoittelevat sitä haltuunsa. He ihailevat sen muotoa, värejä, keveyttä, ilmavuutta ja läpinäkyvyyttä. Kaikki, jotka näkevät sen, uskovat siihen. Se on kuitenkin hauras, eikä kestä kosketusta. Se on kosketusarka. Ne, jotka eivät sokaistu sen häikäisystä näkevät sen läpi, että se ei kestä käyttöä eikä kulutusta. Hämmästyneinä he tajuavat silloin. Mikä näyttää sananvapaudelta, onkin vain hajoava suuri imagokupla. Se särkyy käsiin tai hajoaa taivaan tuuliin. Yhä uudestaan se kuitenkin hämää ja ilmaantuu. Nyt he eivät enää vain usko siihen, vaan tietävät; sehän onkin täysin uskon asia. Suomessa sananvapaus on olemassa vain teoreettisena ajatusmallina uskon tasolla. Uskokoon ken tahtoo!

What Annikki says here in a humourous and truly interesting fashion is that, rather than pointing the finger all over the world at where there is no freedom of speech, it is necessary to draw attention to the lack of freedom of speech for the common man and woman in Finland. (I will try to get her to do a translation when she has some time.)

The article was posted to the newspaper well before the due date and exactly complied to the norms specified by them.

Having read it, I assured Annikki that there was little hope of the newspaper even thinking about publishing it.

Like the recent hilarious sarcastic Stephen Colbert speech at the White House Correspondents Dinner (if anyone wants to see the video of this, please contact me), Annikki has drawn attention to the Oligarchic System that presently is in place in Finland!

Come yesterday, I got up at my usual time of 4 am and thumbed through the Kaleva newspaper. Although there was much about freedom of speech, there was no attention drawn to the lack of freedom of speech in Finland, and no article by Annikki in the columns. There was not a single reference to the lack of freedom of speech in Finland.

As soon as Annikki awoke, I drew her attention to the fact that her article had not been accepted. She thumbed through the paper, read all that was published, which was all about finger-pointing at everyone else in the world, with no mention to the lack of the freedom of speech in Finland itself.


Full page advertisement inserted by the Finnish Newspapers Union,
in all major newspapers in Finland, including the Helsingin Sanomat and Kaleva,
on Freedom of Speech Day

Then, she noted that on one full page, there was this huge advertisement put out by the Finnish Newspapers Union of a "typical page in a controlled newspaper", with all the words supposedly struck out in the sort of "barbed wire" fashion.

It implied how people around the world were caged in by the oppressive governments which denied them freedom of speech.

I explained my understanding of this advertisement to Annikki and said that this advertisement was being carried in almost every Finnish newspaper.

That really riled her.

She has produced this beautifully written piece (in English) in response to that full page advertisement, which represents HER understanding of that same page!

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Freedom of Speech in Finland?

by

Annikki Matthan

An entire page of Kaleva, and almost every major newspaper in Finland, was devoted to a picture of the words in the columns of a newspaper blacked out by barbed wire. Even the darkened pictures were fashioned in a manner to depict how freedom of speech was being denied to masses around the world.

It was meant for the Finnish newspaper readers to understand what they had something which was not being enjoyed by millions of people around this planet.

This was the special contribution of the Newspaper Publishers Union on 3rd May 2006, Freedom of Speech Day.

The message was very clear.

The Members of the Finnish Newspapers Union control Freedom of Speech in Finland.

It must have cost the Union several millions of Euros to hammer this subliminal message across to all the Finns.

Whatever was meant to be the message for those who are behind the barbed wire fence was not clear. Obviously, it was meant that the Finns were those outside the borders of this fence, looking in on those behind it!

One thing the Union did not state was that the Finns could be added to the masses of people who are denied this freedom of speech.

Instead of allowing the people to have the extra space to express their opinions, the professional Union took the entire space for itself. Their message could be understood to be exactly what the official Finnsh line has always been:

"Look around everywhere else and consider yourselves especially fortunate, as you had better believe, understand and know what you have. You lack nothing. You are kept in a special protection zone of barbed wire which separates you from those oppressed rest"

It is worth remembering that a barbed wire fence looks the same from both inside and outside.

The power brokers are the watchdogs and the "professional guardians" of the freedom of speech in Finland.

They protect the Finnish establishment, the interests of the State, the Authorities, the Church, the Police and the entire Legal System structure, which are not free from outside controls.

I consider the projection and exhibition of the barbed wire lines to be a strong warning and a threat to the freedom of expression by individuals in Finland.

If I had the money and the power to decide to defend the freedom of the speech on the day of its commemoration, it would have been done in a different way. I would have bought that space to give the same space for the people to say something which was troubling their minds.

I would not have surrounded them with the barbed wire fence.

The full page advertisement seemed to be a dramatic attempt to say:

"Stop here and look. Go no further. This is a protected area!"

The page needs no words to explain the meaning. It was the signal and symbol of DANGER!

In an attempt to change the subject and focus, the message being conveyed was for Finns not to ask for more than what they have. They were already at the edge. What they had was enough for them - and they should not make any attempt to shake the POWER STRUCTURE.

It does not seem right to commemorate the Freedom of Speech Day by frightening the readers of all the major newspapers in Finland with symbols and pictures.

I hope you understand what I mean when I say that I am married to the most multi-talented and multi-faceted woman in this Universe!