 |
| The event was opened with a sing song and speech by the Chairman of 'Sports fo All' Finland, Ike Chime |
It is not an easy achievement to gather up to 20,000 people in one place just within two days of planning.
The whole drama was sparked by a Facebook statement by a member of parliament of the extreme right party 'The Finns' party know for its strong stand against migration in Finland. In his statement, this parliamentarian. Olli Immonen wrote,
"I am dreaming of a stron brave nation that will defeat this nightmare called multiculturalism. This ugly bubble that our enemies live in, will soon enough burst into a million little pieces" he wrote last Saturday.
"I have strong believe in my fellow fighter, (he continued) We will fight until the end for our homeland and one true Finnish nation. The victory will be ours."
Many Finns, including former president, Tarja Ahonen, and Prime Minister Juha Sipiala of the Central Party condemned Immonen's statement as unacceptable.
The protest rally featured many prominent speakers, and there were music performances by prominent artistes.
Many organizations and individuals were responsible for making the protest possible, and there were also other protests on the same theme taking place simultaneously in other big cities of Finland like Tampere, and Turku.
The protest was covered live by both Radio Helsinki, and the national television.
 |
| A cross section of the 20000 strong crowd at the event |
