Vantaa Finns Party delays municipal grant to Somali organisation for family camp
Members of the right-wing populist Finns Party in Vantaa are raising questions about a request financial support for children’s camp activities by the Sorasod association for Somalis living in Finland.
The matter came up in the city’s board for recreation and residents’ services on Monday last week when Sorasod’s request for a grant of EUR 2,650 was left on the table at the request of Finns Party representatives.
Members of the party suspect that Sorasod might have contacts with al-Shabaab, an organisation which operates in Somalia, and which has been declared a terrorist organisation by the European Union and the United Nations.
Board member Timo Uppala (Finns Party) says that his demand is based on a recollection of an article published in Helsingin Sanomat in September.
“If I recall correctly a member of Sorasod, who was interviewed in the Helsingin Sanomat story, did not consider al-Shabaab a terrorist organisation”, Uppala says.
In the article Sorasod chairman Idiris Farah said that he does not believe that Somalis in Finland would have any contact with al-Shabaab. He added that even if there were some contacts it would be unfair to label people as terrorists on that basis. He also pointed out that many Somalis see al-Shabaab soldiers as freedom fighters.
“Supporting al-Shabaab is not a crime, legally speaking”, Farah now elaborates as he rejects Uppala’s accusations against Sorasod.
“It is too bad that someone is so hostile toward immigrants that he would come up with any excuse to oppose giving them support.”
Farah says that the grant that Sorasod applied for would be used for a family camp where immigrants are taught Finnish customs.
Farah emphasises that he does not approve of terrorism committed by al-Shabaab or any other organisation. “I urge all young people with a Somali background to stay away from al-Shabaab.”
Uppala says that the grant request should be returned to city officials if an investigation by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) reveals connections between Sorasod and people suspected of supporting terrorism.
The NBI is investigating six private individuals of a Somali background suspected of having been involved in funding or recruitment for al-Shabaab.
Investigator Jaakko Christensen says that there are no suspicions about the Sorasod association. “Nothing of the kind has come up in connection with this investigation, and the investigation is not focusing on that issue.”
Postponing an item on the agenda to the next meeting at the request of one political group is a normal practice.
The board’s chairman Risto Tamminen (SDP) sees no reason why Sorasod’s application should not be approved when the matter is discussed at the next meeting, which is scheduled for April 23rd.