Aamulehti: Parties to be Accountable for Members’ Racist Talk
Image: YLE
Political parties in Finland could find themselves in trouble for racist comments made by their party members, if new legislation being prepared comes into force.
According to an article in the daily Aamulehti, a working group from the Ministry of Justice is preparing a bill that would punish an entire party, if one of its members makes racist statements in public.
The paper reports that most of the major political parties are wary of the bill, as it may conflict with the principle of freedom of speech.
“If a party member is caught speeding, I don’t think the party would be fined for dereliction of duty with respect to traffic laws,” quipped Maarit Feldt-Ranta, the Social Democrat immigration affairs shadow minister.
“If we go in that direction, where a party could be taken to court, then we’re in a tough situation,” commented National Coalition Party Secretary Taru Tujunen.
“I believe more in self-regulation in a party, rather than the idea of external oversight,” declared Centre Party Deputy Chairman Tuomo Puumala.
The populist True Finns party also rejected the premise of the draft legislation.
The Ministry of Justice is also targeting other changes. Linking to web pages with racist content could draw a fine, a measure which would affect everyone who maintains their own website or who shares links on social networking sites such as Facebook.
According to the Aamulehti article, the bill is due for a commenting round this spring, while government plans to table the draft legislation next autumn.
YLE, Aamulehti