Finnish Branch of Extinction Rebellion Faces Possible Ban

Finnish Member of Parliament Kaisa Garedew (Finns Party) considers the citizens' initiative to ban Elokapina a very welcome proposal. She justified her view by stating that Elokapina - the Finnish branch of Extinction Rebellion - has caused all kinds of difficulties and costs to society in recent years: blocking Helsinki's main street, defacing the valuable pillars of the Parliament House, engaging in civil disobedience, and wasting the resources of the judiciary and the police. Additionally, a member of the movement has publicly fantasized about assassinating Minister of Finance Riikka Purra (Finns Party).

Last October, the National Police Board announced that it was considering filing a lawsuit to dissolve Elokapina and was currently gathering evidence for the case. Thus, the citizens' initiative can also be seen as supporting police actions.

MP Garedew also pointed out—at the very least, justifiably—that "if Elokapina were truly more interested in the environment than in spectacles involving illegal actions, it would leave innocent Finns alone and focus its efforts on countries that genuinely destroy nature and whose pollution levels are a real problem."

It remains to be seen whether Elokapina's activities will be banned in Finland. Nevertheless, I am glad that the operations of activist organizations that function by destroying private and public property and disrupting people's lives are now being questioned. Such organizations are unnecessary in a country with a functioning democracy, where all people already have freedom of speech and the right to peaceful protest.

Previous thoughts on the same topic:
Criminal Attack Against Finnish Democracy
Why Were Violent Protests Acceptable for George Floyd but Not for the UK Child Murders?
Challenges of democracy: Reflections on political violence and rhetoric in Finnish politics