Russians living in Finland and those with dual Finnish-Russian citizenship found an association to protect their interests, and the group intends to start fighting for the opening of the eastern border.
An event was held on Sunday at the Oodi library, in the heart of Helsinki, where the plan to found a new association was announced. Finnish national broadcaster Yle went to find out what was happening at the event.
About 50 people participated in the event, some Finnish citizens were also present. However, Yle found out what this association would do and therefore contacted the event organizer, Karina Terehhova.
Terehhova explained that the closure of the eastern border causes big problems.
“Many Finns have problems, not just the Russian minority. These problems are related to family ties, for example when relatives live on the other side of the border,” Terehhova said.
The activist explained that the opening of the eastern border will be the first thing the association will deal with. Terehhova said the group will also deal with other topics.
Terehhova said the Finnish government broke the law with its decision to close the border. Yle stressed that the eastern border was closed for security reasons.
“We understand this perfectly, but now we have to look for other solutions. You can find these solutions. All solutions that respect human rights are good solutions,” Terehhova said.
Terehhova is unable to say whether Russia is behind the current border crisis. “We can’t make a judgment on this, because we don’t know everything. Maybe, but the solutions to these challenges must be found in legislation,” Terehhova said.
The Finnish government decided last Thursday to close the entire eastern border again. The border will remain completely closed until January 14th.
2023-12-18 08:25:00
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