security knived in attack on anti-fascist book presentation Finland

[Sasha]

Knifing at event dealing with right-wing extremism

One person was injured Wednesday evening in a knifing that took place in the Jyväskylä city library where a presentation was underway of a new book about the extreme right in Finland.

Police on the scene at the Jyväskylä city library. Image: Yle

There was no information immediately available on the extent of injuries suffered, but according to eyewitnesses, the person wounded was part of the event's security personnel and walked to an ambulance called to the scene.

A group of young men describing themselves as "patriots" started a fight after being refused entrance to a discussion event dealing with the Finnish extreme right. Bottles were also used as weapons in the fray.

Eyewitnesses say that the perpetrators fled the scene. Police are investigating the incident as aggravated assault.

The event in the city library was organised in connection with a presentation of the book Äärioikeisto Suomessa, (or "The Finnish Far-Right") by Mikael Brunila and Dan Koivulaakso.

Source; http://yle.fi/uutiset/knifing_at_event_dealing_with_right-wing_extremism/6473499

[Sentinel]

This is not the first time the author and activist Dan Koivulaakso has been targeted by ultrarightists, last year he was pepparsprayed by a fascist when he was going to talk at the Oulu Pride event. These attacks by violent fash and reactionaries just keep increasing in Finland.

They are a result of the hardening social climate and validation of discriminatory views in public discourse, caused by the electoral successes and media presence of the right wing populist True Finns party, which got 19% in the last elections.

While that party is 'only' right wing populist with racist elements (rather than outright and thoroughly fascist), it's only a natural consequence of their increased support that even more fucked up groups and individuals get wind in their sails as a result, and we get to see more of these types of incidents.

[Sasha]

while i don't dispute your analysis its interesting to note it isn't necessarily so, while the rise and acceptance of Wilders here led to an sharp increase in racist incidents of the "bus driver refuses ride to women with headscarf" variety and nasty letters in the rightwing tabloid or on the internet it almost completely destroyed the organized fash/nazi-extreme right and with it also the wave of mosque fire bombings etc that we saw at the beginning of the millennium.

but than again that might be related that Wilders PVV party doesnt have any street pressence at all as they dont have members, quite different from groups like true-finns let alone the swedish-democrats who are deeply rooted in the traditional extreme-right fash streetbrawlers

[Sasha]

which, thinking this line of thought through, is off course the main reason why Wilders chose to have no members in his party, he had a hard look at his predecessors on the dutch extreme-right and saw how fast, even fundamentally populist right-wing parties like the boerenpartij (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farmers%27_Party_%28Netherlands%29) became infected with neo-fascists who used it as an stepping stone and split base for their own extreme-rightwing projects. with only a look at how much difficulty wilders already haves with vetting and controlling his two dozen or so MP's one can see that this was a smart move on his part.
sadly this is also one of the main reason we as anti-fascists have a really hard time getting a handle on him, unlike all his predecessors he is hard to brown-frame by guilt by association (though we are slowely getting there) and as he makes almost no public appearances and if he does he is shielded by dutch secret services and not stupid rent for hire fash heavies he cant be provoked in a PR-disaster.

[Sentinel]

It seems Koivulaakso wasn't present during the attack, as he was on a city council meeting. I'm trying to reach one of those who were there for an interview, if I'm successful I might translate it to english and post here.