Around 30 Arrested over Violence at Finland Neo-Nazi March
Finnish police said Saturday around 30 people were arrested after violence erupted at a Neo-Nazi march in central Finland.
The small protest by the Finnish Resistance Movement, a national socialist group, was relatively peaceful until some participants began targeting passersby and hindering police work, police said in a statement.
The statement did not report any injuries, but said that authorities would pursue charges of rioting and assault.
Earlier this week, more than 10,000 people marched in Helsinki in favor of multiculturalism after populist legislator Olli Immonen posted a controversial comment on Facebook saying he "dreamt of a strong and brave nation that would fight against the nightmare of multiculturalism".
His appeal was not the first time Immonen sparked controversy, after the Finns Party leader posed with members of the neo-Nazi group in June.
The Finns Party has been long known for its anti-immigration stance that helped it gain a foothold among voters. In recent years, however, it has shifted the focus of its message to euroscepticism.
According to official statistics, slightly more than 300,000 people in Finland are of "foreign origins", making up 5.5 percent of the population. More than half of those are Europeans, mainly hailing from Russia and Estonia.
Source: Agence France Presse
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