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April 22, 2005
Terror Tactics in Finnish Forests
The stillness of the night is broken by the sound of air raid sirens, rock music and chainsaws. Men in balaclavas and combat gear prowl around, looking in windows, blowing horns in the ears of anyone they can get close to. At midnight, dangerous machinery is driven close to where people are trying to sleep, and trees are felled and burned. Foul smelling liquids and chicken faeces are daubed on doors and walls. Crosses are burned and waved, hangman's nooses left hanging from trees. Snowscooters are driven by high speed - endangering anyone who might get in the way. Death threats are the order of the day.
Welcome to Finland, April 2005 - an EU country that likes to pride itself on both its environmental and human rights credentials. And these are the tactics carried out by members of the so-called "Anti-Terror Info Center", set up by employees of, and with the permission of the state-owned forestry company, Metsällitus. The people organising the "Anti-Terror" camp use Metsähallitus clothing and Metsähallitus mobile phone numbers. Their plan is to drive Greenpeace activists out of the Forest Rescue Station. Night after night, since April 7th, in the woods of Nellim, Lapland, our activists have been subjected to systematic - but also chaotic - intimidation and violence intended to break their spirit, and deprive them of sleep.
And it doesn't stop with us. Reindeer herders are getting threatening phone calls in the dead the night - the local people who are rightfully claiming their legal rights against logging of reindeer grazing forests. One reindeer herder was bullied in a local bar by four men wearing Metsähallitus clothing...
Ok, so we've been posting videos up here - but holding back a little, in the hope that this crazed behaviour would ease. Bu it's getting more bizarre and nasty every night - last night individual activists were cornered, with three or four masked, intoxicated men blowing air horns into their ears. The police were called to the scene after violence towards the Forest Rescue team became imminent - but first, one of the drunk loggers spoke to the police over the phone - insisting that he wasn't drunk, but explaining that they were 'just having fun, and trying to keep people awake.... if the containers aren't taken away, bad things will happen!'. The police arrived - but suggested that the behaviour of the masked men was 'normal' for around here, and that they wouldn't take charge unless a crime has been committed. Even today, on evening TV news, one of the loggers admitted to 'terrorising Greenpeace activists'.
They have us worried - it seems that Metsähallitus management no longer has control of these people. The local chief of Metsähallitus refuses to answer simple questions such as; "with whose permission are the forest machine contractor company driving their heavy forest machine in state-owned forests, damaging the soil and causing danger for people, collecting tree stumps and piling them next to people standing inside the machine's safety distance? Why are these people using Metsähallitus mobile phones and clothing?"
But it doesn't look like the so-called "Anti-Terror" camp organisers are in control of their people either. We don't know what kind of violence they may be capable of.
- Dave
Greenpeace activist Petteri being hassled by masked man - who is trying to deafen him with a horn
(video grab)
Forest harvester next to Forest Rescue Station
Forest harvester next to Forest Rescue Station
Metsahallitus employee with horn
Anti-Terror Snowscooter guy wipes out
Photos: © 2005 Greenpeace/Theo Gubler
Posted by Dave at April 22, 2005 11:38 PM
Comments
sorry, I have only one question: how much money the people in the anti-terror-info-camp get per Day to buy alcohol from Metsähallitus?
on the videos it is obvius that they are drunk all night! They should better do some work....
Posted by: hitsch at April 22, 2005 11:54 PM
Hitsch - if only we knew!
Posted by: Dave at April 23, 2005 12:04 AM
Sounds as if it's getting worse every night. Partly, I feel quite happy that I don't have to experience the situation as it is right now; I already found it somewhat crazy when I was in the camp. But also, I wish you activists all the best; it must be really exhausting for all of you!
You know you're right.
Monika
Posted by: Monika at April 23, 2005 12:11 AM
Yes, Greenpeace spreads lies to the whole world and then they complain when local people don't like it.
The Anti-Terror Info Center has been supported by hundreds of ordinary local people.
Posted by: Kuppi-Juuso at April 23, 2005 05:37 PM
"the local people who are rightfully claiming their legal rights against logging of reindeer grazing forests"
What about the local people who are rightfully defending themselves from an huge outside threat, and internatioal propaganda organisation which has threatened hundreds of local people's lawful jobs fo years?
Posted by: Kuppi-Juuso at April 23, 2005 05:45 PM
Hi again,
there is a fabulous Finnish band called Eläkeläiset (http://www.humppa.com/). They have a great song called Tervetuloa Mehtään that seems to be describing the past couple of weeks at the FRS. The melody is from "Welcome to the Jungle"! Here's the text in Finnish with a rough English translation:
Tervetuloa mehtään tääl on ihan karmeeta... ihmiset on rumia ja haisee pahalta... iltahämärissä ne ryömii koloistaan... ja pilkkopimeässä ne äityy humppaamaan... tervetuloa mehtään tääl on ihan hirveetä... ensin kahvit keitetään sitten lyödään kirveellä... on meno täällä kokolailla melko sairasta... tanssiehtoon jälkeen heikot löytyy kairasta...
(Welcome to the forest it is really horrible here... people are ugly and smell bad... when it gets dark they crawl out of their holes... and in the darkness they start to dance humppa... Welcome to the forest it is really disgusting here... first they cook coffee then hit with an axe... the going-ons here are alltogether pretty sick... after a dance evening the weak ones will be found in the wilderness..."
(Humppa is a kind of Finnish dance that is danced by old people)
Posted by: Lappi-fan at April 25, 2005 02:57 PM
