On its Facebook page, which now has over 12 000 subscribers, the Soldiers of Odin militia stresses that though it is critical of immigration, it is not racist or National Socialist, nor is it a criminal organization.
“From the point of view of Ministry of Interior, this kind of streets patrolling is actually creating more work for police, but they are not helping police at all,” Mika Mäkinen said.
He stressed that up to date, the group created no real problems, but has the potential to do so if it goes beyond its obligations and takes it upon itself to maintain the public order.
“If they take the order in their own hands, police need to be active, and make sure that maintenance of public order is only job of the authorities, it is not a job that someone else could be doing,” Mäkinen said.
He underlined that the security situation in the Finnish streets was completely calm, which makes the work of the Soldiers of Odin unnecessary.
According to immigration services, Finland accepted over 30,000 asylum applications in 2015.
