HS Turku | Elisa and Mika Aaltola were given dead flowers at the election ceremony, a group of masked people outside

The Greens’ parliamentary election candidate Elisa Aaltola feels that her campaign event in Turku was disrupted. Dead flowers were handed out to Aaltola, and during the event, a group of masked overalls appeared outside the building.

Animal rights profiled as a driver, a candidate for the parliamentary elections of the Greens and an environmental philosopher Elisa Aaltola says that his campaign event was disrupted in Turku.

The election ceremony was held on Saturday, January 28 at the Turku town hall. The event was attended by Elisa Aaltola’s brother, director of the Foreign Policy Institute Mika Aaltola.

At the event, Aaltola was given a flower package, which revealed dead flowers. In addition, during the event, there were people dressed in white overalls and masks outside the building. They held signs with slogans that could be interpreted as anti-NATO.

“Before this occasion, when we were preparing the places, two women came and handed me bouquets of flowers that were in paper. The women handed the bouquets to me and said that there were bouquets for me and Mika. Then they disappeared from the scene. There were blackened and dead flowers inside,” says Aaltola.

Aaltola found the gesture provocative.

The flower packages also included messages, but Aaltola’s campaign manager Laura Rantanen according to which the letters were thrown directly into the trash without being read.

Police had been in contact with Aaltola before the event and warned of possible interference. Therefore, three security guards were hired for the occasion.

“They recommended that we get a decent security team for the occasion,” says Aaltola.

“It is not a normal practice to include orderlies or security guards in such events,” says Rantanen.

According to Rantanen, the police advised to call the emergency number if something happens. However, they did not contact the police because they did not feel it was necessary.

Elisa Aaltola wonders about the anti-NATO sentiment.

“It was disguised as a peace demonstration, as it were. My election campaign has nothing to do with such militaristic things, which is why it was very special. It probably has to do with the fact that my brother is the head of the Foreign Policy Institute and I know that this kind of pressure is being applied to him. I would assume so.”

According to Aaltola, two people in overalls also entered the building.

“Two of them got in there, but then they were escorted out. Apparently, their intention was to hold some kind of interrupting performance, so that the event would have been interrupted,” says Aaltola.

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Aaltola and Rantanen believe that there has also been an attempt to hack Aaltola’s campaign page.

“I have received messages about failed login attempts. There have also been reports of attempts to open social media accounts,” says Aaltola.

Rantanen says that he has been involved in political campaigns for 20 years and has never experienced anything like this.

“I have been involved in various elections for a very long time. I have done election campaigns of relatively well-known politicians before. Never had to think about such things on this scale. I have noticed that there is an increased activity during the elections, but it has not been such that there are constant attempts to hack websites or social media accounts. Or such that we should have had orderlies at the events, ever,” says Rantanen.

HS asked About the Southwestern Finland police, why Aaltola had been warned. Chief Commissioner Petri Kangas says that the police are sensitively in touch with various parties, if the police have prior knowledge of, for example, harassment.

Kangas has not received information about what happened at the election event. Therefore, he only comments on the matter on a general level and does not go into individual cases. He says that the police will not intervene in this kind of activity unless the subject of possible harassment files a criminal report.

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According to Kankaa, the limit of criminal election interference can be reached if the activity is, for example, aggressive.

“It’s the same as everything else. If it causes a disturbance in the environment, it is perceived as aggressive, troublesome, disturbing the flow of others. Elections are, in a certain way, a separate matter. Opinions must be brought forward.”

He says that if we are talking about expressions of opinion, they must be peaceful.

“You can tell your own stories, but you must not cause any fear in the environment, or any destruction.”

High Commissioner Kangas says that one person thinks receiving dead flowers can be very threatening, while another can calmly take it as another’s opinion.

“These are quite personal, how one takes it.”

He guesses that people generally know when to call 911.

“If there is something in the event that would normally require the police to alert the police, you must call the emergency center.”

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