Several dozens of people on Sunday staged a demonstration in Helsinki to mourn the thousands of Palestinians including children who were killed and injured in the ongoing Israeli genocide in Gaza.
Expressing solidarity with the Palestinian people who are struggling to survive amid the Israeli war and hunger, the demonstrators also urged the Finnish government to formally recognise a Palestinian state without further delay.
Organised by Äitikapina, the Finnish unit of the international Mothers’ Rebellion, a sister organization of Extinction Rebellion (Elokapina in Finland), the protesters dressed in dominantly in black and red gathered at Narinkkatori, in front of the Kamppi shopping mall in Helsinki city centre in the afternoon to press home their demands.
They also criticised the Finnish government for not demanding a safe passage for the Global Sumud Flotilla and the Finnish participants among them, who are crossing the Mediterranean to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza.
An orchestra took part in the event, performing funeral music accompanied by moments of silence to elevate the atmosphere of mourning and sorrow throughout the one-hour gathering started at about 1:00 p.m.
The participants formed a circle around the orchestra, both standing and sitting. At times, there were occasional moments of tears among some attendees.
The Red Rebel Brigade (Veriprikaati), a performance art movement within Extinction Rebellion Finland, staged slow and silent walks in circles around them to draw attention to the ongoing emergency situation in Gaza.
Several passersby paused to reflect on the emotions evoked by the sorrowful atmosphere of the event which aimed to commemorate the lives of victims and survivors of the Israeli war crimes in Gaza.
“We feel great grief about the situation in Gaza, and we want to give people the opportunity to process the feelings of grief and despair the genocide evokes,” Reetta Ojala of Äitikapina, one of the coordinators of the event told Daily Finland.
“We also want to offer people a way to process their emotions. When the horrors and the despair are presented by means of art, that can awaken the need to do something in people,” she added.
Ojala said that all kinds of demonstrations are still needed and they like to organise their demonstrations in the style of the global Mothers’ Rebellion, to enable participation in a quieter but powerful way.
This event was the second silent, orchestral protest, following a similar demonstration organised on August 9 this year.
“At our previous demonstration, many passersby told us that it was the first time they had stopped to reflect on the grief caused by the situation of the children in Gaza. Therefore, we feel that there is a strong need for this kind of approach. At the same time, we want to raise awareness of the horrors the children are facing, so that more people would find the courage to say that this must stop,” said Ojala.
She expressed her disappointment over the Finnish government’s indifference to the pro-Palestinian movement’s demands despite continuous protests over the past two years.
“The Finnish government has taken no practical action to stop the genocide and occupation in Palestine,” she said, adding, “unfortunately, there seems to be no reason to stop gathering for free Palestine as the government is taking no action to be on the right side of history.”
The organisers told Daily Finland that they are demanding concrete action from the Finnish government to pressure Israel to halt its actions against Palestinian civilians and to guarantee that emergency aid reaches those in need, particularly children in Gaza.
They stressed that Finland must welcome paediatric patients from Gaza, noting that the Helsinki-Uusimaa Hospital District (HUS) HUS has already offered treatment for them.
The organisers urged the government to end all weapons trade with Israel and to formally recognise the state of Palestine.
Different countries including France, UK, Canada, Australia and Portugal already announced to recognise Palestine as a state at the outgoing UN General Assembly.
Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said on several occasions that the four-party alliance government is not preparing to recognise the Palestine as a state at this moment.
President Alexander Stubb, however, expressed his readiness in July to recognise a Palestinian state, if the government were to propose it.
The Prime Minister reportedly also tried to pursue the President to delay publicly disclosing his support for recognising a Palestinian state.
According to a recent survey, majority of the lawmakers in Finnish parliament support recognition of Palestine as a state.
Three major opposition parties in the parliament on September 19, 2025 submitted an interpellation against the four-party alliance government led by Kansallinen Kokoomus (National Coalition Party-NCP) over its failure to take measures in recognising a Palestinian state.
The State of Palestine is recognized as a sovereign state by 151 member countries of the United Nations out of the total 193 member states so far.
- Demonestration
- Helsinki
- Israeli
- Genocide
- Gaza
Source: www.dailyfinland.fi
