A student group at Lappeenranta University of Technology (LUT) in Eastern Finland that has used Nazi symbols now plans to change its logo.
On Thursday, the university’s student union told Yle that it has received many complaints about the group, including reports that members have made Nazi salutes and worn a logo resembling the World War II-era Nazi SS emblem.
The group, which has been around for at least a decade, calls itself Skinnarilan SikaKlupi, meaning roughly "the Skinnarila Pig Club", referring to the Lappeenranta neighbourhood where the university is located.
Yle reached out to the new leader of the group, who said he had been involved in its activities for about a year. Yle is not using his name because he is not a public figure and the group is not suspected of committing any crimes.
According to the leader, the group was planning to change its logo even before the recent furore, because it had been banned from using student union's facilities. The decision was made in early May, he said.
"On May Day, I was elected to the leadership position, and at the same time, we decided on new jackets with new logos," he said, adding that club members have not received feedback from anyone besides the student union.
The student union, on the other hand, said it has received "constant feedback" about disruptions caused by the group.
Responding to allegations that a Nazi flag was flown at an SSK event about a year ago, the leader said that it was brought by someone from outside the group.
He described the group as "loud and sometimes provocative, but harmless".
Halla-aho's daughter: "Unfortunate if someone is offended by our jokes"
Tabloid Ilta-Sanomat reported on Thursday that Hilma Halla-aho, a daughter of the Speaker of Parliament, Jussi Halla-aho (Finns), is a member of the group.
She told the paper that the group has been misunderstood.
"This is not an organisation or even an organised group, but I do belong to a group of friends," she said.
She added that she had worn a jacket with the SS logo, but that there is no symbolism attached to it.
"Yes, I've had a jacket like that. The SS on the jacket doesn't refer to Nazi symbols any more than the letters S in the logo of the band Kiss," Halla-aho said.
"It's unfortunate if someone gets offended by our group of friends' jokes, but they're not meant to offend anyone," she added.
Speaker of Parliament criticises use of Nazi symbols
Yle reached out to Hilma Halla-aho, but she declined to comment further.
Her father did comment to Yle, criticising the use of Nazi symbols by a university student group.
"I don't think that sounds very sensible," Jussi Halla-aho told Yle.
He said that he did not know that his daughter belonged to the group.
"This is the first time I'm hearing about this," he said.
In 2012, Jussi Halla-aho was convicted of hate speech for online statements about Somali immigrants and Islam. He was chair of the Finns Party from 2017 to 2021.
