Subject: FINLAND UPDATE
From: Hannele Lehtikuusi <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 1 Feb 1996 16:36:11 +0200 (EET)

FINLAND UPDATE 1 st of FEBRUARY
by Hannele Lehtikuusi
chairperson of SETA (National Gay and Lesbian Organization)

This longish text will give you up to date information 
on the situation in Finland. Situation has been heated up since 
SETAs inquiry to the Minister Groups coincided with thenews 
about the celebrity. The afternoon press has labeled SETAs actions
as "taking advantace of the publicity of Dahlgren". SETA has tried 
for years now to work exremely active on the issue... but more below.

WHAT'S GOING ON IN FINLAND

On January 24, the Finnish national gay and lesbian organization SETA
sent an inquiry to the government ministries.

SETA is asking two questions:

1. Should there be a law about gay marriage in Finland?

2. What would be the timetable of preparing on such a law and
   when would the goverment be ready to present the law proposal
   to the Parliament?

SETA in looking forward to having the answers by February 16. SETA
will hold a press conference about this matter hopefully already
on February 19.

The Finnish Ministry of Justice has prepared a report on
preparations of this law. So far it is known that this report 
is available on the 5th February latest.

The media has been paying a welcome interest in the situation in
Finland and in the inquiry. Mostly it has been strongly connected 
to the "marriage" of the Swedish celebrity Eva Dahlgren.
and seen as if had propelled all this inquiry and demands of 
the gay community for equal rights.

Today it has been in the afternoon papers that there are people 
from the National Coalition Party wo are propagating/campaigning
to bring up strong opposal to the preparation of this law. 

SOME HISTORY  - SOME PROGRESS - SOME BACKLASHES

The debate about gay marriage has been going on since the beginning
of this decade. The legislation was recommended after thorough 
comittee preparations during 1992. There was also a private bill 
handed in by MP Ojala (Left-Wing Alliance) 1993. This was effectively
buried by further comittee work and also by the Central Party
Ministers (Mrs Pokka and Mrs Jaatteenmaki). Private bill of course
dissolved in March 1995 due to the Parliament elections.

There has also been a massive project going on in form of a
fundamental reform of the Finnish Constitution and Penal Code. 
It is proceeding by stages, and so far it has been a pleasure to 
watch the results. Last Autumn, the anti-discrimination law 
(Penal Code) saw the daylight. Also, the Constitution confirmed
the equal rights of all citizens, making it clear in its 
explanatory statement that discrimination on the basis of sexual
orientation is prohibited. The Constitution has been the most
important element in our favour in this debate.

The progress of the law reform stagnated during the term of the 
previous Parliament. A lot of attention was paid by the Media, but
there were no results from the Ministries or in the Parliament. The
debate surfaced three times during these past years. First of all, the
gay marriage laws in Norway and Sweden speeded the situation up a bit.
Then SETA organized in August 1994, in connection with the Helsinki
Gay Pride, a visibility campaign in which four couples were married 
in the Park next to the Administrative buildings of the City of
Helsinki. It was a very moving moment, even representatives from the
tabloid papers were crying. The issue has been debated also in 
the election campaigns.

BACKGROUND TO THE PRESENT SITUATION

SETA has been lobbying the new Parliament strongly and has mostly
received positive reactions to the law proposal. Maybe the long
process, taking place simultaneously with Norway and Sweden, is
finally coming to an end this year and the law proposal will be 
presented by the goverment at last.

The goverment currently consists of Social democrats, the 
National Coalition Party, the Left-Wing Alliance, the Swedish 
People's Party and the Greens. This goverment is also called the
Rainbow Goverment (which sounds nice. ;).

After the last Parliament elections, and after the goverment was
formed, hopes were high. All parties in the goverment had been 
more or less in favour of gay marriage. The new Minister of Justice
(National Coalition Party) Mr Niinisto had no strong feelings about
this law proposal. Unfortunately, the Minister of Justice is being 
replaced on Friday, February 2, making the future of the precipitated
law quite insecure.

Still, we will know more in a forthnight, when the answers to
the SETA inquiry are at hand. At that time, SETA will also be 
presenting a study on gay marriage titled 
"Officially strangers" (Virallisesti ventovieraat)
which  refers to the taxation law and the handling of the legal 
position of ones partner in cases of next of kin and in case of 
death.

---------------------------------------------------------------

For those from press the below information might be 
also interesting:

UP TO DATE CONNECTIONS

The attitudes of the new Minister of Justice and National Coalition Party

Today the new  Minister of Justice Mr. Kari Hakamies will be in a 
well known (and widely hated) talk show. He has told that he will 
declare his opinions on this matters tomorrow (2nd of February)
when he is receiving his post as the Minister.  So we are 
really waiting for tomorrow. 

The Ministers of the National Coalition Party will talk on the 7th of February
about the questions SETA sent  (see in the beginning of this text)
 last week. Most probably also decide on their approach and
attitude on the wished and waited law on gay marriage.

The contact to Minister Hakamies (from the 2nd of February)
tel + 358 0 1825 7500.

The opposition of the Human Rights of Gays and Lesbians in Finland

The Chair of the Parlamental Group of National Coalition Party Mr. Ben
Zyskowitcz declared today at Iltasanomat (afternoon paper) that the minister of 
Justice has "defeantelly more important and more pressing work to do than 
bring up this law proposal". This is not the first time he is 
expressing his homophobia and dismissed the human righs of
gays.

Telephone number to Mr. Zyskowitcz at The House of Parliament
tel. +358 0 4323 240