From: Hannele Lehtikuusi Subject: FINLAND UPDATE 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