Opposition against austerity policies hit streets in Helsinki

A major demonstration against the austerity plans of the Finnish government brought normal traffic largely to a standstill on Saturday afternoon and early evening in Helsinki.

Police said they detained nine people who had continued to block a street when the march had passed.

The organizers of the event said the idea is to bring to Finland the activism against tough fiscal policies. "The Finns are just awakening to this European trend", one of the arrangers Suvi Auvinen told the newspaper Helsingin Sanomat.

The demonstration got verbal support from several academic experts. Professor of Social Policy at the University of Helsinki, Heikki Hiilamo told the newspaper Helsingin Sanomat that large demonstrations indicate the fact that the people cannot find channels for their frustration.

Organizations that announced their support for the demonstration included the Finnish branch of the UN childrens fund UNICEF, many trade union local chapters and the Helsinki University student union.

Political signs were prohibited. In the march left wing activists were seen, but organizers said the event represented a wide array of political backgrounds. They said those detained had not followed instructions of the organizers.

Mass demonstrations against domestic policies have been rare in Finland. There have been marches to support a cause such as the Pride demonstrations for equality, but wide expressions of civic anger triggered by domestic issues have not been seen since the general strike in 1956. In the 1980s tens of thousands marched against U.S. plans to place intermediate range missiles in Europe, but the issue did not involve Finland directly.