Association of Finnish Culture and Identity

The Association of Finnish Culture and Identity (Finnish: Suomalaisuuden Liitto) was established 100 years after Johan Vilhelm Snellman's birth.[1] Johannes Linnankoski was the first chairman. The Association was founded for preserving Finnish culture and language. Its founding members represented different parties. Due to its activities, many Finns changed their family name from a Swedish surname to a Finnish one. Before 1906, this had happened among those persons who wanted to show their support for the national idea of making Finland independent.

In the 1930s, Suomalaisuuden Liitto took part in the language strifes in the University of Helsinki. The future President of Finland Urho Kekkonen became a member of Suomalaisuuden Liitto in 1926. Another President, Risto Ryti, joined the very same year. The language question became the dominant issue for the second time in 1988 when Suomalaisuuden Liitto adopted a new programme. In June 2001, chairman Pentti Huttunen wrote an article in the magazine Suomen Mieli, that giving family names by the Swedish authorities before 20th century was unjust and "the free Finn does not accept unjust actions, he acts like Lalli and kills his oppressor" ("Vapaa suomalainen ei alisty vääryyksiin; hän tekee niin kuin Lalli eli surmaa sortajansa"). Because of the article an MP, Christina Gestrin as well as four other MPs in the parliamentary group of the Swedish People's Party made a written parliamentary question to the Minister of Justice asking, in what sense the minister considers, that the article did not mean, incitement to ethnic group (i.e. Swedish-speakers in Finland) according to the criminal codex of Finland, 11th chapter, 8 paragraph. Also the Prime Minister Paavo Lipponen commented the matter encouraging Suomalaisuuden Liitto to check its policies. The next year the state subsidies for consultation on the use of the flag of Finland for Suomalaisuuden Liitto were abolished as they did not serve in Swedish language, instead directing the inquiries to the Ministry of the Interior.