Finland’s prime minister apologized on Wednesday to China, South Korea and Japan in an effort to quash a growing racism scandal in the country.
Over the past few days, lawmakers in Finland’s most prominent anti-immigration party have posted pictures of themselves pulling back their eyelids, apparently in support of a Finnish beauty queen who was stripped of her crown last week for making a similar gesture.
“I sincerely apologize for recent offensive social media posts by individual members of Parliament, which do not reflect Finland’s values of equality and inclusion,” Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said in a Chinese-language statement posted on social media on Wednesday by the Finnish Embassy in China.
Finland’s embassies in South Korea and Japan shared similar statements on social media.
The controversy began this month when pictures surfaced on social media of Sarah Dzafce, Finland’s representative to the Miss Universe pageant, pulling her eyelids back at a slant, according to Helsingin Sanomat, Finland’s largest newspaper.
Ms. Dzafce apologized in an Instagram statement last week.
“One of the most important things for me is respect for people, their backgrounds and differences,” she said, adding, “I take responsibility for my actions and will learn from this.”
The Miss Finland Organization then stripped her of her title, saying in a statement that her comment was “offensive, harmful and completely against the values” of the pageant.
Ms. Dzafce did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The loss of her title angered lawmakers in the Finns Party, a populist, anti-immigration party that is part of Mr. Orpo’s governing coalition.
Two Finnish members of Parliament, Juho Eerola and Kaisa Garedew, and a Finnish lawmaker in the European Parliament, Sebastian Tynkkynen, posted social media images similar to the ones Ms. Dzafce posted. Ms. Garedew said in her caption that she was giving herself a temple massage; Mr. Eerola and Mr. Tynkkynen posted captions in support of Ms. Dzafce.
Mr. Eerola has since apologized. “I am deeply sorry that my photo caused offense to Asian people,” he told The Asahi Shimbun, a Japanese newspaper.
Ms. Garedew declined to apologize in an interview with Iltalehti, a Finnish tabloid. Mr. Tynkkynen criticized China in a post on Instagram and said resisting Ms. Dzafce’s “cancellation” was the right choice.
The three lawmakers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Mr. Orpo has denounced the posts as “childish” and “stupid.” But the controversy is still brewing in Finland. The national broadcaster, Yle, reported that the lawmakers’ party is set to meet on Thursday to discuss it.
Amelia Nierenberg is a Times reporter covering international news from London.
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