(http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/2425851.jpg)Plans to issue Finnish nationals and foreigners differently coloured ID cards has been picked up on outside of Finland, reports the tabloid Iltalehti.
"ACCORDING to the website EUobserver, the employees of an anti-racist campaign have been particularly offended by the decision of the Finnish authorities to start issuing foreign citizens in Finland ID cards that are a clearly different colour from those issued to Finnish citizens.
The head of the Brussels-based anti-racist organisation ENAR, Michaël Privot describes the reform of the ID card system in Finland as 'legalised ethnic profiling'.
'I wonder if the blue refers to the stereotypically blue eyes of Finns and the brown to the skin colour of foreigners? The world is full of colours, so choosing these two definitely raises questions,' Privot says.
Project manager Ismo Parviainen of the Finnish police force's governing board justifies the new colours with reference to increased ease of monitoring.
We wanted the colours on the cards to stand out more easily. We wanted to make the work of the police easier and to make the recognition of valid travelling documents easier than before,' Parviainen comments.
Privot doesn't uncritically accept the justification given by the Finnish authorities.
'We dispute the claim that differently coloured cards would make monitoring easier,' Privot says.
According to Privot, it is likely that the ID cards with different colours will increase discrimination in different areas of life. He points out that foreigners will now have to produce an ID that differentiates them from Finnish nationals in situations where they may not want to emphasise their foreignness."
"Helsinki Times".