Finland apologizes to Asian countries over beauty queen racism scandal

Finland’s Prime Minister has apologized to Asian countries for “offensive” social media posts by a former Miss Universe contestant and several parliamentarians.

Controversy erupted after this year’s Miss Finland winner Sarah Dzafce posted a photo on social media earlier this month of her pulling the corners of her eyes with the caption “eating with a Chinese”.

His racist gesture was quickly condemned online before being deleted and Dzafce, who is not of Asian descent, later apologized.

But after the 22-year-old was stripped of her Miss Finland title last week, several members of the far-right Finns Party posted similar images of themselves making the same gesture in an apparent show of support.

This prompted Prime Minister Petteri Orpo to sincerely apologize for the “offensive” messages posted by lawmakers whose party is one of four that make up Finland’s governing coalition.

In a statement released Wednesday by the Finnish embassies in Japan, China and South Korea, Orpo said the posts “go against the values ​​of equality and inclusion upheld by Finland.”

“Racism and discrimination have no place in Finnish society,” he added. “The message we send to the Finnish people and to all our friends abroad is clear: the Finnish government takes racial discrimination seriously and is committed to addressing it. »

His statement comes just over a week after Dzarfe issued his own apology in a statement posted to Instagram.

“One of the most important things to me is respect for people, their backgrounds and their differences,” she wrote, adding: “I take responsibility for my actions and I will learn from them.”

But her apology was not enough to prevent her from being stripped of her title by the Miss Finland organization on Saturday. In a statement posted to Instagram, she said the content she posted was “offensive, harmful and completely contrary to the values” of the competition.

“The events of recent days have caused deep hurt, disappointment and concern both in Finland and internationally,” the statement added.

Dzarfe did not immediately respond when NBC News requested further comment Thursday.

However, the decision angered several Finnish party members, including lawmakers Juho Eerola and Kaisa Garedew, as well as Finnish Member of the European Parliament Sebastian Tynkkynen, who all shared similar images online in solidarity with Dzarfe.

NBC News has reached out to all three lawmakers for comment.

Eerola has since apologized, telling Japanese newspaper The Asahi Shimbun on Monday that he was “deeply sorry that my photo offended Asians.”

The Finns Party plans to discuss the issue at a weekly meeting on Thursday, according to Finnish national broadcaster Yle.

The scandal is the latest incident linked to this year’s turbulent Miss Universe pageant in Thailand, where organizers faced walkouts and accusations of rigging.