"From now on, people crossing the border in Tornio will have their documents checked by the police," stated the Finnish Interior Ministry.
The northern Finnish city of Tornio forms a cross-border twin city with the town of Haparanda in Sweden; together they have 32 500 inhabitants.
Auch Finnland macht die #grenzendicht (zw. Tornio und schwedischem Haparanda) #refugeeswelcome http://t.co/aVy2g4rrgW
— Michael Dorninger (@mikadorn) 19 сентября 2015
Police begin monitoring the border crossing in Tornio, announces Interior Ministry.
The system of border cooperation between the towns was established so that the region could "enjoy the benefits of two countries but address the obligations of one country," according to the Finnish administration of Lapland.
"We oppose so many asylum-seekers coming to Finland," one couple at the demonstration told Finnish broadcaster YLE.
"We have only seen men, no families. These are welfare refugees and that is why we are protesting," explained another protestor.
100 HUMAN WALL MANNED AT TORNIO-HAPARANDA BORDER WITH FINLAND AND SWEDEN……. http://t.co/tWFMbPfIJl pic.twitter.com/k1mNxhQsY8
— Cain Abel (@kaihnandabel) 20 сентября 2015
Earlier this month YLE reported that up 300 people illegally cross the border into Tornio every day.
According to official figures released last week, 11,263 people have sought asylum in Finland so far in 2015. The Interior Ministry expects 30,000 asylum seekers to reach Finland this year, almost ten times the 3,651 people who claimed asylum in Finland in 2014.
