The mayor of Easter Island Pedro Edmunds Paoa says that the Finnish tourist that cut part of an ear from one of the island’s famous Moai-statues should pay for his crime with his own ear.
“An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth as the saying goes. An ear for an ear, that would be justice according to my understanding”, the mayor said to Chilean radio yesterday, according to the the Finnish news agency FNB-STT via Vasabladet’s website.
The mayor was clearly not placated by the Finnish tourist’s letter of apology in which he wrote that he deeply regretted his actions and apologised to the Chilean authorities and Easter Island’s residents.
The 26-year old Finnish tourist cut a part of the ear off of the 4 metre high statue on Easter Sunday and is now waiting to find out his penalty on Easter Island. In similar cases this has been a fine.
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Sunday 30.3.08 at 0:47
Natiivi
There were more column meters published on the death of Princess Diana than there were on the invasion at Normandy. Soon there will be more column meters on this earlobe of the moai statute (1 out of 400-1000, the hungry media does not even know the number) than there are columns on the massive Buddha statutes annihilated by the Taleban regime.
This countryman of mine has been lynched high. Ear off. 7 years in a South American prison. After this publicity, even a day in a South American jail would kill him.
And as I read the actual story behind the News from Congoo to Australia, it seems to me that he’s not proven to break it by purpose.
A high-octan, adrenaline addict adventurer climbs on a top of a high and sacred monument. Bad enough. The Finn brokes the ear of this fragile lava type of stone. Worse enough. My countryman tries to hide it and runs away. Worst enough. (OK, Oll Korrect, he confessed what happened later on.) But this does not prove him a thief though the whole globe would shout and shoot so!
It was the Easter week at the Easter Island. The same week the Finnish leaders of the Botnia pulp factory at the border river between Uruguay and Argentine were on trial in a South American court for “Planned damage”. After Finnish flags had been burnt in the streets of Argentine for 3 years for this biggest investment ever to the poor country of Uruguay. We have a classical scape goat and red herring here, it appears to me. Not every tattood boxer is suffering from Dementia pugilistica. In Finland we enjoy extreme sports, but the aim was not to vandalize it appears to me. So now we know we should prefer Tibet over the highest 22-meter Moai for climbing. That I want to apologize.
An outrageous mob wanting to lynch a man is an old scene, only the internet phenomenon is new. A raging mob behaves irrationally when it goes out to lynch. In AOL there are already over 3200 News comments on this (versus 5500 on the US presidential election campaign), 314000 votes, 52% would sentence him to de facto death in South American jail, without knowing whether it was an alleged theft or an accident from climbing. If it bleads, it leads.
Few FACTS about Finland
Finland has been the least corrupt country in the world in the transparency international throughout the 3rd millennium. In the OECD’s international assessment of student performance, PISA, Finland has consistently been among the highest scorers worldwide; in 2003, Finnish 15-year-olds came first in reading literacy, science, and mathematics; and second in problem solving, worldwide. The World Economic Forum ranks Finland’s tertiary education #1 in the world. In 1906, Finland became the first European nation (and one of the first in the world) to grant women the right to vote and run for parliament. Finland’s most famous company is Nokia, the world’s largest producer of mobile phones. Just 30 years ago, Nokia company was selling mainly tiers and rubber boots.The most famous Finnish person alive today is Linus Torvalds, who originated (and still maintains) Linux, the shareware free computer operating system. It has been embraced especially in the developing countries, instead of the commercial Microsoft Windows.
Pauli Ojala
Finland
PS. Another viewpoint on the hang-up party:
http://www.helsinki.fi/~pjojala/Easter-island-broken-ear-mob-lynch.htm
Sunday 30.3.08 at 15:05
Jonas
Thanks for your lengthy comment. I don’t the think the world interest has much to do with the tourist being Finnish, so I don’t think you need to take it as some kind of closeted attack on us or our country – so I don’t really think that you need to bring Pisa, corruption or the OECD into this. Personally I didn’t know it was being so widely reported globally until you have drawn my attention to this. I got this story, which I found amusing, from Vasabladet’s website and indeed it’s in Husis too.
Nice that you think a Swedish-speaking Finn is the most famous Finnish person alive though – at least you managed a link to this blog’s theme somehow
Friday 19.3.10 at 21:01
mrmarchant
DO NOT F#####G BREAK NATIONAL MONUMENTS! the person who did this deserves to be punished. it makes no difference where that person comes from so stop trying to make out hes the victim. jail is what he should get, a hard lesson but thats what happens when you take it apon yourself to destroy somthing thats 4000 years old and can never be replaced. deal with it.
thank you
mrmarchant.
Sunday 4.4.10 at 17:30
Jonas
Hi Mr Marchant, thank you for your ‘lively’ worded comment. I am not sure where you get the impression that I am making out the Finnish person to be the victim. This posting lacks essentially any editorialising, I only included it because of its ‘bizarre’ value. In any case, this story is from a long time ago… but nice of you to drop by!