U.S. CUSTOMS OFFICIALS ABUSE TOP FINNISH BAND

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JEAN HOPFENSPERGER, STAR TRIBUNE - When three of Finland's most popular
musicians, including one described as that country's Bruce Springsteen,
arrived for a recent tour in Minnesota, they expected a quick trip
through airport customs. Instead, immigration agents at the
Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport subjected them to more than
two hours of interrogation that the musicians considered so harsh and
demeaning that they filed a formal complaint with the U.S. Embassy in
Helsinki.
"It was almost three hours of screaming, door-slamming and accusations,
according to the report I received," said Marianne Wargelin, honorary
Finnish consul for the Dakotas and most of Minnesota, which has the
second largest Finnish-American population in the nation.

Erkki Maattanen, a filmmaker for Finnish Public Television who
accompanied the musicians on the September trip, said his questioners
seemed to think the entourage was smuggling drugs or intending to work
without a permit. "I kept trying to tell them why we were here, but
they'd just yell, 'Shut up!"' he said. . .

"They threatened us with severe punishments if we talk to each other,"
according to the complaint signed by musicians Ninni Poijärvi and Mika
Kuokkanen, "Through the walls, I can hear officers yelling, screaming.
They ask about the purpose of our trip -- except we are only allowed to
give yes-or-no answers. I try to talk about our plans to meet with
Finnish-American folk musicians. Nobody listens. They interrupt me
constantly and they yell, 'You are a liar!"'. . .

The four were eventually released with no explanation and no apology,
the complaint said.

http://www.startribune.com/462/story/1513926.html

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