President Sauli Niinistö is concerned about the increasingly entrenched positions that are appearing in the Finnish political climate when it comes to security questions and the risks presented by the country’s eastern neighbour. He expressed his apprehension in his remarks to national defence course participants in Helsinki on Monday.
“There’s one camp that says Finland should join NATO now more than ever, and then there’s the other that says the Finland should never join,” the president explained.
As an example of the heightened confrontational tone in the debate, Niinistö pointed out recent claims that Finland is somehow not free to criticize Russia openly.
“For me, repeating this trope is absurd. Finland’s leaders have clearly and without delay condemned Russia’s actions in Crimea, Ukraine and in Syria, too. During the last parliamentary elections, stories with big headlines explored every possible Russian attack plan on Finland, but now the Åland Islands, which were previously overlooked, have even been overrun,” he said.
Little medium ground on Russia
Niinistö said he’s not sure just what could possibly have been censored in Finland’s current inflamed Russia discourse.
“Pundits are competing to be heroes: who has the harshest things to say about Russia. This requires ingenuity,” said the president.
On the other side of this spectrum are those that complain that criticism of Russia has gone too far, said Niinistö. The President is concerned about some Finns becoming numb to the public scare tactics.
“If attacks and war are being envisioned on paper daily, it gets under your skin. The same thing happened in the Russian discussion of the Crimea situation, where some people hinted at the possible use of nuclear weapons.”
Joint military exercises divide too
Niinistö also pointed out another sensitive subject in the recent security policy debate: Finland’s military exercises with Sweden, NATO and the US.
“Some people are of the opinion that Finland’s non-aligned status is being jeopardized, while others advise that we shouldn’t waste any time in joining them.”
The President said that while it is true that Finland is now engaging in more defence cooperation with the west, it still does so according to its own merits and requirements.
Niinistö affirmed in his Monday speech that Finland’s current foreign and security policy line - with its emphasis on diplomacy and dialogue - will continue as it is, unabated.
“It’s not in Finland’s best interests to feed this deeply polarised discussion. It would be wise to have some tools for reducing its confrontational elements.”
Hybrid conflict readiness at risk
In his address to the course participants, Sauli Niinistö also brought up the challenges that new hybrid conflicts present for the country’s legislation. He says that in the event of a crisis, it is unclear whether current changes proposed to Finnish defence readiness laws guarantee a swift-enough response.
“It should be made clear in all circumstances that extraordinary measures can be invoked without a problem. At the moment, there is a gap between normal operations and the declaration of emergency powers in the case of a hybrid response. This hole must be investigated and, if necessary, closed,” the president stated.
The national defence course is a quarterly event arranged by the Defence Forces, intended to brief key civilian and military figures on the latest developments in Finland's foreign, security and defence policies.
