Finland not to join cluster weapon ban

Arms deal from Spain cancelled, alternatives sought

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Finland will not sign the international treaty banning cluster weapons. The government’s foreign and security policy committee and President Tarja Halonen decided on the matter on Friday.
     
The treaty will be signed by about 120 countries, including several EU member states, such as France, Germany, Spain, Italy, and Denmark.
      Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen (Centre) said that cluster weapons are “such a significant part of Finland’s defence”.
      The main objections to cluster weapons, which spread small bomblets over a wide area, are that they can kill and maim civilians long after hostilities are over.
      MP Annika Lapintie (Left Alliance) feels that the decision harms Finland’s reputation as a supporter of peace at a time when former President Martti Ahtisaari was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
     
The decision to opt out of the treaty involved some deliberation.
      President Halonen is known to have wanted Finland to join the treaty at some point. However, this time around the decision did not include any suggestion of a future intent.
      Helsingin Sanomat has learned that the Finnish statement included two notations that the President felt were important. It was mentioned that Finland can revisit the issue when weapons technology develops. Halonen also felt that it is important for Finland to state that it supports the goals of the treaty, and that it will take part in the treaty through humanitarian mine clearance activities.
      This was not enough for one of the government parties, the Green League, which saiid immediately after the decision that it was a mistake. Green League chairwoman, Minister of Labour Tarja Cronberg, did not attend the committee’s meeting, but she had expressed her view in writing to the rest of the government and the President.
     
Finland already has artillery shells that can be classified as cluster weapons. In addition, Finland had intended to buy more from Spain next year. Now that deal has been cancelled, because Spain is becoming a signatory to the ban.
      The treaty will also bring changes to the world market in armaments. With the ban in place, the costs of cluster weapons could rise and delivery times increase.
      However, the major consequence is that with the ban and the new norms, manufacturers will change their production, and it will be years before they get new types of cluster weapons onto the market.
      Minister of Defence Jyri Häkämies (Nat. Coalition Party) says that Finland will keep tabs on changes in the market, and the development of new alternatives, and on that basis, new decisions on weapons purchases will be made.
      “Acquisitions must not be made in haste. We need to find a solution that can be used for a long period of time”, Prime Minister Vanhanen said.
     
In addition to the present artillery shells, Finland plans to get cluster weapons that can be fired with a grenade launcher.
      The main countries that Finland has bought cluster weapons from are Spain and Germany, both of which are joining the cluster weapons ban.
      In spite of the large number of signatories, only an estimated ten per cent of existing cluster weapons will be affected by the ban. Of the large producer countries, the Untied States, China, and Russia will be left outside the treaty.
      However, the reliability of Chinese and Russian weapons is not necessarily sufficient.
      “The primary country of acquisition will be the USA”, says researcher Pentti Olin of the Ministry of Defence. The United States does not have the same model of grenade launcher in production that was to have been bought from Spain.

More on this subject:
 EDITORIAL: From infantry land mines to cluster weapons

Previously in HS International Edition:
  Halonen: Finland probably not signing cluster weapons ban yet (27.10.2008)
  Seven questions about cluster weapons (3.6.2008)
  Finnish cluster weapon purchases raise criticism among NGOs meeting in Peru (24.5.2007)

Helsingin Sanomat