Foreign Ministry admits to mistakes in tsunami aftermath

Information on Finnish dead bogged down in Foreign Ministry crisis centre

print this

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs has conceded that there were many shortcomings in its management of the aftermath of the tsunami in Southeast Asia, and its communications.
      In an assessment issued on Friday the Foreign Ministry admits that in the early phases of the situation, the crisis centre that was set up was not managed by anyone.
      According to the follow-up, there were problems with communication within the Foreign Ministry; already on the first day the crisis centre received eyewitness reports of Finns who had been killed in the disaster, but the information did not move forward in the ministry.
     
Many of those working at the crisis centre understood already at a very early stage that the disaster was a massive one, affecting hundreds of Finns. At that time the ministry was still telling the media that it had no knowledge that any Finns would be missing.
      In addition to the ministry's own staff, 150 volunteers worked at the crisis centre.
      The Foreign Ministry inspectors also found many shortcomings in overall preparedness. The consular affairs unit had not drafted a crisis programme, although it had been given the task to do so in 2002.
     
Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja (SDP) said on Friday that measures were already being taken to rectify the situation. However, he would not say if the crisis would lead to personnel changes at the ministry.
      "This requires more study. On the basis of this report I cannot yet say if there has been any official misconduct in this matter", Tuomioja said, adding that before any decisions are made, it would be necessary to wait for the report by the working group headed by former President Martti Ahtisaari.
      Tuomioja said that measures have already been taken to improve the situation: repairs have been made to the ministry's telephone and information systems. Communications have also been integrated more closely with the crisis preparedness system.
     
The report was not all negative; the response was found to have started rapidly. The level of commitment among the staff was high, with many working almost around the clock during the first week of the crisis.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Foreign Ministry line has eroded media confidence in the wake of tsunami (14.1.2005)
  Parliamentarians discuss information flow of Asian disaster (14.1.2005)
  Foreign Ministry spokesman denies strategy of playing down tsunami impact (13.1.2005)
  Ahtisaari group not looking to place blame on anybody (12.1.2005)
  Former President Martti Ahtisaari to lead tsunami response board of inquiry (10.1.2005)

Helsingin Sanomat