Juhani Suomi says President Koivisto delayed evacuation of Finns from areas near Chernobyl

New book published on Tuesday

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Professor Juhani Suomi says that when the Chernobyl nuclear accident took place, President Mauno Koivisto tried to delay evacuations of Finnish citizens from Kiev after the Chernobyl nuclear accident in April 1986.
      Suomi's slant on the events comes out in a new book published on Tuesday on the age of President Koivisto covering the years 1986 and 1987.
     
Suomi writes that Koivisto wanted to avoid problems in relations with the Soviet Union. At the same time he overruled Foreign Minister Paavo Väyrynen (Centre), who tried to organise evacuation flights.
      "Koivisto concedes in his memoirs that he bears full responsibility for delaying the flights by a day", Juhani Suomi said on Tuesday.
      "The motive was that the Soviet Union had repeated many times that no hasty conclusions should be drawn, which might hurt the reputation of the Soviet Union in some way. At the same time, the other Western countries were busy evacuating their citizens."
     
Väyrynen confirmed to Helsingin Sanomat on Tuesday that he had been surprised when the President called him to say that the evacuation flights should be delayed.
      "I said that the flights have to get started, but backed off. There was no great emphasis on the matter, and I do not know if the affair affected our relations. The matter was not revisited", Väyrynen recalled on Tuesday. He did not put interpretations on Koivisto's motives, but he understood that the President had been contacted from the Soviet Union.
     
Suomi describes himself as a "bank of historical information" in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. He was moved out of the political department of the Foreign Ministry in 1987 when Kalevi Sorsa (SDP) was Foreign Minister. Suomi was not in contact with President Koivisto while writing the book. Suomi denied that there was any bad blood between him and Koivisto.
      "On the contrary. Until the autumn of 1987 I took part in nearly all of the President's trips to the East Bloc. At his request I carried papers from Kekkonen's archives in Orimattila."


Previously in HS International Edition:
  No, Minister! (10.2.2008)
  Juhani Suomi puts series of Koivisto books on hold after two volumes (22.9.2006)
  Lipponen launches attack on new book about former President Koivisto (30.9.2005)
  Professor Juhani Suomi to switch from President Kekkonen to Koivisto (24.9.2003)

Helsingin Sanomat