Nobel Peace Prize winner Martti Ahtisaari speaks of double standards in peace work

Former Finnish President has advice for Barack Obama

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Former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari openly concedes that there are moral inconsistencies linked with the peace work of the United Nations and the international community.
      Ahtisaari was speaking at a press conference in the Norwegian capital Oslo, where he is accepting this year’s Nobel Peace Prize for his extensive peace mediation work in various trouble spots around the world.
     
One example that he gave was the authorisation given by the Untied Nations Security Council in the 1990s for an attack on Iraq, after that country's occupation of Kuwait.
      Ahtisaari said that it would be a “terrible signal” if the organisation would fail to take the view that a large neighbour must not destroy a small one. He then noted that this is not how it goes in all crises.
      “Let us be thankful that we do the right thing at least sometimes. We still have a long way to go before we can proudly say that we always act like that.”
     
Ahtisaari also expressed concern about the future of the EU on a continent where only one country, Germany, has really confronted its own past.
      “We must think what the EU will ultimately be like, if the countries have not discussed the past.”
      The matter came up when Ahtisaari said that he is in favour of the EU membership of the Balkan countries.
      “Serbia needs to be able to live with its past, and to concede that something went seriously wrong in its relations with Kosovo, for example.”
     
Ahtisaari said that he had already planned to go into peaceful retirement, sitting in a rocking chair, reading good books. “However, after news came that I won the prize, I got lots of calls from friends, saying that I cannot step aside yet.”
      Ahtisaari joked that he had been told that his office receives 30 requests for help each day, whereas the office of former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan gets 200 a month.
      He also observed that too many cooks do not make for a good soup, adding that he does not intend to take part in attempts to resolve the problems of the Middle East.
      “Do not expect me to turn my coat and grab environmental issues from Al Gore.”
     
The prize money of about EUR one million is to be deposited in a bank account.
      “After that, I will negotiate with my wife. She's the one who deals with our money matters.”
      Ahtisaari also said that he will offer advice to US President-elect Barack Obama in the lecture that he will give in connection with the prize ceremony on Wednesday.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Martti Ahtisaari wins 2008 Nobel Peace Prize (10.10.2008)

Helsingin Sanomat