Nokia Siemens Networks employees back in Dubai after Iran adventure

print this

The Finnish Embassy in the United Arab Emirates waited in vain on Saturday to get a chance to welcome back three Finnish citizens who had been held by Iranian authorities on the island of Abu Musa.
      The Finns slipped back into Dubai without the knowledge of the Finnish Embassy at about one in the afternoon local time. The group, who were in a fishing boat in the Persian Gulf, had been detained by the Iranians after straying into waters claimed by Iran.
      The provisional charge d'affaires, Esa Hurtig learned about their arrival sometime later in the local media.
      The Finnish Embassy in Iran learned about the matter from the men's employer, Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN).
      "Iran has not confirmed to us that the men have been allowed to go", said Ambassador Heikki Puustinen in Teheran. He said that he expected the matter to be discussed at a meeting later on Sunday with Iranian colleagues.
      NSN head of communications Barry French said that the men had asked that their identities be kept a secret.
      "The men are with their families now. They are in excellent condition, and pleased to be back", French said.
      Hurtig, who had been waiting for the members of the fishing expedition, would have liked to hear more about their ordeal.
      "I suspect that Nokia will make an announcement eventually, when they can, or when they want to give out more information. There isn't much else that can be done", he said, commenting on the scant information that was being made available.
     
Many others have expressed wonder why so little information has been given out on the Finnish men and their movements. Local newspapers published only a few small news items on the whole event.
      One factor is that the whole area was hit by a major catastrophe in the form of a storm, which reportedly killed 49 people in the cities of the neighbouring country Oman. The event was the focus of local media attention at the time.
      However, many in the Finnish community in Dubai note that the company itself has infrastructure projects underway in the Middle East, which are important for governments in the area.
      Slow flow of information is not rare in the Arab countries. Dissemination of news is often handled according to the wishes of companies involved.
      Ambassador Puustinen notes that Nokia Siemens Networks has a powerful position in the region.
      "Nokia is our most important export company here in the whole [Persian Gulf] region", he said.
      NSN is currently building a new 3G mobile telephone network in the UAE. The company also has large projects in Iran.
      The three NSN employees apparently sailed too close to the island of Abu Musa in the Persian Gulf a week ago Saturday. Iran claims the island as its own.
      Iran detained the men, but let them go on Wednesday after questioning. Because of poor weather conditions the men were not able to return to Dubai before Saturday.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Iran releases Finnish businessmen (7.6.2007)
  Finns held by Iran to be returned to where they stopped (8.6.2007)
  Iran arrests three Nokia Siemens employees in Persian Gulf (6.6.2007)

Helsingin Sanomat