Parliamentarians discuss information flow of Asian disaster

print this

Utilisation of information provided by the public became the main issue when the Parliament’s Administration Committee met with communications experts while discussing the flow of information in connection with the recent tsunami in Asia.
      The committee was the first Finnish Parliamentary body to get official information on the course of the disaster. The Foreign Affairs Committee will get a report from government ministers today, Thursday, and the Prime Minister will present a report to a plenary session of Parliament on February 3rd.
      Taking part in the meeting were Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen (Centre), Minister of the Interior Kari Rajamäki (SDP), and Social Services Minister Liisa Hyssälä (Centre), as well as 14 other experts from various ministries, the National Bureau of Investigation, the Finnish Lutheran Church, the Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities, and the Finnish Red Cross.
     
Administration Committee chairman Matti Väistö (Centre), said that it was clear that the initial image that came out of the situation was splintered, and gradually became clearer.
      A focal point in the discussions was how the Internet could be better utilised, and how better to deal with information available online, and offered directly by members of the public.
      Officials have been criticised for being slow in getting a picture of the extent of the disaster, even though information was available, at least on the Internet.
      Väistö pointed out that the embassies in the area had fairly few people at the time of the disaster, and that in such situations, resources quickly run out.
      The committee also discussed organisational management issues. Väistö said that it should be considered whether or not the Ministry for Foreign Affairs is the best organisation to deal with these kinds of situations.
     
Pentti Partanen, the head of rescue services at the Ministry of the Interior, put forward the idea that a constantly-manned operations centre could be useful in such situations.
      The Administration Committee opened its session with a moment of silence, and a candle burned on the committee’s table during the meeting.
      The committee will listen to more experts once the board of inquiry led by former President Martti Ahtisaari completes its work.
     
After the meeting, Prime Minister Vanhanen commented on views expressed by MEP and former Interior Minister Ville Itälä (Nat. Coalition), who said that the aftermath of the disaster was dealt with by the wrong Finnish government ministry.
      Vanhanen emphasised that promoting the interests of Finnish citizens abroad is a task for the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. He added that the crisis organisation is tightly-knit, and that decisions are made in close cooperation.
      He also responded to recent comments that former President Ahtisaari might have a conflict of interest as head of the board of inquiry, because of his close connections with the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.
      "I believe that Finns see him as a person who thinks very independently", Vanhanen said.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  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