President Halonen criticises proposed US terror legislation

President warns against breaking achievements of Geneva accords

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By Pekka Mykkänen in New York
     
      President Tarja Halonen says that it is a mistake for the US administration to try to redefine Common Article 3 of the Geneva Convention banning cruel and degrading treatment of prisoners. She feels that in the war against terror, it is important not to become like those who do ignore international treaties.
      "Non-democracy and violations of human rights are a contagious disease."
      "I believe that results that have been achieved should not be broken. We must see the risks to security from a different angle", Halonen said in an interview with Helsingin Sanomat during the UN General Assembly.
     
Halonen noted that relations between Finland and the United States are in good shape. She said that there is no reason to worry over the fact that she has not been invited to the White House, or that US President George W. Bush has not visited Finland.
      "Everything that Bush does with regard to me is evaluated in a negative light. I have taken part in the democracy panel here at Bush's invitation, for instance."
      "I feel that he treats me quite properly. There is nothing strange going on here", Halonen said in her room at the Millennium UN Plaza hotel, which has a view to UN Headquarters. "There is no point in turning something that is not a problem into a problem."
      Halonen says that Finland should be happy that it is not on the list of countries that the United States is constantly worried about.
     
Without underscoring the point too much, Halonen found both positive and negative aspects to the activities of the present US administration. She is pleased that the Bush Administration has emphasised the need for reform at the UN. She added that the relation between the US and the world organisation was nevertheless "a bit strange".
      "However, it is good to remember that this is an organisation for all members", Halonen said during the interview on Thursday evening.
      In Halonen's opinion, one positive aspect of Bush's UN speech was that he emphasised the two-state principle as a solution to the long-standing problems of Israel and the Palestinians.
      "I think that it has been positive that the Middle East has been raised to the status that it deserves. The sad and shocking conflict in South Lebanon brought the whole of the Middle East to the forefront here", is how the President assessed the most significant result of the week, during which the UN General Assembly was featuring speeches from the member countries.
      Halonen emphasised the significance of the terror attacks of September 11th, 2001 as a force that changed world politics. She also said that she understands the need for the United States to fight against terrorism. However, she feels that the way that it has chosen is too heavy-handed.
      Halonen does not feel that it is acceptable to use the wrong means, even if the intentions are good.
     
The attempt by the administration to redefine the Geneva Convention got a group of key Republicans, such as Senator John McCain, to rebel against Bush last week. The dispute was a continuation of a long series of scandals in the US war on terror.
      A few hours after Halonen's interview, Bush and the rebels in the Senate said that they had come to an agreement, in which Bush stepped back from his demand to change the US interpretation of the Geneva Convention.
      Halonen believes that Finnish leaders have done well during the EU Presidency and the Lebanon crisis. She does not agree that the government would have been slow at the beginning of the crisis, or that it had been unclear if the Prime Minister or Foreign Minister should have been more visibly involved.
      "We might sometimes feel satisfaction in a job well done."
      The distribution of power between the President and the Government in Finland is a subject that gets Halonen to open up her vault of words. She sees no problems in the matter. She says that cooperation between the President and the government "has probably gone better than some in the opposition would have hoped."
      "Or part of the opposition. Let's not blame everyone."
      Halonen notes that when the Centre Party was outside the government, they "came separately to say that according to parliamentary principle, they were in opposition to the government".
      Halonen noted that the Centre Party used "a nearly British choice of words" to indicate that they wanted to be in good cooperation with the President.
     
Now she says that she noticed a setup, in which "the President is the target of more parliamentary criticism than usual in the eyes of at least some politicians".
      Halonen emphasises that in order to bring matters forward there would be reason to seek unanimity on content, rather than focusing only on fine points of law.
      Halonen says that she has followed the events of Hungary with great concern. However, she noted that the Hungarians have made it through much more difficult times as well.
      "They also have as their starting point that they need to be able to handle these matters like a modern democratic country does."
     
The question of the importance of the EU in the eyes of the United States is a complicated matter. In her view, the significance of the EU is at its strongest when the member states talk about the same issue with the same thoughts.
      "I think that the value and credibility of the European Union grow through practice", Halonen observes.
      In the president's view, the dispute between Iran and the Untied States is a good example of how the EU has succeeded in acting as a balancing factor between two hostile sides. She said that she trusts that the United States wants to resolve its nuclear weapons dispute through diplomatic means.
      "They have made assurances to this effect, and I want to believe them."
     
So is the world safer or more dangerous now with respect to terrorism and other threats?
      According to the President, a change has taken place. During the Cold War there were only two blocks. Now the picture is more splintered.
      "I have sometimes said with some irony that the world is unfortunately increasingly getting to resemble the world of Harry Potter, where evil can exist anywhere."
     
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 23.9.2006


Previously in HS International Edition:
  President Tarja Halonen denounces United States policy on terrorism (25.9.2006)

PEKKA MYKKÄNEN / Helsingin Sanomat
pekka.mykkanen@hs.fi