President Tarja Halonen said during a visit to the Åland Islands on Thursday that Finnish politicians should show caution when making statements on foreign affairs.
Responding to a question from a journalist, the President commented on recent statements by ministers of the National Coalition Party concerning Russia’s status as a great power.
She said that she had followed the debate “with great interest”. She said that she had noticed recently that the YLE journalist who had originally reported on the statements in Moscow was no longer working for the broadcaster.
“Relations with neighbours are always the most sensitive. We have a special relationship with each neighbouring country.”
Halonen said that as president, she had corrected a few misunderstandings that had emerged in public about neighbourly relations. This time she only spoke about precision.
She said that it is natural for a neighbour to give clear-cut reactions if assessments are made in the neighbouring country about their affairs. She also said that the Finnish media has a “very interesting way of reacting to different statements”.
Clarity is important. “We Finnish politicians need to be precise.”
Halonen said that Minister for Foreign Affairs Alexander Stubb (Nat. Coalition Party) had taken up the issue of “harmful preaching about human rights questions” inside the EU.
According to the President, Finnish politicians have very different ways of reacting to how human rights are discussed.
“Human rights need to be taken very seriously, but we need to find the ways to achieve cooperation. We need to think how to get matters really moving.”
President Halonen said that she been involved in speaking about boycotts and trade embargoes for years. However, thoughts have changed after the actions of Chile and South Africa.
“If a country is well developed, an embargo can have significance, but it is quite a different matter when we speak about a dictatorship, for instance. Boycotts can strengthen isolation.”
She emphasised that speaking about human rights requires skill.
Does Finland speak in one voice about foreign policy?
“If not in one voice, then hopefully with the same concept. Different shades of emphasis are permitted.”
She emphasised the importance of good behaviour and cooperation in foreign policy.
“I do not want to control the activities of non-governmental organisations and activists in any way. They work in their own way.”
