Serb newspapers lanch onslaught against Martti Ahtisaari

print this

Two popular newspapers in Serbia have launched an onslaught against former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari, the United Nations Special Envoy for Kosovo.
      On Wednesday, the newspaper Nedelnji Telegraf claimed that Ahtisaari's father Oiva Ahtisaari had been a member of the Wiking division of Germany's Waffen SS, which comprised Nordic volunteers.
      The paper referred to him by the name Oiva Adolfsen, although he used the Finnish name Ahtisaari from 1935 onwards.
      In Thursday's edition, the Kurir newspaper had a picture of Ahtisaari with a Hitler-style moustache.
      Neither newspaper mentioned any sources. Both are popular late-edition tabloids which mix entertainment issues with investigative stories on politics.
     
In Vienna, Ahtisaari's spokesmanRemi Dourlot dismissed the newspapers' claims on Thursday evening, calling them "trash, despicable, and not worthy of further comment".
      According to official biographical information, Ahtisaari's father Oiva Ahtisaari served as a technician in the local military force, and as a military technician before the war in Vyborg, and during the war he was a soldier on the front.
      A book on the Finnish volunteers in the Waffen-SS by historian Mauno Jokipii, which includes the names of all known Finnish SS volunteers, has no mention of an Ahtisaari or an Adolfsen.
     
Martti Ahtisaari headed difficult negotiations last year on the future of Kosovo, which is still formally a part of Serbia. Last week he published a proposal on the future status of the province.
      The proposal calls for giving Kosovo de facto independence in stages, under the supervision of the EU and under certain conditions.
      Many Serbs feel that Ahtisaari is biased in favour of the Kosovar Albanians and their desire for independence.
      On Thursday Ahtisaari said that he would agree to Serbia's request to postpone final talks on the position of Kosovo by about a week. However, he also said that he will present a final proposal on the matter to the UN Security Council in March.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Kosovo: impatience grows (25.1.2007)
  Ahtisaari focus of anger in Kosovo; full independence demanded (25.1.2007)

Helsingin Sanomat