[Marxism] The Peace Nobel winner Martti Ahtisaari and his politics

[Joonas Laine <jjonas@xxxxxx>]

Last night (or was it Friday) on Finnish TV Ahtisaari, a right-wing 
social democrat, was urging Finland (and Sweden) to join Nato. He was 
afraid that Finland is becoming the freak of the "western value 
community" by staying outside.

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Nobel Prize For Peace: Again In Europe          
October 10, 2008, 3:52 pm
Frank Church
http://www.cubanow.net/pages/loader.php?sec=12&t=2&item=5575

Former Finland 10th President, Martti Ahtisaari was awarded the 2008 
Nobel Prize for Peace due to his "important efforts, on several 
continents and over more than three decades to resolve international 
conflicts", according to the Norwegian Nobel Institute.

However, his career hasn't been pink color at all times. The Finnish 
diplomat and politician certainly has been carrying international 
efforts as a mediator for a long time, most recently as UN Special Envoy 
to the Kosovo status process that segregated the province from Serbia.

[..]

Although his term [as the presidenti of Finland, 1994-2000] was 
generally positive for Finnish citizens and Ahtisaari travelled 
extensively to meet them, in January 1998 the President was criticized 
for awarding medals of honor to Indonesian candidates involved in the 
destruction of rain forests.

[The medals were awarded, among others, to the main owner of a 
consortium whose subsidiary cooperated with the Finnish paper giant 
UPM-Kymmene in Indonesian rainforests.]

Criticism was higher because of Jakarta's involvement at the time with 
human rights violations especially in East Timor, considered to be 
tarnishing for the public image of Finnish human rights policy.

His tenure was also marked by Finland's entry to the European Union, 
supported only by 56 percent of the population. In the post-presidential 
period, he accepted positions in various international positions.

[..]

In November 2005, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan appointed the Finnish 
politician as Special Envoy for the Kosovo status process to determine 
whether it should become independent or remain a province of Serbia.

He got "full endorsement" by the United States in his work focused in an 
internationally-monitored independence for Kosovo as a settlement. 
Finally, after mounting tension, Kosovo unilaterally declared its 
independence from Serbia in last February.

Ahtisaari was also a stern supporter of U.S. aggression and occupation 
to Iraq. In November 2003 he stated that "since I know that about a 
million people have been killed by the government of Iraq, I do not need 
much those weapons of mass destruction".

Even in Finland, his handling peace processes have been heavily 
criticized. Peace activist Johan Galtung claimed that "Ahtisaari does 
not solve conflicts but drives through short-term solutions that please 
western countries".

Galtung also believes that Ahtisaari "lets the European Union make use 
of him" and doesn't hesitate to favor solutions that bypass the United 
Nations and international law. Anyway, his 1.4 million dollars Nobel 
Prize for Peace is a confirmation of "Euro-centrist" views.

That conclusion was confirmed when the Norwegian Nobel Institute based 
its decision on Ahtisaari's work "to find a solution in Kosovo" and 
"this year to find a peaceful solution to the problems in Iraq".

[..]

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