Statement by
H.E. MR. HARRI HOLKERI
President of the General Assembly
On the occasion of
Finlandia Foundation Independence Day Celebrations
3 December 2000
Ladies and gentlemen, Next Wednesday marks the 83rd anniversary of the independent
Republic of Finland.
You, ladies and gentlemen, hardly need an introduction to Finland. But if I
had to tell the average American in the street about Finland, I would tell him
that the area of Finland is about almost three times the size of State of New
York but it has only about five million inhabitants. I would tell him that Finns
love their country and that Finland was recently the top of two important lists.
Firstly it ranked as was number one when countries were compared in having the
least amount of corruption. At the same time, we were heading the World Series
in liberalization and deregulation of business laws.
Then I would ask him if he has read in his schoolbooks about the country that
keeps its word - that pays its debts. If my American in the street would like
me to continue, I would tell him that Finland is not overpopulated, nor undernourished.
It is a typical, modern European country, proud of its history and culture,
and combining natural beauty and modern technology.
I would also say that my country is very middle-class. It lacks the ultra rich,
but it also lacks in extreme poverty. It strives for high levels of education
and social security. That is also why it regularly struggles with its public
finances, even if it currently enjoys a healthy public sector surplus.
Finns love their freedom and are prepared to defend it. This has been true in
our history and it is still true today.
We Finns have chosen December 6th our Independence Day for the same reason as
the United States of America chose the 4th of July as its Independence Day.
We celebrate the declaration of independence. Some other countries may celebrate
the king's or the queen's birthday or the anniversary of a change in the political
system - a revolution.
At this time of the year, the weather in Finland is about as bad as it gets.
A proper, dry Nordic Winter with plenty of white snow has not yet set in - it
is mostly just wet, windy and dark. This is one reason why we Finns celebrate
our Independence Day out-doors only symbolically. Our celebrations have traditionally
been rather devotional, or as some might say, too solemn.
Even though this is a most festive occasion I would not want to repeat my experience
of 37 years ago when I celebrated Finland's independence here in New York City.
I was at Carnegie Hall, where The New York Philharmonic Orchestra played Finlandia
by Jean Sibelius, conducted by Jussi Jalas, the son-in-law of Sibelius. Now
that several decades have passed, I can confess to you that practically throughout
that piece I cried softly, missing my home and my country.
Six years ago Finland decided by referendum to join the European Union. It was
in my mind the most significant decision since the declaration of independence.
Its ultimate consequences still remain to be seen. In any case, it was a decision
totally different in nature from those made and implemented in the past two
centuries concerning Finland's statehood.
Ever since Napoleon, in the treaties of Tilsit on 1807, agreed with Czar Alexander
I of Russia on the division of Europe, Finland belonged to Russia's sphere of
interest at the negotiations of great powers.
I am not going to go further into Finland's international political position
or to attempt assess political morals. I would only remind you that the Finnish
Parliament issued a declaration of independence on the 6th of December in 1917.
But the rest of the world did not react to it until the new Bolshevik rulers
of Russia recognized it on the final day of 1917. This prompted the western
countries to recognize Finland.
When foreign ministers Molotov of the Soviet Union and Ribbentrop of Nazi Germany
agreed on the division of Europe just before the Second World War, Finland once
again belonged to its great eastern neighbor's sphere of influence.
Despite the heroic Winter War and international admiration for Finland's defensive
effort, the western leaders, Churchill and Roosevelt, did not look as far as
to Finland when they planned the division of postwar Europe at the Yalta Conference
in February 1945. They simply accepted Finland's position on Stalin's political
map of Europe.
In the black and white world of the Cold War era, Finland was considered an
oddity, perhaps a kind of a left over, and there was uncertainty about how Finland
would act in a tight situation. The restrictions placed on Finland's armed forces
by the Paris Peace Treaty of 1947 gave external observers reason to distrust
Finland's ability to defend herself.
But it was particularly the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance
of 1948 with the Soviet Union that made other countries interpret Finland's
defense policy so as to put Finland under the shadow of its eastern neighbor.
Nor did the Soviet Union itself wish to recognize Finland as a neutral country
with no qualifications until shortly before its own demise.
The East has always been Finland's fate. When Finland was a part of Sweden we
were always the border regions of the West in times of war. Finland's and Finns
own views were hardly requested.
But since then, over a period of a couple of hundred years, the West easily
turned its back on Finland when things got tough, despite the fact that politically,
socially and culturally Finland was always a western democracy.
Very often Finland's political future and fate have been better known elsewhere
than in Finland. When the Second World War broke out, the generally accepted
theory was that Finland, left alone, would fall in the face of superiority of
the Red army. Similarly, when the Second World War ended, the theory was that
Finland would fall before the political might of the Soviet Union. And when,
on top of that, Finland refused to receive Marshall aid, which was made available
for postwar reconstruction, the theory was that Finland would fall economically,
too. - But Finland proved to be like the wasp, which when studied by experts
in aerodynamics, was found to be unable to fly. In other words, scientific expertise
proved that the wasp could not fly. But the wasp, happily unaware of the result
of the study, just keeps on flying.
Celebration of the Independence is a good occasion to reflect upon the fact
that in theory Finland has fallen many times. Fortunately, Finns have not cared
for these theories. Finland has developed its own strategy for survival, which
was not always well understood by the outside word. Yet it ensured our sovereignty
and preserved our western political, economic and social system, without the
help of military alliance even in the world of the Cold War.
Now the situation has changed.
What should be emphasized today is that when Finland decided to join the European
Union it was the very first time that we ourselves could decide our location
on the political map of Europe. The decision was not made in Stockholm, Moscow,
Berlin or Yalta or anywhere else beyond Finland's borders.
But does the membership in the European Union mean an end to Finland's independence?
Those who have been opposing Finland's membership in the EU have said that now
that the East has failed to take away Finland's independence the West will do
the job. Is this now Finis Finlandiae, the end of Finland?
I find it difficult to agree. The operating modes and principles of the European
Union are such that membership does not force us to change our fundamental ways.
We have not had any need to amend the key principles of our constitution, and
our citizens' constitutional rights have remained intact, some have even been
strengthened.
All in all, when the brave decision-makers 83 years ago declared the independence
of Finland they probably had an ideal about the newly independent country's
future in their minds. The history of the Finnish Independence has not been
easy. The price of independence has been high. But it is my firm belief that
today's Finland is quite close to those visions of those who made the decision
83 years ago.