The Åland islands occupy a special position in Finland, with a demilitarised status that means no armed forces can be stationed there and, unlike male citizens from elsewhere in Finland, Ålanders cannot be conscripted.
Finland does, however, have the obligation to defend Åland if necessary.
There are MPs in the new parliament elected last week who would like to change that. National Coalition Party MPs Jarmo Lindbergh (siirryt toiseen palveluun), Jarno Limnell and Pekka Toveri have all made comments on the issue in Ilta-Sanomat (siirryt toiseen palveluun) and Helsingin Sanomat.
Their colleague, Atte Kaleva, made perhaps the starkest statement (siirryt toiseen palveluun), saying on Twitter that “Åland’s freeriding should end,” prompting the chair of Åland’s association for reservists to describe it as “the most ignorant comment so far” in the debate.
But there is already a citizens’ initiative calling for Russia’s consulate in Mariehamn — an integral part of the treaties guaranteeing demilitarisation — to be shut down.
Ålanders have defended the region’s demilitarised status, with Svalbard one example of demilitarised territory within Nato countries.
Helsingin Sanomat reported that legal experts have advised against (siirryt toiseen palveluun) reopening the treaties, as they might prompt Russia to re-evaluate its recognition of Finland’s borders in other places too.
And now the SDP paper Demokraatti reports (siirryt toiseen palveluun) leading NCP MP Antti Häkkänen as saying that the issue is not at the top of his party’s agenda.
The issue might need to be looked at again, in the light of Russia’s current behaviour, but there’s no “acute need”, according to Häkkänen.
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