Lyckat seminarium i Bryssel om Ålandsexemplet

Den 15 september hölls ett seminarium om Ålandsexemplet och konfliktlösning vid Finlands ständiga representation i Bryssel. Talare vid seminariet var förutom lantrådet Camilla Gunell och kansliminister Wille Valve, utrikesminister Timo Soini, Finlands ambassadör till EU Pilvi-Sisko Vierros-Villeneuve, Peter Brorsen från Europeiska Fredsinstitutet, Tomas Henning från EU:s utrikestjänst, Monica McWilliams från Ulster University, Jaakko Oksanen från Martti Ahtisaari Centre, samt Kjell-Åke Nordqvist från Ålands Fredsinstitut. Ca 55 personer från bland annat ambassader, EU:s institutioner samt frivilligorganisationer deltog i det lyckade och välbesökta seminariet.

Syftet med seminariet var att diskutera möjligheterna att använda Ålandsexemplet som ett exempel för att lösa konflikter som rör regionala eller etniska frågor. Även konfliktlösningsprocesserna i Aceh och på Nordirland diskuterades.

Lantrådet konstaterar att det finns många regioner i världen som ännu bara har inlett processen mot en fredlig lösning på en pågående konflikt. Jag hoppas innerligt att detta seminarium kan förse dessa regioner med idéer om hur de kan arbeta vidare mot en framtid med fred och stabilitet.

Det är positivt att se att Ålandsexemplet är användbart i dagens konflikthantering. Aceh gick från ihärdigt inbördeskrig till ihållande fred med hjälp med medling från Finland. Vi som är åländska folkvalda är med och bygger, skapar, och formar en världsunik autonomi till ett gott samhälle. Det är ett privilegium!, säger lantrådet Camilla Gunell efter dagen seminarium.

I samband med seminariet hölls även ett möte mellan utrikesminister Timo Soini, lantrådet Camilla Gunell och kansliminister Wille Valve. Vid mötet diskuterades bland annat kontaktgruppen mellan Ålands landskapsregering och utrikesministeriet, samarbetet mellan utrikesministeriet och Ålands landskapsregering samt allmänt om den ekonomiska situationen på Åland. Vid mötet framförde lantrådet ett budskap till regeringen att Åland är beredda att hjälpa till och göra vad man kan då det gäller flyktingkrisen.

En av de största utmaningarna för Åland är den ojusterade klumpsumman och det budgettryck det kommer att medföra under de närmaste åren. Jag är glad över att vice statsminister Soini visade sig förtrogen med de utmaningar vi står framför, kommenterar kansliminister Wille Valve.

Mer information:

Camilla Gunell, lantråd

Telefon +358 18 25370 eller +358 40 8270718 eller camilla.gunell@regeringen.ax

Wille Valve, kansliminister

Telefon +358 18 25372 eller +358 40 5962929 eller wille.valve@regeringen.ax

Michaela Slotte, europarättschef

Telefon +358 18 25193 eller +358 40 0762075 eller michaela.slotte@regeringen.ax

Julia Lindholm, specialrådgivare

Telefon +32 228 78459 eller +32 476 943529 eller julia.lindholm@formin.fi

Lantrådets tal

Seminar: Åland Example and Conflict Resolution Today, 15 September 2015

Opening address, Mrs Camilla Gunell, Head of Government of Åland

Ambassadors,

Your excellences,

Ladies and gentlemen,

It is a great pleasure to address you today here in Brussels. At times of uncertainty, people in Europe and across the world are reminded of the European Union's fundamental purpose: to further the fraternity between European nations, today and tomorrow.

The European Union has not only brought peace to its own continent, but has also promoted democratic change around the world. Today, the European Union is a global actor in conflict prevention, peace building and mediation.

In this regards, the settlement of the Åland conflict has become one of the most studied examples of autonomy arrangements. It has inspired people to explore the components and mechanisms regulating the autonomy in search for peaceful solutions in various corners of the world. Ladies and gentlemen, it is my hope that today we will inspire you to do the very same.

Åland is sometimes presented as a model  –  a term that would indicate that the demilitarization and neutralization of the islands, the territorial autonomy of the islands and the linguistic and cultural safeguards for its inhabitants may be transferred as a package solution in the endeavor to resolve territorial or ethnical conflicts elsewhere.

Åland however, should not be understood as a one-size-fits-all solution but as an example – all three components individually and specific features of either the demilitarization, neutralization, the autonomy or the linguistic and cultural safeguards can - and have in many instances – served as points of departure for constructive discussions in many countries with domestic conflicts.

The Åland Islands – located at the entrance to the Gulf of Bothnia – have always been of strategic relevance in the Baltic region. Napoleon, for example, said that the Åland Islands in the hands of a great power is like a weapon aimed at Sweden’s heart.

This small archipelago – constituting more than 6 500 islands and inhabited by some 29 000 people – has been in the European spotlight on three different occasions.

The first time was in Paris in 1856 when the Peace Treaty after the Crimean War was concluded. In Paris Åland became a demilitarized territory by the so-called Åland Servitude. At this time, Åland had experienced a period of intense fortification by the Russian Empire, with troops of thousands based at the Bomarsund fortress, culminating in a military confrontation. The reason to demilitarize the islands was the strategic importance and therefore threat of military involvement.

The inhabitants of the islands were neither the subject nor the object of this decision. Military security is central for many autonomy arrangements and permanent demilitarization may offer a viable alternative.

The second time the Åland Islands were brought to the limelight in European history was in Geneva in 1921. In the aftermath of the First World War the islands became an object for territorial dispute between the Kingdome of Sweden and the newly born Republic of Finland. The Åland Islands were inhabited by a Swedish speaking population – and when Finland declared itself independent from Russia – the residents of the islands demanded a reunification with Sweden. In order to prevent an armed conflict over the status of the Islands the matter was referred to the newly founded League of Nations.

The League of Nations presented a compromise decision which recognized Finland’s sovereignty over the Åland Islands but placed an obligation for Finland to guarantee the Åland population its Swedish language, culture and local traditions. The League also decided that a treaty governing Åland´s demilitarization and neurtalisation should be drawn up to ensure that the islands would never become a military threat to Sweden. The inhabitants of the Islands had now become the core of the decision.

The third time Åland was put on the European map was here in Brussels in 1994. When Finland prepared to join the European Union the Åland Parliament had to give its consent, or could opt out from the union. One of the demands for joining the Union together with Finland from the Åland Parliament was to ensure the cultural and linguistic safeguards agreed in Geneva.

In the end, the cultural and linguistic safeguards – in their modern forms – were preserved at the time Finland joined the European Union. A separate Protocol is attached to the Finnish Accession Treaty where, in the preamble, the special status which the Åland Islands enjoy under international law is referred to. This reference in the Accession Treaty can be seen as strengthening the position of Åland’s autonomy, and its special status in the modern international legal order.

These safeguards have evolved considerably during the past 90 years. The special rights formulated in 1921 have been incorporated in the modern right of domicile. The right of domicile – a kind of regional citizenship – has since developed as a concept regulating both the right to vote and stand for elections and to acquire real estate on Åland.

While we are familiar to the concept of failed states and good practices of peace mediation – there is still little knowledge about autonomy arrangements and the factors making them viable in the long term.

It is often said that autonomy is reluctantly offered and ungratefully received. A autonomy solution has over time been proven difficult. Almost always the amount of autonomy that is accepted by one part is not enough for the other. When communities within a state strive for separation, autonomy has seldom proven enough to fulfill the desire for independence.

Here, Åland has proven to be an exemption. Is this only due to the unique historical, cultural and geographical context of the Åland solution? Or can the Åland example be used elsewhere? This is one of the topics to be explored by our distinguished speakers this morning. When we learn about peace mediation today, national and local ownership form the basis of the mediation process. In this respect, the League of Nations’ decision regarding Åland is inevitably outdated. But still the demilitarization has lasted some 160 years and the autonomy nearly a century.

For me, the most important lesson to learn from the Åland example is that flexibility and imagination is always needed when applying general principles to particular situations. The experience of the Åland Islands is that even in well entrenched autonomies with clear and separate legislative and executive competences, cooperation is always needed. Interdependence between the state and the autonomy affects all aspects of a governance model built on shared competence. This is particularly true when several levels of governance coexist. The Government of Åland is also part of a bigger Nordic cooperation and the European framework.

Territories may not be moved around, I would argue that cooperation is likely to be necessary and desired both due to regional networking and integration as well as due to the globalisation of international affairs including the mobility of ideas, persons, goods and services. Autonomy is then about finding a workable balance between separation and cooperation.

Ladies and gentlemen, the Åland example has proved significant for several reasons. It was one of the first interstate disputes which arose in the years after the First World War – and before the establishment of the Permanent Court of International Justice. The delegation sent to Åland on behalf of the League of Nations was important since it proved an international organization competent to settle interstate disputes – and provided a much needed forum for dispute settlements. But foremost, the fact that the parties to the conflict fully endorsed the final recommendation of the League’s Council further confirmed the legitimacy of this international intervention.

This last reason is not to be taken for granted. For several years the question of Åland’s state affiliation had been front page news and had led to huge public involvement among the inhabitants of Åland.

When the issue was settled the population found themselves left alone with an autonomy they never asked for. But eventually the people of Åland and the political leaders swallowed their personal prestige and got to work. Their pragmatic decision to start forming the autonomy we enjoy today has to be stressed.

Ladies and gentlemen, several regions in the world are still taking the first steps towards a lasting peaceful governance model. I sincerely hope that this seminar can provide food for taught on how to contribute to their search for a peaceful future.

Thank you.