Siilasvuo’s objection Finns were fired upon Cairo, 20. 12. (STT-Reuter) Lieutenant General Ensio Siilasvuo, commander of the UN peacekeeping force in the Middle East, on Thursday issued a strong protest to both Egypt and Israel over the fierce cross-fire between Finnish UN troops in the city of Suez on Wednesday night. According to a UN […]

Explosion near the base Pasi Lehtinen/lltalehti 1.6.2007 Two Finnish and four Norwegian peacekeepers left the Maimana base in Afghanistan on Wednesday last week. The group, which was on foot, was accompanied by Norwegian medical staff and one interpreter. The purpose of the group was to walk to a nearby clinic. They had been invited to

FOR PEACE  – 60 years of Finnish peacekeeping  Finland has been involved in international peacekeeping since December 1956, when the first Finnish peacekeepers left for the UNEF 1 mission in Suez. The objectives of this participation were to strengthen Finland’s international status and neutrality policy, as a recent member of the UN, and to support

THE DAYS GO BY IN THE SAME DUSTY RHYTHM Helsingin Sanomat 3.7 2007/Tanja Aitamurto  The sun has just risen and is shining gently on Camp Northern Lights, Ilkka Virkkunen’s home camp near the city of Mazar-i-Sharif. The Hindukush Mountains loom to the south. Virkkunen – a 29-year-old graphic designer – is about to embark on

When I was young it started Martti Tikka I was in my twenties when my first peacekeeping mission was to the island of Cyprus in the summer of 1972. Less than a year on the ”Paradise island” was also my first trip abroad. It was quite an experience for a young man. From the HF

THE NOBELS PEACE PRIZE 2008 The Nobel Peace Prize 2008 was awarded to Martti Ahtisaari for his important efforts, on several continents and over more than three decades, to resolve international conflicts. The Norwegian Nobel Committee’s announcement on the Peace Prize award began as follows: ”The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided that the Nobel Peace

NOBEL PEACE PRIZE 1988  The UN peacekeeping force was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1988. There are around half a million UN peacekeepers from 53 countries worldwide who are eligible for the prize. There are about 20,000 Finnish peacekeepers who served in the UN peacekeeping mission in 1988 or before.  The Nobel Committee argued

NAMIBIA 1989-1990 Matti Heimovaara  UNTAG (United Nations Transition Assistance Group) was the United Nations peacekeeping operation in Namibia. The operation began in April 1989 and ended in March 1990. The mission was led by UN Special Representative Martti Ahtisaari. The mission’s task was to secure social order during the transition from the withdrawal of South

NAMIBIA – UNTAG Area of activity: Namibia and Angola  Headquarters: Windhoek  Duration: April 1989 – March 1990 Finns served: 985 UNTAG was established to support the independence process of Namibia by securing free and fair elections. A Finnish battalion served in the mission from 1989 to 1990.  The mission brought a new face to peacekeeping.

Siilinjärvi, october 2013  Mauri Pekurinen FROM A HOT DOG STALL TO  NICOSIA Summary of the trip  This all started in August 1973 in a queue at a hot dog stall in Mikkeli market. When I met my good friend from the army, Raimo Vuohelainen, I asked him what he did in the winter. He was