FINLAND & PALESTINE Proceedings of a Joint Workshop

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know both languages. Swedish may also be used when communicating with state authorities. There are Swedish universities, and the main Swedish "ethnic" party (The Swedish People's Party) has maintained a constant presence in Finland's governments. Both Finnish and Swedish are obligatory subjects in the school. The maintenance of a kind of "status quo" in terms of language policy has been essential to the Swedish-speaking minority, and the presence of the Swedish People's Party at coalitions has been understood as a guarantee that the rights of the minority are respected. At times, the demographic fears of the minority have also been taken into account in formulating policy. Notably, hundreds of thousands of ethnic Finnish refugees from Karelia after the Second World War were mainly settled in Finnish-speaking areas. The identity of the Swedish-speaking minority in Finland has been, and remains, a complicated question. Basically, the minority meets the main criteria of a separate ethniC group,24 and the majority of the Swedish-speaking population has, at least to some extent, a distinct identity. In different periods there have, however, been various viewpoints. Such concepts as the Swedish-speaking population's formation of a separate national group or sub-group of the Swedish nation have become less common. In addition to geographic distinction from Sweden, it is clear that pressure from the majority has played an additional role in this development. Instead of being "East Swedes," the Swedish-speaking minority have come to be seen as Finns who speak the Swedish language. A potential ethnic or even national minority has more or less become a mere linguistic minority (perhaps with the exception of the Alanders). It is highly likely that the power-sharing policy of the state has been an important factor in this development, along with oth 24 Cf. Hutchinson & Smith 1996,7. 99
Visions ofa Real Multiculturali5m.____~_______.__._.._. ___________...__ er factors. 25 One should note that a citizen1s registration with the authorities as Swedish-speaking or Finnish-speaking is solely a matter of personal choice and can be changed at anytime. In general, one may argue that the treatment of the Swedish minority in Finland is part of the established tradition of "integral nationalism" in Finland according to which the integrity of the nation is essential to its survival as a sma" nation. 26 In the Finnish constitution (1919, 2000) and Finland's language laws (1922) the equality of the Swedish-speaking minority is guaranteed. Yet, on the other hand it may also be argued that this equality led to the dilution of a (potential) Swedish national identity in Finland. Swedes in Finland and Palestinians in Israel The Finnish case is one instance of a solution to at least potential conflict between two ethnic groups. The overall situation is of course very much different from Israel/Palestine. First, in Finland both groups are established "native" people in the same area with a common history.27 By contrast, the ethnic conflict in Palestine is strongly complicated by the fact that in addition to being an ethnic conflict, it is clearly a colonial conflict between recent Zionist colonial settlers and a native local population. In this kind of situation, the mutually recognized legitimacy essential to resolving a conflict solution is difficult to attain. Secondly, as opposed to the Palestinian conflict, the regional aspect has been mainly absent from the Finnish case. Only during the Aland Islands crises did the regional aspect playa role with growing tensions between Finland and Sweden. 25 One factor is definitely the fact that Finns from all backgrounds partici pated in the war against the Soviet Union during the WW II. 26 For Integral nationalism in Finland, see Smolander 2001. 27 Swedish-speaking people in Finland are hardly ever treated as settlers representing past Swedish imperialism and colonialism. 100
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:!: Foundation • of the Finnish I
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CONTENTS Forward ..................
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Forward • • This publication is
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Seminar Finland-Palestine 22-23 Nov
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Finland's support through bilateral
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Finnish Orientalists • • Dr. Mi
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uried when the Romans destroyed it.
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excellent and the locals called her
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The Identification of the So-Called
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over a thousand years, while, elsew
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The basic framework for the interpr
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The three main structures in the gr
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_---..~-------.---.---------",ikkoi
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Conclusion The Umayyad Empire was r
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• ____ Mikko LouhIvuori Bloch, F.
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Palestine Research of Hilma Granqvi
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------------------ Riilla I!iOtaIo
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• Along with her initial topic Gr
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Hilma Granqvist got her doctoral de
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death. Nevertheless, Granqvist neve
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Notes Aalto, Pertti, Oriental Studi
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Palestine in Finnish Media A Bro
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.----------------------------------
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The third positive aspect was that
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they know if their husbands are tak
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Development of Relations Between th
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._---------------------------------
Page 56 and 57: •..-.--....-~-~-... ~......--- ..
Page 58 and 59: also tries to keep these organizati
Page 60 and 61: had some contacts to Arab Christian
Page 62 and 63: e__-----.-.-.--.--- _~____ Hartt! T
Page 64 and 65: shop Qufity, and Catholic apostolic
Page 66 and 67: .------_._._----- MI1rtti Tuhkanen
Page 68 and 69: ______________ Martti Tutlkanen - S
Page 70 and 71: • They want to have contact with
Page 72 and 73: Advocacy What we in Finland could d
Page 74 and 75: The Development of the EU's Politic
Page 76 and 77: ing factors may include the need fo
Page 78 and 79: ------ ______ . ___~_ Flora Kurtkll
Page 80 and 81: capacity to act is derived, both, f
Page 82 and 83: • ___~___ Flora Kurikkal8 ing of
Page 84 and 85: Bibliography Adler, Emmanuel (1997)
Page 86 and 87: Reflections on Finnish-Palestinian
Page 88 and 89: Ms. Eija Rotinen was the second Fin
Page 90 and 91: .- .__.__ .._ .. 0111 RuohotrJIIkI
Page 92 and 93: .._ OIli Ruohomliki technical ass
Page 94 and 95: .------ OIli Ruohornaki asking wh
Page 96 and 97: Visions of a Real Multiculturalism:
Page 98 and 99: Hannu JuusoIa Circassian minorities
Page 100 and 101: - _____________ HannlJJutJSOla tobe
Page 102 and 103: • Hilnnu JIJlJSOIa As pointed out
Page 104 and 105: .-..-~_________.____..___.. ______~
Page 108 and 109: Despite these significant differenc
Page 110 and 111: --- ___ Hannu JUlISOIa Bibliography
Page 112 and 113: Women's Role in Building a Society
Page 114 and 115: .e--------~"---- women's movement i
Page 116 and 117: 1. The right to initiate divorce; 2
Page 118 and 119: ---------------_.... _-- reliable
Page 120 and 121: • _~_._____ Sylvia Ak4r struggle
Page 122 and 123: -.----------------- candidates an
Page 124 and 125: SylviaAkar 1. Equal salary for equa
Page 126 and 127: • colonial societies. They challe
Page 128 and 129: The One-State, One-Society Option:
Page 130 and 131: • _____._.___._.__._.____.~.__.__
Page 132 and 133: -- ""__ Khalil Nakhfeh 2. I am usin
Page 134 and 135: e eligible to claim a "right of sel
Page 136 and 137: • Palestinian acceptance that "Is
Page 138 and 139: a "nationalityll and that they have
Page 140 and 141: Fateh at the Crossroads: Opportuni
Page 142 and 143: lead to the liberation of Palestine
Page 144: ~....-~..• -.------ LIIi1Y Shaban
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FINLAND & PALESTINE Proceedings of a Joint Workshop

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