FINLAND & PALESTINE Proceedings of a Joint Workshop

Ms. Eija Rotinen was the second Finnish Representative. The
political climate was still positive when she began her tenure in
April of 2000. The atmosphere soon soured with the second
Inti/ada starting in the autumn of 2000. The rest of Ms. Rotinen's
tenure (1.4.2000-31.7.2002) was characterised by a
downward spiral in the political climate. She recalls that it was
a time of "taking it day by day". The raison d'etre of the diplomatic
presence of most western states represented in Ramallah
was very much a symbolic one, as, there was very little
prospect of anything else to do, apart from political reporting
to Helsinki on the day-to-day developments in the Palestinian
Territories. Ms. Rotinen decided that, given the political climate
of the time, it would not have been appropriate to hold
Finnish Independence Day celebrations in Ramallah, something
that is usually a standard practice of diplomatic offices and
embassies. Almost all the development cooperation that had
been ongoing between Finland and the Palestinian Authority
came to a stand still. Most of the aid was directed towards
humanitarian and emergency needs.
Mr. Keijo Ruokoranta took over the office in August 2003. During
his tenure (1.8.2003-31.7.2005), the violence of the second
Intifada started to run out of steam, as both parties grew wary
of the constant hostilities. Nonetheless, the building of the
Wall began, and talks of a two-state solution picked up speed.
The political situation started to gradually stabilise, and, with
the death of Vasser Arafat, and the subsequent election of
Mahmud Abbas as the new Palestinian PreSident, a new chapter
in the political scene began. A visit by the Finnish Parliament's
Foreign Relations Committee marked an important event in
terms of bilateral relations. This visit also highlighted the importance
of understanding the Middle East Peace Process
within Finnish foreign policy agenda. Development cooperation
picked up speed, albeit, that much of the cooperation was
still in an emergency mode.
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