Caroline Baudry
modified to
2:40 p.m., May 16, 2022
The Parliament of Finland examines this Monday the project of adhesion to NATO. The country is in the process of joining the military alliance of European and North American countries. More than ever, the Finnish people expressed themselves in favor of this decision which would allow Finland to get closer to the West. And this, despite the threat from Russia.
Finland soon to be a NATO member? The decision should be voted on soon. Only a handful of deputies oppose it, for fear of Russian reprisals. The country consults Parliament on Monday to join the alliance of countries in Europe and North America. For Finland, remaining neutral so as not to offend its Russian neighbor is no longer possible since the invasion of Ukraine. Here, public opinion has changed dramatically. Nearly 80% of Finns now want to join NATO, whereas they were only 20% at the start of the year.
Doula lives in Helsinki. Ukraine’s reaction does not surprise her. “It was so expected that the Russians say this, that they try to tell us that it is not acceptable. But it is up to us Finns to say and do things about it.” Oskari does not believe in the war in Finland. “Obviously, tensions will increase,” he told the microphone of Europe 1. “But when I think of a military presence, I think these are just words. It would be stupid on the part of the Russia to wage another war in Finland, while they are engaged in a war in Ukraine.”
Memories of the Winter War
Elina Valtonen is a member of the pro-membership National Coalition Party. “For our own protection, but also to contribute to the security of Europe, we believe it is necessary to join NATO. Many members of Parliament have changed their minds very recently.”
The particularity in Finland is the importance of history and the memory of the fierce resistance led by the Finns during the Russian invasion. Sofia Virta is a member of the Green Party in Finland. She recounts the trauma carried by her grandmother, who experienced the Winter War, the conflict between Finland and the Soviet Union from 1939 to 1940. “My grandmother was four years old. She was at home when she heard the Russian planes in the sky. They knew they had to run, leave their house and all their belongings. Everything was destroyed. Her mother, lost many loved ones, had to raise her five children alone. She didn’t didn’t talk about it for years. But now my grandma always says, ‘Make the right decisions now so the kids are safe.'”