Docent of military sciences Ilmari Käihkö thinks that politicians should open a discussion about the actions of Finnish special forces in the ISAF operation in Afghanistan. “What is the new information that has not been available?” Jyri Häkämies, who served as Finland’s defense minister in 2007–2011, asks.
of military science docent Ilmari Käihkö wondered HS on Sunday in the article activities of Finnish special forces in Afghanistan.
According to Käihkö, “what the Finnish special forces soldiers did in Afghanistan is particularly shrouded in darkness.”
According to Käihkö, politicians should open a discussion on the issue, as the Swedish and Norwegian special forces that participated in the same operation are known to have participated in the killing of Afghans during the operation.
Read more: The activities of Finnish special forces in Afghanistan are a mystery, and efforts have been made to keep some questions quiet
Finland having served as Minister of Defense in 2007–2011 Jyri Häkämiehen there has been a lot of discussion on the subject.
Häkämies reminds that the operation in Afghanistan lasted for years. Since 2001, the Finns were part of the Isaf operation, which was originally authorized by the UN, but which was later led by NATO.
“The publicity was understandably great also because the operation was difficult and dangerous,” Häkämies says, and calculates that dozens of parliamentary debates and reports were made on the subject alone.
Häkäman is a former member of parliament and minister of the coalition, who currently serves as the CEO of the Confederation of Finnish Business.
“Two peacekeepers were lost there, but there were other critical situations as well. They were also reacted to in real time, as is typical of Finnish society,” says Häkämies.
Häkämies says that he did not reach Käihkö’s message.
“What is the new information that has not been available?” Häkäman asks.
“In all crises or past wars, intelligence forces collect information and exchange it with partner countries. It’s normal, and it’s also necessary for your own safety, let alone the safety of the operation,” says Häkämies.
Docent In his article, Käihkö considered it possible that Finnish special forces also participated in operations aimed at killing and arresting suspected opponents in Afghanistan. However, Käihkö continued that the question cannot be answered with current information.
Ilmari Käihkö
Käihkö also thought it clear that the Finnish special forces delivered so-called JPEL lists to the Americans, i.e. shared intelligence information about persons they wanted to arrest or kill.
“It is almost certain that not everyone who got on the lists – and because of this, those arrested or killed – were rebels. Afghan security authorities are also known to have tortured prisoners,” Käihkö wrote on Sunday.
Former Minister of Defense Häkämies says that he cannot answer such a claim.
“It is impossible for me to comment on a speculative claim,” says Häkämies.
“As I already said, on a general level it can be stated that the task of intelligence is to feel out the terrain. Naturally, the Finns collected information there, and we also had a requirement for the NATO countries participating in the operation that they collect information for us,” says Häkämies.
Finns special forces were in Afghanistan at least since 2007. Why is the discussion about the role of the troops taking place only now, when the operation has ended and even then it was quite unsuccessful?
Häkämies emphasizes that there was a lot of discussion about Afghanistan back in the day.
“There was a lot of talk about how the conditions there were very challenging, what risks are involved in the operation and why we are there in the first place,” says Häkämies.
“I have never come across these claims about the activities of special forces before. I myself have such knowledge of the Finnish special forces that they received good feedback throughout. I don’t recognize Käihkö’s claim. And it hasn’t been presented before either.”
Isn’t it citizens would have had the right to know about the operation earlier, especially if the special forces, based on the assessments presented by Käihkö, could have acted beyond Finland’s stated principles, i.e. their actions would not have been in line with actions that respect Finnish human rights and the rule of law?
“I don’t recognize the claim that we acted as if outside the mandate,” says Häkämies.
“Intelligence is an absolutely essential part of the operation, whether we are in Chad, Lebanon or wherever, and I don’t see the kind of drama that is being sought here,” Häkämies answers. According to him, docent Käihkö’s claims were vague.
According to Häkämie, the discussion in Finland about the Afghanistan operation was open.
“With Sweden, on the contrary, we had some criticism in the past about whether we received enough information about Afghanistan from our partners. The cases were such that if there had been a skirmish in a village in a partner country, and if that information had not been shared with the Finns, then everyone can think that the risk levels could be quite high.”
Docent Käihkö called on politicians to open a discussion about the actions of Finnish special forces during the Afghanistan operation. Should the activities of the special forces be officially investigated?
“With this information, I don’t see that there is any leaking wound here that should be investigated with a special investigation,” says Häkämies.
“But everything is always evaluated afterwards.”
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