The People’s Army, which sounds like a cliché, has become true in many ways and in many ways, writes Jarmo Huhtanen, a journalist following HS’s security policy.
Defense Forces will hold an exceptionally important flag day military parade in Helsinki on Saturday.
What makes a parade not important is that it is somehow particularly spectacular or that it presents some unprecedented weapon of war. Finnish military parades are traditionally harsh and reduced events.
Commander of the Helsinki garrison in charge of parade arrangements Mika Romppanen indeed, he reminded HS on Friday that “we don’t have a parade army, but every force has a mission during the war”.
The timing, timing and timing of the parade are important.
In modern form flag-day parades have been held since 1952. They have never been considered such a sensitive turning point in security policy for Finland.
Finland has just announced its desire to join the military alliance NATO, and the first hurdle has unexpectedly emerged. Turkey’s opposition to membership. However, this year may be the last year that the NATO flag will not be seen in the parade.
Sometimes in the future, parades may also see NATO troops. Not everyone may like it, but the pace of change in security policy is now fierce.
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“Both Russia and NATO are monitoring how the new situation is being handled in Finland aspiring to NATO”
Finland the armed forces hold a national parade twice a year: on the day of the Defense Forces flag day and on Independence Day. Of these two, the day of the flag celebration is emphatically the Defense Forces’ own celebration.
The flag celebrated by the Defense Forces is a linguistic state flag. Its former name is more descriptive than it is now: a war flag.
The Defense Forces have become accustomed to appearing in the flag-day parade for their own gang: the personnel of the defense administration and the citizens engaged in national defense.
However, this year is different. The change has been caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
This year, the Defense Forces will also be prominent to three other parties, namely Russia, NATO and those Finns for whom national defense may not have been paramount in the past.
The interest in the day of the ticket festival will be unprecedented. Both Russia and NATO are monitoring how the new situation is being handled in Finland aspiring to NATO. Pessimists talk about the gray time between submitting a NATO application and approving it.
The parade will be received by the Commander-in-Chief of the Defense Forces, the President of the Republic Sauli Niinistö. His keynote speech will be read between the lines this year.
Organizing a military parade in the capital now seems intentional. However, it is a coincidence.
The flag day parade is now held in Helsinki every five years, which are important years for Finland’s independence. This year marks the 105th anniversary of independent Finland.
Size in the ongoing NATO debate in the spring, one thing that was hardly questioned was repeated: the Defense Forces are in good shape. The same has been said by the Defense Forces themselves.
Former Commander of the Army Petri Hulkko praised the media two years agothat the Land Forces are in the best condition in the history of independent Finland in relation to the security environment. Former Commander of the Defense Forces Juhani Kaskeala said a month ago to HSthat Finland’s air defense is by far the strongest in the Nordic region.
In recent years, so much more money has been allocated to the Defense Forces that the defense budget has risen to an exceptionally high level. For example, the total amount of the defense budget planned for next year is about 5.7 billion euros.
In euro terms, it is about twice as large as ten years ago.
Professor of International Politics at the University of Tampere Pami Aalto warned in Yle’s A-studio on Thursday that Europeans cannot be lulled into the idea that the United States will forever support Europe in Europe.
According to him, Finland and other countries on the “eastern front” may have to think about a different approach to their defense in the future, regardless of NATO membership.
In that case, an Israeli-type model may emerge, in which a country in a hostile environment will have to prepare and equip itself to the teeth. That would only be expensive.
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The Finnish People’s Army, which sounds like a cliché, is true in many ways and in many ways.
The war in Ukraine will make many citizens look at the military parade on Saturday with new eyes.
Every Finn hears the existence of Ukraine and its president fighting for their existence Volodymyr Zelensky demands and requests that the West send more weapons.
What if Finland were in the same situation? What do we have? What are we missing? Would you get help?
Hardly anyone guessed on the last day of independence how much the security situation in Finland will change in a short time and how quickly national defense will become a matter for the entire nation. The Finnish People’s Army, which sounds like a cliché, is true in many ways and in many ways.
So far, however, change has taken place without the patience normally associated with national defense and patriotism. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has brought the horrors of war in a new way under the eyes of the people. There is no room for unnecessary threat and statuette.
The viewing of the parade on the day of the Defense Forces flag celebration will start at the Helsinki Senate Square on Saturday at 12 noon.
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