A citizens' initiative calling for Finland to renounce its commitment to a ban on anti-personnel landmines will begin collecting signatures on Independence Day, 6 December.
The initiative needs 50,000 signatures to proceed to be debated by MPs in Parliament.
The individuals responsible for the initiative are an influential group. They include MEP Mika Aaltola (NCP), Henri Vanhanen, Vanhanen is a former researcher at the Institute of International Affairs who currently works as a lobbyist for the defence industries and will become one of Aaltola's advisers in the European parliament at the turn of the year, former Defence Minister Jussi Niinistö, former diplomats Pasi Patokallio, Hannu Himanen and Jaakko Iloniemi, and former Defence Forces Commander Admiral Juhani Kaskeala.
Citizens' initiatives urging Finnish authorities to reintroduce the use of anti-personnel landmines have been launched before. In 2022, a similar initiative was submitted to Parliament, but its Defence Committee decided not to take any further action.
A second citizens' initiative on anti-personnel landmines was also submitted to the system this week, with the same title and some of the same content as the 2022 initiative.
Commander calls for a debate
The possible reintroduction of anti-personnel landmines to Finland's defence arsenal came to the fore last week when the Commander of the Defence Forces, Janne Jaakkola, called for a debate on the issue in an interview with the Finnish news outlet MTV.
According to Jaakkola, the security environment has changed significantly since Finland abandoned anti-personnel mines and joined the Ottawa Convention in 2012.
He stated that Russia's large-scale ground force deployments in Ukraine highlight how Finland should adapt to counter military threats.
Jaakkola did not take a position on whether Finland should withdraw from the Ottawa Convention, as such a decision is political. He did, however, suggest more public discourse not only on anti-personnel landmines, but also on new defence technologies.
According to Defence Minister Antti Häkkänen (NCP), the nation's defence establishment is currently studying whether anti-personnel mines are needed.
Prime Minister Petteri Orpo (NCP) said on Wednesday that he raised the issue of the debate on Finland's withdrawal from the Ottawa Convention at the Nordic-Baltic-Polish summit taking place 27-28 November in Sweden.
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EDIT 3.12.2024: This story originally stated that Henri Vanhanen is a researcher at the Finnish Institute for Foreign Affairs. He left the institute at the start of 2024.