Speech by President of the Republic Tarja Halonen at the National celebration commemorating the end of the Continuation War at the House of the Estates on 4 September 2004

(check against delivery)

Honoured war veterans,
Ladies and gentlemen,

Sixty years ago today the Continuation War ended and the road to peace was opened. The signing of an armistice with the Soviet Union, Great Britain and the other Allied nations sealed the preservation of our country's independence. Finland was saved from the fate that befell nearly all the other nations of Europe. Fighting did not sweep across our country and Finland was never occupied. Although the World War continued, it was possible to begin reconstruction and to hold free parliamentary elections in March 1945. Everything happened democratically according to the constitution that remained in force up to 2000.

Finland's political leadership decided to sue for peace in late summer 1944. President Ryti resigned and Marshal Mannerheim was elected to replace him. At that point no one could be sure of the outcome. Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin had discussed the fate of Europe, including Finland, at the Teheran Conference in December 1943. Our country's independence was not called into question, but the understanding reached in Teheran did not offer Finland a rosy future. The Finnish Government's efforts to soften peace terms in spring 1944 had come to nothing. When Paasikivi approached the subject, Molotov curtly replied, "You can be content with the position of a defeated country."

When in early June 1944 the Western allies began the Normandy invasion, which lasted many weeks, the Soviet Union launched a massive attack on Finland with the purpose of deciding Finland's fate quickly before the beginning of the main offensive towards Berlin.

Finland's defensive victory in June-July fundamentally changed the situation. Stopping the Red Army in the Battle of Tali-Ihantala was crucial. Although the peace terms remained harsh right up to the end, the basis for negotiations had decisively changed. Finland retained not only its external independence but also its national defence forces and other preconditions for the pursuit of independent policies.

For this achievement, which required great sacrifices, our nation is eternally indebted to you, honoured war veterans!

The sacrifices required of Finns did not stop here, however. The Lapland War had to be fought to drive out German forces, refugees had to be resettled, Porkkala had to be leased and heavy reparations had to be paid. In spite of this a new day still dawned and reconstruction kept the nation employed. The goal was not to return to what had been but to create a renewed, industrial, fairer society. In September 1944 uncertainty was great, but the faith in the future that gradually won out has brought us a long way.

In suing for peace the Finnish Government set the objectives of preserving our country's independence and achieving a neutral international position. These remained Finns' key objectives in the uncertain post-war years and during the Cold War that followed.

Finland preserved its independence, but the armistice restricted Finland's freedom to act in many ways long into the future. The biggest restrictions were removed when the peace treaty that was signed in Paris in 1947 came into force. The Allied Control Commission, which had had the right to interfere in the Government's affairs for over three years, left Finland at that time. The immediate objective was to improve relations with the Soviet Union.

Before the situation was normalized, however, the Soviet Union required Finland to sign a treaty of friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance. Finland considered this demand threatening, especially since the Cold War was getting under way. Thanks to President Paasikivi, the treaty received a completely different form compared with the treaties that the Soviet Union signed with the occupied countries of eastern Europe. It still gave Finland's foreign policy its own stamp for over 40 years. It did not prevent us from independently developing our defence or engaging in a policy of neutrality, however. At the same time the existence of the treaty promoted a network of cooperation between two neighbouring countries. This also had great economic significance up to the end of the 1980s.

Under President Kekkonen Finland worked purposefully to strengthen its international position. Our nation especially participated in Nordic cooperation and the activities of the United Nations. Our hosting of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe in the 1970s served to increase appreciation of our growing international activeness and to dispel lingering suspicions concerning the independence of our foreign policy. Mauno Koivisto's election as president and the integration into European cooperation that took place under his leadership cemented the road to Finland's present international position. When the walls of the Cold War began to come down at the end of the 1980s, we quickly freed ourselves from the last post-war burdens. Finland unilaterally declared that the military restrictions in the Paris Peace Treaty were no longer in force, negotiated a normal bilateral cooperation agreement with Russia to replace the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance and joined the Council of Europe and the European Union.

Today we are building bridges of cooperation, promoting security and prosperity in our own continent in a way that we could only have dreamed of half a century ago. On this basis my predecessor, Martti Ahtisaari, and I have been in a good position to continue active participation in international cooperation.

Ladies and gentlemen,

On the whole our country's road over the past six decades from the position of a defeated country, to use Molotov's words, to today's Finland is quite a success story. The fears that we ourselves had and the dark prophecies presented by foreign observers did not come to pass. On the contrary, we turned our difficult position into a strength. We are still striving to keep our own affairs in order, but we also recognize our broader responsibility: We are involved in making Europe and the world a better place to live. This is today's security policy.

Europe has also become a better place to live over the past 60 years, despite regional disturbances. During these decades the world as a whole has experienced a great deal of success but also poverty, violence and wars that have cost millions of lives.

Increased knowledge, technical development and economic growth could eliminate many causes of insecurity. This has not happened so far, but on the contrary, in a globalizing world positive development has often been slower than we have hoped and new threats have arisen that bring worldwide insecurity.

Although we have taken part in a success story, globalization places us in a completely new situation. It puts many of the basic values of our post-war society to the test.

Sometimes it seems as if we Finns find it hard to believe in the vitality of our own expertise and life model, although many experts on globalization such as the Spaniard Manuel Castells and the Finn Pekka Himanen swear in its name. Just recently the well-known American economist Jeffrey Sachs pointed to the Nordic social model as an example for all the countries in the world, large and small, in the demanding conditions of the 21st century. He noted that the five Nordic countries are top global performers according to just about any social indicator - income per capita, health, democracy, economic competitiveness, environmental consciousness, honesty. Sachs listed three things on which our development has been based. The first is education, research and science. The second is social insurance - leaving no countryman behind. And the third is a vigorous private sector, which has given rise to companies like Ericsson and Nokia. Instead of natural resources the Nordic countries have based their success on the competence of their citizens.

Ladies and gentlemen,

I am confident that in this situation as well we can rely on the same faith in the future and shared commitment that saved us 60 years ago. We have a good heritage. With Finnish sisu and shared commitment we can pass it on to future generations.