Former Finnish defence minister slams anti-Azerbaijani provocation Right of reply

An article by Finnish politician and former Minister of Defence and Interior, Jan-Erik Enestam, was published in "Hufvudstadsbladet" — Finland's largest daily Swedish-language newspaper. The article serves as a response to a piece from the same publication on August 29 of this year, in which he was unjustly criticized for his visit to Azerbaijan, particularly the Karabakh region.

In August, a delegation led by former Finnish Defence Minister Jan-Erik Enestam met with the First Deputy Chairman of the Board of the Azerbaijan National Agency for Mine Action (ANAMA), Bahruz Mammadov. During the meeting, the delegation was thoroughly briefed on the scale of the landmine problem in Azerbaijan, the severe contamination of civilian areas with mines, the discovery of booby-trap mines, and the humanitarian demining efforts being carried out in the country.

Bahruz Mammadov emphasized the importance of expanding international partnerships and support to overcome the mine threat faced by Azerbaijan. In turn, Jan-Erik Enestam praised Azerbaijan's achievements in addressing the mine threat and promised that a report based on the visit to Azerbaijan would be presented to the relevant bodies in Finland.

However, this visit to Azerbaijan was used by some Finnish media to criticize Enestam. Outraged by the biased publication in "Hufvudstadsbladet," the former minister exercised his right of reply, which was published in the same outlet. Caliber.Az presents Finnish politician’s response to media criticism:

“Hufvudstadsbladet's reporter Maria Gestrin-Hagner reports on my visit to Azerbaijan's capital Baku and Nagorno-Karabakh, which had been occupied by Armenia for 30 years. Torsten Fagerholm criticizes the visit in his comment.

The editors call Azerbaijan a dictatorship that is authoritarian, corrupt, and systematically violates human rights. Therefore, they argue, one should not travel there, with or without an invitation.

I do not recall the editors mentioning or criticizing that President Alexander Stubb has had discussions with Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev several times this year.

In June, the presidents met in the United Kingdom at Winston Churchill's childhood home, Blenheim Palace. Stubb told Aliyev that he wishes to visit Azerbaijan and participate in the UN climate summit, which will be held in November in Baku.

UN conferences are not usually held in dictatorships.

In an interview with Yle, Stubb confirmed that the visit will take place.

I have not noticed anyone criticizing the Finnish president’s intention to visit a ‘dictatorship’ or an ‘authoritarian’ country, not even HBL’s editors, at least not yet.

I also do not recall the editors mentioning that in 2022, the EU and Azerbaijan signed a memorandum of understanding on a strategic partnership concerning energy cooperation. Nor do I remember HBL reporting on Azerbaijan’s role as a guarantor of Europe’s energy supply.

In discussions on EU-Azerbaijan cooperation in April, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and President Aliyev particularly addressed cooperation on renewable energy, developing transport connections, and securing Europe’s energy supply.

I am aware that negotiations are currently underway with Azerbaijan to ensure the country guarantees gas deliveries to Slovakia, Ukraine, and Austria, as Ukraine will no longer allow the transit of Russian gas starting next year. Discussions are also ongoing between Azerbaijan and Ukraine.

Many Finns seem unaware that Armenia occupied a significant portion of Azerbaijan for 30 years. As a result of the bloody war between the countries in 1992–1994, hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis were forced to become internally displaced. Many of them had to live in refugee camps.

Now, the refugees would have the opportunity to return to their home regions, but one of the world's largest landmine problems is hindering their return.

At least 1.5 million landmines are scattered across the formerly occupied Nagorno-Karabakh. Mine clearance is expected to take 30 years and cost at least 25 billion dollars.

The process is complicated by Armenia's refusal to hand over all mine maps. Hundreds of Azerbaijanis have either died or been injured by the mines. In addition, almost all buildings must be rebuilt to replace those that the Armenians blew up.

The fact that Finns do not know much about the situation in the region is, of course, due to the media’s lack of interest in the matter. Even HBL's editors focus on everything else rather than what is currently essential for the people in the region.”