An Open Letter to Finland’s President Sauli Niinistö

Dear Mr. Niinistö,

I am deeply concerned about the current state of affairs in Finland. We left Finland in 2004 to travel the world. We have been living in 102 countries around the world, and travelled through countries devastated by the US, NATO, and Russia. The last three years we lived in Georgia, which is at war with Russia. There is a ceasefire agreement, but a peace accord was never signed. Russia – the second biggest arms exporter in the world right after the US – benefits from such instability.

Georgia is a tiny country, and like Ukraine, it has become a part of the hybrid war between Russia and the US. Georgia is but a small example of this increasing warfare. Other examples that we have witnessed include tensions between South Korea and North Korea, and Taiwan and China. In such proxy conflicts, the United States' track record is not better than Russia's. In the Balkans, we met people who had been attacked by NATO forces, in Nicaragua we talked with relatives of the people who had been assassinated by the US, and in Venezuela we saw the country in chaos after their president Chavez had been, according to the locals, assassinated by the US. More than a defence alliance, NATO is a weapon for furthering the United States' interests globally. In this game of geopolitics between the US and Russia, Finland is an insignificant pawn but a lucrative customer for arms exporters.

Was the current, unprovoked war in Ukraine really so unprovoked? In 2008, shortly after the Russo-Georgian war, several Finnish Foreign Affairs (MFA) officials noted to the US ambassador that Finns might become more concerned about their security situation should something similar [like in Georgia] happen in Ukraine, and that might push Finland to join the NATO enabling the US to drive Russia into a corner. For me, having good relations with one's neighbouring countries makes more sense than bringing a hostile military alliance to their borders. If I were Putin, I would simply nuke Finland before it enters NATO in order to prevent The Third World War and nuclear annihilation. As we all remember, The Second World War ended when the US nuked Japan.

Personally, I am peace-loving and believe that we are all one, even the Russians. I would love to see our small planet without any countries and borders as they merely turn people against each other. In the same spirit, I would encourage you to reconsider your position and further peace instead of more conflicts.

Best regards,

Santeri Kannisto

P.S. Our previous blog post was published on April 1, and it was indeed an April Fool's prank. We did not mean it to be taken seriously.