GLOBAL NEWS FLASH (w/c: 14MAY2021)
SOURCED BY: THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Finland calls for Russian exit after consulate attack
Despite the recent signing of a landmark treaty, Finnish leaders are calling on the Russians to vacate Finnish lands following the recent terrorist attack on the Russian consulate by an unknown group.
“While we are sickened by the attack on the Russian Consulate, and determined to bring the terrorists who conducted it to justice, it is clear the people of Finland are concerned about the presence of Russian interests in our country,” Finnish President Laina Virtanen said. “Considering the claims we've received against the Russian’s security forces, and the attack against the consulate by terrorists in our own country, it is obvious there is more work to do.”
Tensions within Finland have grown since the signing of the treaty with several protests taking place around the country during the week leading up to the consulate attack. Though she knows the treaty has created a divide among her people, President Virtanen said it still has the potential to benefit both countries, but considering recent events, the two powers need to work together to reconsider the provisions of the agreement. “While we work to improve the treaty, it is best for the Russians to leave our borders,” Virtanen said.
The Russians, who have already made treaty payments to Finland and begun operations to drill for natural gas within the Finnish Exclusive Economic Zone, have pushed back against the notion of revisiting the treaty and abandoning their interests and infrastructure in Finland.
“The treaty we signed is binding,” Russian President Svetla Basuda said yesterday. “We’ve honored our part of the agreement, it’s time for Finnish leadership to honor theirs.”
Russian security forces, including private contractors, who are operating in Finland to protect the newly-initiated Russian drilling operations, have drawn criticism from locals and members of the government alike. Accusations recently arose claiming Russian security forces are forcibly removing local residents near drilling sites and taking a violent stance against the civilian populace in the wake of rising tensions in the country. Evidence to support the accusations has yet to surface. The presence of Russian security forces within Finland's border was authorized by the Finnish government as part of the new treaty.
Russian officials claim violent interaction with Finnish citizens has been exceedingly rare and when it has happened, it's been in response to attempts by Finnish protestors and activists to damage Russian drilling infrastructure and injure workers and agents. Just before the attack on the consulate, the Russian government had said it's most recent concern was the occurrence of increasingly sophisticated attempts to cause damage using drones that have ranged from simple consumer variants to larger, commercial models.
Finnish protests have largely rallied around at least two claimed incidents of violence: one in which they say a local journalist was beaten and shot by Safe Asia, a large private security firm under contract with the Russian government. Another incident involved an argument with a local farmer in which agents of Safe Asia allegedly burned the farmer's crops.
Prior to the attack on the consulate, protestors were saying the incidents, and more like them, were cause for the removal of the Russian security presence. Now, in the wake of the terrorist attack, the Finnish government has joined in calling for the same – at least temporarily – provoking a stern response from the Russian president.
“The treaty we signed authorizes our use of security agents to protect our operations in Finland,” President Basuda said in a statement this morning. “The claims against them are without evidence. Meanwhile, thugs continue to attack our workers and anti-Russian Finnish terrorists have admitted to murdering the Russian Consul General and 25 others who were at the Russian Consulate in Turku, Finland.”
In the statement, President Basuda called the consulate attack “a planned anti-Russian operation conducted by professionals.”
“We will not abandon the Finnish-Russian Economic Revitalization Treaty, an agreement which will bring prosperity to both the people of Finland and to Russia,” Basuda said. “We will not allow acts of terror and violence to convince us to abandon those in Finland who support our presence and who will benefit from the cooperation of our countries. Violence against our lawful operation has become more-and-more common and more-and-more sophisticated. If the Finnish Government is incapable of protecting our agreed upon and mutual interests, we need more security, not less.”
Though officials have yet to identify the group behind the consulate attack, the Agence France-Press reported having spoken with a man hours after who read a prepared statement claiming responsibility and “listed a series of grievances against the Russian Government including State Sponsored Environmental Terrorism,” according to Arnee Davo, AFP bureau chief, who said he spoke with the unknown man.
AFP has also reported the man warned of further attacks against Russians in Finland. Officials in the Finnish government would not comment on the validity of the claims made to AFP.
Finland’s decision to call for Russians to leave the country has drawn mixed reactions from NATO and other international circles. NATO has opposed the treaty since its signing. Some see the Finnish message as giving in to terrorist demands, while others have said the people of Finland have legitimate reasons for wanting the Russians gone, and are calling for investigations into the nature of the Russian presence within Finnish borders.
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This published news article is the fictional work of the S-2 Intelligence Team of the 506th IRRU.
