July 27, 2007
Summertimes
The possession of some secret material seems to be the biggest news today so far here in Finland as the Finnish Security Police seems to contradict itself about the possession of intelligence on spies.
If I have not got it all completely wrong following the Finnish media; According to the news, both the Foreign Minister and the Interior Minister were informed by the Security police is not in possession of the so-called Rosenholz material which is said to contain data gathered by western intelligence concerning agents of the former DDR Stasi secret police, with some Finnish names among them.
The Interior minister, when interviewed on Morning TV this week, confirmed that SUPO does not have the original files in question but other documents with similar content. She also said that the information would have to remain classified according the international agreements when receiving the files.
The Finnish security police have apparently been misleading the president concerning these secret spy documents according the media.
The state attorney has however noted that the Security Police claimed to have had access to the material at when being heard during court proceedings against former Presidential Advisor (who was freed from all charges in the end) some while ago.
The president announced her open line 7 years ago and acclaiming the documents to be made publicly available when the information about the Finnish spies would to arrive in Finland, but as the documents in question were already in the possession of the security police at the time, they stayed in safekeeping, the security police has apparently not been acting according to the set open.
The German head researcher of the Stasi-archives earlier called the Finnish investigation of the Finnish president’s aide amateurish and a major cock-up as it has resulted into the former presidential aide having been accused of spying on false grounds. The Finnish Foreign business- and development minister now emphasises that the government is to pay compensation in order to avoid huge costs in court proceedings at the same time admitting the misuse of the Rosenholz files. The court proceedings about the question of compensation to be paid begins in Helsinki in August and the former presidential aide, today the itinerant ambassador of Finland in the western Balkan countries hopes to win the case and be paid compensation for the personal harm of being falsely accused as a spy.
The Finnish prime minister has so far not made any statements in the matter as has few other ministers of cabinet but it being July and in the middle of the holiday season in Finland should be as good excuse as any other.
A strange coincidence though seems the announcement of the senior police commander in office of the security police about his resignation out of health reasons at this time after having been on sick-leave already for some time, claiming it having nothing to do with the spy business scandal currently at hand.