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Swedenâ€™s Foreign Minister: â€œI donâ€™t think that the Aland model must be identically used in the settlement of Nagorno Karabakh conflictâ€

13 June 2011 11:41 (UTC +04:00)

But I donâ€™t think that there is a necessity to use these models identicallyâ€, said Swedenâ€™s Foreign Minister Karl Bildt responding the question on the possibility of use of Aland model in the settlement of Nagorno Karabakh conflict. Minister didnâ€™t exclude that such settlement models could be used in Europe: â€œBut I donâ€™t think that these models must be identically used. If I am not mistaken, the referendum was held in 1920 on the Aland Islands. The agreement was reached on the establishment of autonomy in Finland. Now they live very happily. There are other models too, for example, South Tyrol. There was a severe conflict, the violence was used there. But the problem found its peaceful settlementâ€.

The Aland Islands form an archipelago in the Baltic Sea and collectively constitute the smallest region of Finland. 1917, the residents of the islands worked towards having them ceded to Sweden. The autonomous status of the islands was affirmed by a decision made by the League of Nations in 1921 following the Aland crisis. By law, Aland is politically neutral and entirely demilitarized, and residents are exempt from conscription to the Finnish Defense Forces. The islands were granted extensive autonomy by the Parliament of Finland in the Act on the Autonomy of Aland of 1920. Thus Finland was obliged to ensure the residents of the Aland Islands the right to maintain the Swedish language, as well as their own culture and local traditions.