MARTTI AHTISAARI is a deserving recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, awarded yesterday for his long-standing work as a mediator and broker of settlements in Africa, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
His characteristic qualities of doggedness, perseverance, fairness and bluntness were combined with guile and vision in Namibia and Aceh especially. In Namibia, he proved able to play a long diplomatic and political game, which eventually paid off when circumstances changed in South Africa, where the apartheid regime determined the pace of events. Aceh was a shorter involvement, but just as intractable. His consistent refusal to contemplate complete independence put him onside with the Indonesians, which then allowed him to insist on a deep autonomy that proved acceptable to the rebel movements. Over 15,000 died in that conflict, and settling it so comprehensively was a major achievement.
Mr Ahtisaari put aside his long career as a diplomat in 1994-99 to become president of Finland on a social democratic ticket. It is an important position, with responsibility for directing foreign policy, and he proved well able for the task as Finland joined the European Union in 1995 and went on to become an active member state. On his retirement he helped found the International Crisis Group, one of the most well-informed and active think-tanks on world affairs, whose work is now an indispensable source of briefing material for policy-makers, media and active participants. This made him a trustworthy and reliable candidate to oversee arms decommissioning in Northern Ireland, along with South African Cyril Ramaphosa, in 2000 and 2001.
His prolonged engagement in Kosovo has been more controversial, especially his endorsement of its independence this year. However, despite Russian anger about the precedents set for Georgia and disquiet elsewhere in Europe over the impact on other secessionist movements Mr Ahtisaari’s realist view that this is the only feasible option remains convincing compared to the other alternatives on offer. It is based on a comprehensive political and constitutional settlement with elaborate rights for minorities. These have yet to be implemented in full and Kosovo will remain an EU protectorate for a long time to come. But there are some hopeful signs of movement in Serbia, where the newly elected government wants to pursue closer relations with Brussels and has a long-term aim to join the EU. That would also allow Kosovo freedom to develop with the framework laid down by Mr Ahtisaari.