Blogikirjoitteluun ei kaiken muun viimeaikaisen kirjoitustyön  jälkeen ole oikein riittänyt intoa. Ehkä luova tauko tekee hyvääkin, kun ei ole tarvetta kirjoittaa kirjoittamisen pakosta kuten esimerkiksi monella kansanedustajaehdokkaalla. Ajatus kulkee usein paremmin, kun idun antaa kasvaa rauhassa.

Toinen hyvä keino on hapettaa aivonsa, eikä nyhjätä päätteen ääressä kuten nyt. Taidan vetäytyä Margaret Macmillanin mukaansaimevän Peacemakers. Six Months that Changed the World-kirjan pariin. Wilson, Clemenceau ja George heräävät henkiin ensimmäisen maailmansodan jälkeen järjestetyn Pariisin rauhankonferenssista kertovan opuksen sivuilla.

The UN Secretary General Kofi Annan is retiring, in three weeks time to be more precise. He made his final speech as the UN SC at the Truman Presidential Museum and Library in Independence, Missouri.

Annan crystallized his 44 years at the UN in five thesis or principles, which he believes “are essential for the future conduct of international relations: collective responsibility, global solidarity, the rule of law, mutual accountability, and multilateralism.”

The most controversial - I assume - is Annan’s principle of mutual accountability. It goes straight against the much cherished and traditional assumption of state sovereignty. According to Annan - and his views are still quite conservative from the cutting edge theorizing of international relations discipline point of view - “governments must be accountable for their actions in the international arena, as well as in the domestic one.”

Annan continues: “As things stand, accountability between states is highly skewed. Poor and weak states are easily held to account, because they need foreign assistance. But large and powerful states, whose actions have the greatest impact on others, can be constrained only by their own people, working through their domestic institutions.

That gives the people and institutions of such powerful states a special responsibility to take account of global views and interests, as well as national ones.”

The first part of the quote is quite commonsensical and accepted by many. However, the key to betterment, if so judged, is rockier. How to ensure that the powerful do not stomp the weak? Furthermore, who should have power and say in international affairs? Is power there just to be catched and utilised by those who can? What restraints the potentially powerful not to abuse their abilities?

Do we need a global catastrophe that affects everyone to be able and willing to act collectively or would that just exaggerate the problems: run if you can. Sink or swim. Nobody is throwing you a life jacket.

The retiring Annan offered a ray of hope. He spoke of the Truman tradition and essentially about the ability of human beings to build their own future for the better. If they only would decide to do so.

I neither know Kofi Annan personally nor can be sure of his ability to change the world but the image that has reached me via media is one of calmness and a tribal chief-like wiseness. I hope that he manages to transfer these abilities to his successor for the betterment of all humanity.

There are people and there are political people. His holiness Dalai Lama belongs to the latter group, maybe more than many realize. How else can one explain that he managed to be one of the main issues of the question hour of the Finnish parliament - after he had visited Finland?

The opposition MPs tried in vain to lure ministers to give an honest answer to the question why any minister did not meet Dalai Lama while he was here. Even Minister of Foreign Affairs Tuomioja who is known for his symphatetic views towards oppressed nations and people had to bite his lip and say, truthfully, that the Government had not received any formal audience request from the Tibetan delegation. From a human rights point of view this was a bit sad.

I do not get easily provoked but the latest episode in the latest Middle East crisis will add an additional straw on my back. An Israeli missile hit a UN post notwithstanding that the UN troops had contacted the Israelis ten times before the attack, which took the lives of four UN peacekeepers, including a Finn.

This kind of totally reckless behaviour makes me think how long can Israel continue to kill and maim with the rest of the world just standing by? Naturally this will not be the last Middle East crisis but it is now, sadly, closer to many Finns.