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A '''fidayeen attack''' is a suicide tactic used by terrorists. Such attacks are especially common in the [[India|Indian]] state of [[Jammu and Kashmir]]. In a ''fidayeen'', an extremist equips himself (most ''fidayeens'' are men) with weapons and a sizeable amount of ammunition. He then proceeds to gain entrance into a public gathering or other crowded area and proceeds to open fire on law-enforcement personnel and the general public. He continues his attack till he runs out of ammunition, at which point he is either gunned down by security forces or committs suicide. ''Fidayeen'' militants sometimes do attempt to escape but are almost always shot by anti-terrorist squads shortly afterward due to the fact that the terrorists rarely have a "getaway" plan chalked out. These terrorists, like [[suicide bombers]] plan on being killed during the execution of the attack.
{{Politics of Finland}}
'''[[Finland]]’s [[foreign policy]]''' is based on the membership of the [[European Union]] with its customs union, military non-alliance, and neutrality. Finland is also in the [[Nordic Council]], and has long traditions of co-operation with the Nordic Countries. Finland has good relations with all its neighbors, [[Sweden]], [[Norway]], [[Russia]] and [[Estonia]], and is not involved in international conflicts or border disputes. The military doctrine is strictly self-defensive, and indeed, the [[Constitution of Finland]] allows participation only in military operations authorized by the [[United Nations|UN]] or the [[OSCE]]. Public opinion is against joining any military alliances, such as [[NATO]], although Finland is involved in the [[Partnership for Peace]] program with NATO. Foreign trade is highly important, as about a third of the [[gross domestic product]] comes from foreign trade, and Finland depends on imports for most raw materials.
A Fidayeen attack is not a suicide attack. It is a different kind of [[Jihadi]] attack usually carried out by [[Lashkar-e-Toiba]] in Jammu and Kashmir. In this attack a Fidayee or [[Mujahid]] heavily armed enters into a military camp or convoy and start firing bullets and throwing grenades and fights till death. A fidayee does not blow himself up with explosives and if he gets a chance after fulfilling the mission he may try to escape. The record of the organization which introduced Fidayeen attack in Kashmir shows that more than 70 percent of the Fidayeen came back alive after conducting the operation. It was never reported that a Fidayeen opened fire on a public place. A recent Fidayee attack was carried out by Lashkar-e-Toiba in [[Srinagar]] shows that the Fidayee was firing gun shots on security personals while civilians were lying under his legs but he killed none and was himself killed after one hour. (See Aaj Tak TV and Zee TV videos of attack on Congress public meeting)
From the end of the [[Continuation War]] with the [[Soviet Union|U.S.S.R.]] in 1944 until 1991, the policy was to avoid [[superpower]] conflicts and to build mutual confidence with the Western powers and the Soviet Union. Although the country was culturally, socially, and politically [[Western civilization|Western]], Finns realized they must live in peace with the U.S.S.R. and take no action that might be interpreted as a security threat. The [[collapse of the Soviet Union]] in 1991 opened up dramatic new possibilities for Finland and has resulted in the Finns actively seeking greater participation in Western political and economic structures.
==External links==
==Relations With the Soviet Union and With Russia==
*[http://www.irna.ir/en/news/view/line-16/0511239369185334.htm Example of such an attack in Kashmir]
The principal architect of the post-1944 foreign policy of [[neutral country|neutrality]] was [[Juho Kusti Paasikivi|J.K. Paasikivi]], who was President from 1946 to 1956. [[Urho Kekkonen]], President from 1956 until 1981, further developed this policy, stressing that Finland should be an active rather than a passive neutral. This policy is now popularly known as the “[[Paasikivi-Kekkonen Line]].”
[[Category:Terrorism in India]]
===Humiliation===
[[Category:Islamist terrorism]]
Finland signed the [[Paris Peace Treaty]] with the [[Allies]] in February 1947, which:
[[Category:Terrorism]]
* confirmed Finland’s concessions in the [[Moscow Peace Treaty]] with exception for the Soviet lease of [[Hanko Peninsula]] in south-westernmost Finland
* limited the size of [[Finnish Defence Forces|Finland’s armed forces]]
* ratified the cessions after the [[Winter War]] and the [[Continuation War]]
* gave the Soviet Union a naval base at [[Porkkala]] 30 kilometres west of [[Helsinki]] including rights of free transit
* contained unnecessary but particularly humiliating provisions directed against “[[Fascism]] in Finland”
* called for Finland to pay to the Soviet Union [[war reparations]] amounting to an estimated $570 million in 1952, the year the payments ended. Arguably these reparations, however, strengthened the Finnish economy.
The development from the [[Abyssinia crisis]], indicating the failure of the [[League of Nations]], to the Paris Peace Treaty, when the last hope of more than oral support from the ideologically akin [[Western countries]] faded, convinced the Finns that they had absolutely no-one other than themselves to rely on in their problematic relations with the Soviet Union.
The Finnish Army, which in defence against the Soviet Union had numbered to over 500,000, was to be limited to 34,400 men, the navy to 4,500 men and 10,000 tons, and the air force to 3,000 men and 60 planes. With this provision the Western Allies had, seemingly, left Finland in the Soviet Union’s power.
The political clauses of the Paris Peace Treaty were particularly alienating. Through this clause, the Allies agreed to [[the Kremlin]] view that the Soviet Union represented “Liberty” and Finland represented “Fascism”. The peace treaty stipulated that the country should take all measures necessary to secure ''“human rights and the fundamental freedoms, including freedom of expression, of press and publication, of religious worship, of political opinion and of public meeting.”'' Finland’s government undertook further to prevent the resurgence of Fascist organizations or any others, ''“whether political, military or semi-military, whose purpose it is to deprive the people of their democratic rights.”'' With the exception that the victor’s interpretation of “Fascist organizations” turned out to be wide, these clauses had no practical effects.
===Reassurance===
''(See also: [[Finlandization]])''
For the survival of Finland as an independent [[sovereignty|sovereign]] [[country]], firmly convicted in the value of [[democracy]], [[capitalism]], [[human rights|human]] and [[civil rights]], Finland had to find a formula to convince [[Stalin]] and his successors, that the Soviet Union’s vital interests could be met voluntarily by the Finns. This was the gist of the [[Paasikivi doctrine]].
In April 1948, Finland signed an [[Agreement of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance]] with the Soviet Union. Under this mutual assistance pact, Finland was obliged — with the aid of the Soviet Union, if necessary — to resist armed attacks by [[Germany]] or its allies against Finland or against the U.S.S.R. through Finland. At the same time, the agreement recognized Finland’s desire to remain outside great-power conflicts. This agreement was renewed for 20 years in 1955, in 1970, and again in 1983 to the year 2003.
Finland responded cautiously in 1990–91 to the [[collapse of the Soviet Union]]. They unilaterally abrogated restrictions imposed by the 1947 and 1948 treaties, joined in voicing [[Nordic countries|Nordic]] concern over the coup against Soviet leader [[Mikhail Gorbachev]], and gave increasing unofficial encouragement to [[Baltic countries|Baltic]] independence.
At the same time, by replacing the Soviet-Finnish mutual assistance pact with treaties on general cooperation and trade, Finns put themselves on an equal footing while retaining a friendly bilateral relationship. Finland now is boosting cross-border commercial ties and touting its potential as a commercial gateway to Russia. It has reassured Russia that it will not raise claims for Finnish territory seized by the U.S.S.R., and continues to reaffirm the importance of good bilateral relations.
==Multilateral Relations==
Finnish foreign policy emphasizes its participation in multilateral organizations. Finland joined the [[United Nations]] in 1955 and the [[European Union]] in 1995. As noted, the country also is a member of [[NATO]]’s [[Partnership for Peace]] as well as an observer in the [[Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council]] and the [[Western European Union]].
Finland is well represented in the [[UN civil service]] in proportion to its population and belongs to several of its specialized and related agencies. Finnish troops have participated in [[UN peacekeeping]] activities since 1956, and the Finns continue to be one of the largest per capita contributors of peacekeepers in the world. Finland is an active participant in the [[Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe]] (OSCE) and in early 1995 assumed the co-chairmanship of the OSCE’s [[Minsk Group]] on the [[Nagorno-Karabakh Republic|Nagorno-Karabakh]] conflict.
Cooperation with the other [[Scandinavia]]n countries also is important to Finland, and it has been a member of the [[Nordic Council]] since 1955. Under the council’s auspices, the Nordic countries have created a common labor market and have abolished immigration controls among themselves. The council also serves to coordinate social and cultural policies of the participating countries and has promoted increased cooperation in many fields.
In addition to the organizations already mentioned, Finland is a member of the [[International Bank for Reconstruction and Development]], the [[International Monetary Fund]], the [[World Trade Organization]], the [[International Finance Corporation]], the [[International Development Association]], the [[Bank for International Settlements]], the [[Asian Development Bank]], the [[Inter-American Development Bank]], the [[Council of Europe]], and the [[Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development]].
Relations between the [[United States]] and Finland are warm. Some 200,000 U.S. citizens visit Finland annually, and about 3,000 U.S. citizens are resident there. The U.S. has an educational exchange program in Finland that is comparatively large for a Western European country of Finland’s size. It is financed in part from a trust fund established in 1976 from Finland’s final repayment of a U.S. loan made in the aftermath of [[World War I]].
Finland is bordered on the east by [[Russia]] and, as one of the former Soviet Union’s neighbours, has been of particular interest and importance to the US both during the [[Cold War]] and in its aftermath. Before the USSR dissolved in 1991, longstanding US policy was to support Finnish neutrality while maintaining and reinforcing Finland’s historic, cultural, and economic ties with the West. The US has welcomed Finland’s increased participation since 1991 in Western economic and political structures.
Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Finland has moved steadily towards integration into Western institutions and abandoned its formal policy of neutrality, which has been recast as a policy of military nonalliance coupled with the maintenance of a credible, independent defence. Finland’s 1994 decision to buy 64 [[F-18 Hornet]] fighter planes from the United States signalled the abandonment of the country’s policy of balanced arms purchases from East and West.
In 1994, Finland joined NATO’s Partnership for Peace; the country is also an observer in the North Atlantic Cooperation Council. Finland became a full member of the European Union (EU) in January 1995, at the same time acquiring observer status in the EU’s defence arm, the Western European Union.
Economic and trade relations between Finland and the United States are active and were bolstered by the F-18 purchase. U.S.-Finland trade totals almost $5 billion annually. The U.S. receives about 7% of Finland’s exports — mainly [[Wood pulp|pulp]] and [[paper]], ships, and machinery — and provides about 7% of its imports — principally [[computer]]s, [[semiconductors]], [[aircraft]], and machinery.
'''Disputes - international:''' none
==International organization participation==
<table><tr valign="top"><td width="25%">
*[[African Development Bank|AfDB]]
*[[AsDB]]
*[[Australia Group]]
*[[Bank for International Settlements|BIS]]
*[[CBSS]]
*[[Customs Cooperation Council|CCC]]
*[[Council of Europe|CE]]
*[[CERN]]
*[[Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council|EAPC]]
*[[European Bank for Reconstruction and Development|EBRD]]
*[[United Nations Economic Commission for Europe|ECE]]
*[[European Investment Bank|EIB]]
*[[European Space Agency|ESA]]
*[[EU]]
*[[FAO]]
*[[G-9]]
*[[Inter-American Development Bank|IADB]]
<td width="25%">
*[[International Atomic Energy Agency|IAEA]]
*[[International Bank for Reconstruction and Development|IBRD]]
*[[International Civil Aviation Organization|ICAO]]
*[[International Chamber of Commerce|ICC]]
*[[International Criminal Court|ICC]]
*[[ICFTU]]
*[[International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement|ICRM]]
*[[International Development Association|IDA]]
*[[International Energy Agency|IEA]]
*[[International Fund for Agricultural Development|IFAD]]
*[[International Finance Corporation|IFC]]
*[[International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement|IFRCS]]
*[[International Hydrographic Organization|IHO]]
*[[International Labour Organization|ILO]]
*[[International Monetary Fund|IMF]]
*[[International Maritime Organization|IMO]]
*[[Interpol]]
*[[IOC]]
<td width="25%">
*[[International Organization for Migration|IOM]]
*[[International Organization for Standardization|ISO]]
*[[International Telecommunication Union|ITU]]
*[[United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara|MINURSO]]
*[[Non-Aligned Movement|NAM]] (guest)
*[[Nordic Council|NC]]
*[[Nuclear Energy Agency|NEA]]
*[[NIB]]
*[[Nuclear Suppliers Group|NSG]]
*[[Organization of American States|OAS]] (observer)
*[[OECD]]
*[[OPCW]]
*[[Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe|OSCE]]
*[[Permanent Court of Arbitration|PCA]]
*[[Partnership for Peace|PFP]]
*[[United Nations|UN]]
*[[United Nations Conference on Trade and Development|UNCTAD]]
*[[UNESCO]]
*[[UNHCR]]
<td width="25%">
*[[United Nations Industrial Development Organization|UNIDO]]
*[[UNIKOM]]
*[[United Nations Institute for Training and Research|UNITAR]]
*[[UNMEE]]
*[[United Nations Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina|UNMIBH]]
*[[United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo|UNMIK]]
*[[UNMOGIP]]
*[[United Nations Mission of Observers in Prevlaka|UNMOP]]
*[[UNOMIG]]
*[[United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor|UNTAET]]
*[[UNTSO]]
*[[Universal Postal Union|UPU]]
*[[WEU]] (observer)
*[[World Federation of Trade Unions|EFTU]]
*[[World Health Organization|WHO]]
*[[World Intellectual Property Organization|WIPO]]
*[[World Meteorological Organization|WMO]]
*[[World Trade Organization|WTrO]]
*[[Zangger Committee]]
</table>
''See also: [[Politics of Finland]]''
==References==
*[[CIA World Factbook]] - [http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/fi.html Finland]
{{Europe in topic|Foreign relations of|Foreign relations of Europe}}
[[Category:Foreign relations of Finland| ]]
[[Category:Foreign relations by country|Finland]]
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