Freedom in the World 1999 - Finland

1999 Scores

Status: Free
Freedom Rating: 1.0
Civil Liberties: 1
Political Rights: 1

Overview

In March, Finland's fragile coalition government, led by Paavo Lipponen of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), won reelection to another four-year term. Although the SDP lost 12 of the 63 seats it had held since the 1995 elections, the coalition (including the SDP, the National Coalition Party, the Left Alliance, the Greens, and the Swedish People's Party) won more than half the seats in Finland's 200-seat unicameral parliament, the Eduskunta. During 1999, Finland joined the European Monetary Union and continued its integration into the European Union (but not, so far, into NATO). In July, Finland assumed the rotating EU presidency, the first time it has done so since joining the union in 1995.

The achievement of Finnish independence followed some eight centuries of foreign domination, first by Sweden (until 1809) and subsequently as a Grand Duchy within the prerevolutionary Russian empire.

Finland's current constitution, issued in July 1919, was amended in February 1999. The new constitution diminishes the power of the president (which was unusually broad under the former constitution) while increasing the power of the parliament. Parliament is thus established as the supreme political organ. The president of the republic, however, will retain competence in such fields as foreign policy and proposition of legislation and will retain the power to dissolve parliament and to appoint the most senior public officials. In addition, the president will remain the commander in chief of the armed forces of Finland. The new constitution goes into effect in March 2000.

Political Rights and Civil Liberties

Finns can change their government by democratic means. The Aland Islands, populated mainly by Swedes, have their own provincial parliament. The local Liberal Party won the elections that took place in mid-October, 1999. The result seems to have been something of a blow to earlier demands for even greater autonomous powers in Aland, as the Liberals do not share the Free Conservative and Centre Party beliefs that the current system is inadequate.

Finland has a large variety of newspapers and magazines and the highest number of Internet users per capita in the world. Newspapers are privately owned, some by political parties or their affiliates; many others are controlled by or support a particular party.

The rights of ethnic and religious minorities are protected. The Saamis (or Lapps), who make up less than one percent of the population, are guaranteed cultural autonomy by the constitution. Both Finnish and Swedish are official languages of the country. In recent years, concern has risen about increasing instances of racist and xenophobic behavior. Finland receives on average 700 to 900 asylum seekers per year. To facilitate their absorbtion, the government has revised Finland's Aliens Law and adopted a new law promoting the integration of immigrants into Finnish society. Both laws took effect on May 1, 1999.

Finns enjoy freedom of religion, and both the predominant Lutheran Church and the smaller Orthodox Church are financed through a special tax from which citizens may exempt themselves. The archbishop and the bishops of the Lutheran Church are appointed by the president.

Finnish workers have the right to organize, bargain, and strike, and an overwhelming majority belong to trade unions. The 1.1 million-member Central Organization of Finnish Trade Unions, which is linked to the SDP, dominate the labor movement.

The constitution provides for an independent judiciary, consisting of the supreme court, the supreme administrative court and the lower courts. The president appoints supreme court justices, who in turn appoint the lower court judges. In 1999, the number of people in Finland's 23 prisons did not exceed 3,000.

Gender-based equality is guaranteed by law. In 1906, Finland became the first country in Europe to give women full political entitlement, including the right to vote and hold office; women now constitute 37 percent of the parliament. Among the candidates for the year 2000 presidential elections, four are women.