Dignitaries attend funeral of ex-Finnish President Ahtisaari, peace dealer and Nobel laureate
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Foreign dignitaries gathered in Finland’s capital on Friday to bid farewell to former President Martti Ahtisaari, together with leaders of nations the place he helped attain peace accords. Ahtisaari, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2008, died Oct. 16 on the age of 86.
More than 800 dignitaries and friends, together with Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani, Namibian President Hage Geingob, former Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, and the previous leaders of Indonesia and its Free Aceh insurgent motion, attended the ceremony on the Helsinki Cathedral.
“He was a great Finn, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate. He put his own stamp on both Finnish history and international history,” present Finnish President Sauli Niinistö stated in his eulogy.
“The work President Ahtisaari did in Indonesia, Kosovo, Namibia and many other places has left its mark on the lives of numerous people,” he stated on the finish of the church ceremony, which included wreath laying and music by Finland’s most well-known classical composer, Jean Sibelius.
Ahtisaari helped attain peace accords associated to Serbia’s withdrawal from Kosovo within the late Nineteen Nineties, Namibia’s bid for independence within the Eighties, and autonomy for Aceh province in Indonesia in 2005. He was additionally concerned within the Northern Ireland peace course of within the late Nineteen Nineties, being tasked with monitoring the IRA’s disarmament course of.
He later based the Helsinki-based Crisis Management Initiative, geared toward stopping and resolving violent conflicts by way of casual dialogue and mediation. In May 2017, Ahtisaari stepped down as chairman however stated he would proceed working with the group as an adviser. In 2021, it was introduced that Ahtisaari had superior Alzheimer’s illness.
After the service, troopers carried the casket to a hearse as a navy band performed a funeral march exterior the neoclassical cathedral with its distinctive tall inexperienced dome and 4 smaller domes.
The Finnish flag, a blue cross on a white background, flew at half-staff on Friday throughout the capital.
In chilly climate, tons of of individuals lined up alongside the route from the cathedral by way of downtown Helsinki to the town’s Hietaniemi cemetery the place Ahtisaari was laid to relaxation amongst different Finnish presidents. His widow, Eeva, and son, Marko, every threw a crimson rose into the grave as rain fell gently. The funeral procession briefly stopped exterior the presidential palace the place he served from 1994 till 2000.
The church service and the procession have been broadcast on nationwide tv.
Later, Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo was to host a memorial occasion for overseas friends and different dignitaries.
