Lunchtalet om freden

I borgstugan på Kastelholms slott dukades idag lunch för president Tarja Halonen, talare, arrangörer och gäster efter årets Kastelholmssamtal som ordnas av Ålands fredsinstitut.
Utanför ligger slottssundet stilla, som det ofta gör här. Vattnet som i sekler har fört människor, idéer och handel mellan länder är nästan spegelblankt denna vackra vårdag. Och just havet stod i centrum för förmiddagens samtal, havet som arena för både samarbete och konflikt.

Det är ett ämne som känns långt ifrån abstrakt på Åland. Här är havet inte en gräns utan en livsnerv. Det binder samman snarare än skiljer åt.

I en tid då nyhetsflödet ofta fylls av ord som upprustning, spänningar och osäkerhet blev det befriande att höra forskare och experter påminna om något som sällan blir rubriker: att världens institutioner fortfarande står starka och att internationella regelverk fortsätter att skapa stabilitet.

Det är ju just den tanken som bär den åländska lösningen.

Demilitariseringen. Neutraliseringen. Självstyrelsen.

Tre ord som ibland kan låta tekniska, men som i själva verket handlar om något djupt mänskligt: att konflikter kan hanteras genom rätt, förtroende och diplomati, inte genom makt.

Och kanske var det därför lunchen kändes så symbolisk.

Maten hade tillagats av elever från Övningsrestaurang Hjorten vid Ålands yrkesgymnasium, under sina lärares ledning. Tallrik efter tallrik bars in till borden, delikat, vackert presenterat och till slut applåderat av gästerna.

Det var ett fint ögonblick.

För mitt i samtalen om internationella avtal, säkerhetspolitik och historiens lärdomar stod också något annat där i rummet: unga människor som tränar sina yrken och förbereder sig för framtiden.

Kanske passade dagen därför extra bra för en annan nyhet som nådde oss: Finland utsågs idag, för nionde året i rad, till världens lyckligaste land.

Vi gratulerar förstås från Åland.

Och tillåter oss samtidigt den lilla, vänskapliga, misstanken att vi här, antagligen, är ännu en aning lyckligare.

För lyckan ligger kanske inte bara i statistik.

Den kan också finnas i något så enkelt som ett samtal runt ett bord, i respekt mellan människor och i den stilla övertygelsen att fred faktiskt inte bara går att bygga, den går att sprida.

Här är hela dagens tal vid lunchen, på engelska, då vi hade internationella gäster på plats:

President Halonen, Ambassador and General Consul, distinguished speakers and moderator, friends of peace, ladies and gentlemen,

It is both an honour and a pleasure, as Speaker of the Parliament of Åland, to welcome you to this gathering and to offer a few words of gratitude before we share lunch together.
First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere thanks to President Tarja Halonen, whose patronage has helped give the Kastelholm Conversations their international resonance and moral clarity. Your lifelong commitment to human rights, diplomacy and international cooperation continues to inspire all of us who believe that peace must be actively cultivated.

I would also like to warmly thank our speakers, Marie Jacobsson, Kuupik Kleist and Henrik Ringbom, for contributing their insights to today’s discussions, and our moderator Hanna Ojanen for guiding this important dialogue with wisdom and balance.

And of course, my gratitude goes to the Åland Peace Institute for once again creating a forum that encourages dialogue rather than debate, reflection rather than polarization. In today’s world, that is no small achievement.

We gather here every year close to Åland’s Demilitarisation Day, when we remember a remarkable historical commitment: that these islands shall remain outside the machinery of war.
For nearly 170 years, Åland has lived under a unique international arrangement, demilitarised, neutralised, and self-governing.

And perhaps the most remarkable aspect is not that the system was created.

It is that it still works.

In a world where international agreements are often questioned, strained, or abandoned, Åland quietly reminds us that Rule of Law can endure, not for years, but for generations.

This is not an accident. It is the result of trust, diplomacy, and respect for international commitments.

And in that sense, Åland and Finland together represent something profoundly important: a living example that peace can be structured, institutionalised and maintained through law rather than force.

This year’s theme, “The Sea as an Arena for Cooperation and Conflict”, could hardly be more relevant. For us on Åland, the sea is not a distant abstraction. It is our landscape, our livelihood, and our lifeline.

The Baltic Sea connects us to the world. It carries trade, culture, ideas and people. Our history, our economy and our identity are inseparable from a free, open and peaceful sea.

But the sea also reminds us of another truth: where there is movement, there are interests. Where there are interests, there can be tensions. Throughout history, the oceans have been arenas for cooperation, but also for rivalry, competition and sometimes war.

The challenge of our time is to ensure that the sea remains primarily a space for cooperation. And that requires something that is becoming increasingly rare in global politics: patience, dialogue, and respect for international law.

Allow me to offer a slightly provocative thought. Today, everywhere we turn, the dominant language is rearmament.
More weapons. More defence spending. More preparation for conflict. Some of this may feel necessary in an uncertain world. History teaches us not to be naïve. But history also teaches us something else: No society has ever armed itself into lasting peace. Peace has always required something more difficult, trust, restraint, and the courage to imagine alternatives.

So perhaps the real question we should ask ourselves is this: How do we make it “cool” again to talk about peace? How do we ensure that the next generation grows up believing that diplomacy is not weakness, that cooperation is not naïve, and that the rule of law is stronger than the rule of force?

Perhaps gatherings like this, here in Kastelholm, are part of that answer. Because peace does not begin in treaties. It begins in conversations. And here, on these small islands in the Baltic Sea, those conversations carry particular weight.

Åland is small, yes. But in the architecture of peace, size is not everything. Sometimes small places can carry big ideas. The Åland example, demilitarisation, neutralisation, autonomy, shows that conflicts can be solved through law and dialogue rather than domination.

It shows that compromise can create stability. And it reminds the world that peace is not simply the absence of war, it is the presence of trust. Before we continue our conversations this afternoon, it is now time for lunch.

And I am particularly pleased that the meal has been prepared by students from the vocational college. They represent something deeply important: the generation that will inherit the world we are shaping today.

Let us hope that when they look back decades from now, the tensions of our time will appear as passing storms rather than permanent clouds. As the old saying goes: “This too shall pass.”
But whether it passes peacefully or painfully depends very much on the choices we make today. Thank you all for being part of these conversations. And now, please enjoy the meal.

Bon appétit.