Finland refuses to sell to Israel what are considered to be the best gas-detection kits in the world, despite widespread evaluations that Iraq may attack Israel with poison chemical weapons. The computerized kits accurately identify chemical warfare materials, but Finland claims that the European Union forbids the export of dual-use equipment to countries in conflict.
An email response sent in the name of Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja explains that Finland did agree to sell Israel "thousands of gas masks" - of which Israel already has a sufficient amount. On another occasion, however, Tuomioja delivered a speech in which he said that he is "appalled at the Israeli policy of suppression, humiliation, subordination and impoverishment towards the Palestinians..." Tuomioja's e-mail address, not as reported yesterday, is "Erkki.Tuomioja@formin.fi".
An email response sent in the name of Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja explains that Finland did agree to sell Israel "thousands of gas masks" - of which Israel already has a sufficient amount. On another occasion, however, Tuomioja delivered a speech in which he said that he is "appalled at the Israeli policy of suppression, humiliation, subordination and impoverishment towards the Palestinians..." Tuomioja's e-mail address, not as reported yesterday, is "Erkki.Tuomioja@formin.fi".