Finnish Communists sack chairman

Press, 28 May 1984, Page 10

Finnish Communists sack chairman

NZPA-Reuter Helsinki The Finnish Communist Party defied Moscow at its congress yesterday by sacking its most senior official, Jouko Kajanoja, the chairman. Mr Kajanoja, aged 41, had been given Moscow’s blessing for the election and recently received a personal message of support from the Soviet leader, Konstantin Chernenko. But he has been criticised by the party’s mainstream “Eurocommunist” majority as being too compliant with the wishes of the minority of hardliners closer to Moscow. The congress voted 183 to 163 for a central committee list replacing Mr Ka-

janoja with Arvo Aalto, aged 51, who has recently come under fire from Moscow for the alleged unorthodoxy of his views. A score of other officials regarded by political analysts in Helsinki as hardliners were also dismissed. A senior Soviet delegation is attending the three-day congress, but was not present when the result was announced. No Soviet reaction was immediately available. The Finnish Communist Party is one of the biggest in the West, with 33,000 members. It was founded in the Soviet Union in 1918 and has close links with Finland’s giant neighbour. The split between main-

stream and minority came in the mid-19605. The hardliners control eight of the party’s 17 districts in the country though not the most populous. The Communist Party was the biggest in the Finnish Parliament some decades ago, and a fixed feature of Centre-Left governments. But its popularity has fallen and it now holds 27 of the 200 seats in alliance with the small socialist group. The congress decision was announced by the building union chief, Aarno Aitamurto, aged 47, who said that Mr Aalto would be elected chairman at a central committee meeting during the conference today.