Talk:Åland Islands dispute

Untitled
Tuomas: Please explain why you think 15% of the mainland population (i.e. the Swedish-speaking) considered themseves to be Swedish??? This appears very POV.

I can see your point in that the Ålanders considered themselves Swedish, but not the mainland Swdish speakers. I am of Swedish-speaking Finnish descent myself (Hangö, Bromarv), and none of my grandparents or other relatives EVER considered themselves to be Swedes at that time (1917)! User: 85.76.95.40

There's lot's of discussion about this. My understanding, based on following these discussions, is that the Ålanders have a quite different identity compared to the Swedish speakers in Finland. I'm not sure exactly what the differences are, but generally it seems that they see themselves as more Swedish than the Swedish speakers in Finland. Osli73 21:12, 5 June 2006 (UTC)

To call one self a Swede does not necesarily have anything to do with nationality, but more to do with ethnicity. I still know a lot of people in present day Finland that call them selves Swedes to mark their ethnicity, but have a really strong national Finnish identity. The later is less common among younger folks though. That said, to see one self as a Swede does not make make one a Swede when it comes to national identity.

On political dispute
Articles history has a deleted statement: "Swedish diplomats tried to deceive the League of Nations by distributing faked maps that translated the Åland's main islands circa 20 km towards the Swedish coast." I recall that an YLE document G. J. Ramstedtin maailma mentions that the Swedish diplomats really offered faked maps to other diplomats. Perhaps this is a historical fact that should be inculed in the article? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 87.93.216.248 (talk) 10:36, 4 June 2022 (UTC)

NPOV
In 1921, again despite the fact that 90 percent of the islands' population was Swedish — and that they expressed an almost unanimous desire of being incorporated into Sweden — the League of Nations determined that the Åland Islands should remain under Finnish sovereignty,

This article is clearly pushing a point of view and needs a complete re-write. --Kieran Bennett 08:04, 13 January 2007 (UTC)