Juha Christensen

Juha Christensen
Nationality	Finnish
Occupation(s)	Peace activist, negotiator
Known for	2005 Aceh peace process

Juha Christensen is a Finnish businessman, philanthropist^[1] and negotiator who played an instrumental role in the 2005 Aceh peace process.^[2][3][4] He was also involved in negotiations leading to the release of Phillip Mark Mehrtens, a New Zealand pilot taken hostage by the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) during the 2023 Nduga hostage crisis.^[5]

Life

Christensen is a former pharmaceutical executive.^[3] Before becoming involved in the Aceh peace process, he had lived for several decades in Indonesia,^[6][7][8] and spoke Indonesian fluently.^[9]

Involvement in Aceh peace process

In June 2003 and acting on his own initiative, Christensen went to Stockholm where he initiated discussions with leaders of the Free Aceh Movement.^[10][8] In February 2004 Christensen contacted Martti Ahtisaari, the former President of Finland, who he knew personally,^[11] to become involved in peace negotiations.^[10] Christensen was also able to connect another old friend, Farid Husain,^[12] then the Indonesian Minister of Health, with Ahtisaari and the Finnish CMI (Crisis Management Initiative). Christensen was an active participant in the peace negotiations.^[6][9] As a result of the negotiations that followed, a peace agreement between the parties in conflict was signed in Helsinki on 15 August 2005.^[13][14]

Following the peace agreement, Christensen was a special adviser to the Aceh Monitoring Mission (AMM) until 2006.^[15]

In 2015, Christensen negotiated the surrender and disarming of Din Minimi,^[16][17] a former GAM militant, and 30 of his followers east of Banda Aceh.^{[18][19][20][21]}

As of 2017, Christensen is the general manager of Pacta (Architecture Peace and Conflict Transformation Alliance), a Finnish peace organization that he co-founded.^[22][15]

Christensen was invited to join the Asian Peace and Reconciliation Council as a founding member.^[23][24]

References

1. Farid Husain; Salim Shahab (journalist.) (2007). To See the Unseen: Scenes Behind the Aceh Peace Treaty. Health & Hospital Indonesia. ISBN 978-979-15936-0-1.
2. Post, The Jakarta. "Juha Christensen: Committed to peace".
3. Natalie Ralph (25 September 2015). Peacemaking and the Extractive Industries: Towards a Framework for Corporate Peace. Greenleaf Publishing. pp. 220–. ISBN 978-1-78353-247-6.
4. Jacob Bercovitch; Kwei-Bo Huang; Chung-Chian Teng (28 August 2008). Conflict Management, Security and Intervention in East Asia: Third-party Mediation in Regional Conflict. Routledge. pp. 308–. ISBN 978-1-134-14101-2.
5. Faturahman, Andi Adam (2024-09-22). Chairunnisa, Ninis (ed.). "Pangkogabwilhan III Akui Keterlibatan Aktivis HAM Finlandia dalam Operasi Pembebasan Pilot Susi Air" [Pangkogabwilhan III Admits Finnish Human Rights Activits Involvement in Susi Air Pilot Rescue Operation]. Tempo (in Indonesian). Retrieved 2024-09-22.
6. Sumit Ganguly; Andrew Scobell; Joseph Liow (4 December 2009). The Routledge Handbook of Asian Security Studies. Taylor & Francis. pp. 398–. ISBN 978-1-135-22961-0.
7. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-11-29. Retrieved 2017-03-23.
8. Malin Akebo (10 November 2016). Ceasefire Agreements and Peace Processes: A Comparative Study. Taylor & Francis. pp. 118–. ISBN 978-1-317-20412-1.
9. Katri Merikallio; Tapani Ruokanen (15 October 2015). The Mediator: A Biography of Martti Ahtisaari. Hurst. pp. 295–. ISBN 978-0-19-061313-6.
10. Martina Klimesova (30 November 2015). Using Carrots to Bring Peace?: Negotiation and Third Party Involvement. World Scientific. pp. 165–. ISBN 978-981-4699-12-9.
11. Peng Er Lam (2 June 2009). Japan's Peace-Building Diplomacy in Asia: Seeking a More Active Political Role. Routledge. pp. 138–. ISBN 978-1-134-12506-7.
12. Antje Missbach (19 September 2011). Separatist Conflict in Indonesia: The long-distance politics of the Acehnese diaspora. Taylor & Francis. pp. 230–. ISBN 978-1-136-63108-5.
13. Sille Stidsen (1 July 2006). The Indigenous World 2006. IWGIA. pp. 308–. ISBN 978-87-91563-18-8.
14. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-04-18. Retrieved 2012-11-26.
15. "Team - Pacta".
16. "Din Minimi, Most-wanted Aceh insurgent 'Agreed to Surrender after Jokowi Vowed Amnesty'". globejournal.com. 27 January 2020.
17. "Amnesti Terhadap Din Minimi Masih Akan Dilaporkan ke Presiden".
18. "Kisah Negosiator Finlandia Penghubung Kepala BIN-Din Minimi".
19. "Din Minimi, Band of Acehnese Militants Surrender to Indonesia".
20. "Salainen operaatio viidakossa – suomalaisvälittäjä sai aseet pois vastarintaryhmältä Indonesiassa". 18 January 2016.
21. Tempo.Co (28 January 2016). "Diprotes, Sutiyoso: Amnesti Din Minimi Tetap Diproses".
22. Bersama, PT Jaring News Media. "Juha Christensen: Penyelesaian Konflik di Papua Lebih Kompleks - Jaring News".^{[permanent dead link‍]}
23. "Pacta News - Asian Peace and Reconciliation Council established – PACTA General Manager, Juha Christensen, a Founding Member".
24. "Mr. Juha Christensen - Asian Peace and Reconciliation Council".