TALLINN - Last week the European Parliament, led by a group of Estonian, Finnish and Hungarian MEPs, adopted a resolution criticizing Russia for human and minority rights abuses in the Republic of Mari-El, a region east of Moscow that has a large Finno-Ugric population.
Reminding Russia of its international obligations to protect minority rights, the Strasbourg-based legislative arm of the EU blasted the country for a range of abuses against the Mari people and their language.
In the words of Finno-Ugric members of Parliament, the Mari are suffering discrimination and various human rights abuses, and they are slowly being Russified.
As an example, MEPs cited in the resolution the failure of local law enforcement authorities to apprehend the criminal who attacked Vladimir Kozlov, editor-in-chief of the Finno-Ugric newspaper Kudo+Kodu and head of Mer Kanash, the all-Russian movement of the Mari people. Worse, three journalists were killed in the republic in 2001, the statement said.
Seven Finno-Ugric members 's Toomas Savi, Tunne Kelam, Paavo Vayrynen, Gyorgy Schopflin, to name a few 's called on Russian authorities to take concrete steps to end the abuse.
"We have to condemn these kinds of antidemocratic atrocities every time, but in the case of a small nation, attacks against the basic national institutions like schools and the media threaten the very existence of the nation," Hungarian MEP Gyula Hegyi was quoted as saying by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
"It is the first time that the Mari's case has been discussed on this level, and the discussion was supported by six political groups. But Russians do not like to be criticized," Schopflin told The Baltic Times.
The resolution, part of a larger action plan to save the Mari, came at a time when Russia is waging a major campaign to tarnish the image of Estonia and Latvia for alleged minority rights abuses against their ethnic Russians.
Even the action plan's starting date was selected deliberately, as on April 26, 449 years ago, the Cheremis Prince Poltysh died defending the town of Marmyzh. Poltysh is the Maris' national hero.
Even the action plan's starting date was selected deliberately, as on April 26, 449 years ago, the Cheremis Prince Poltysh died defending the town of Marmyzh. Poltysh is the Maris' national hero.
MEPs stressed that the Mari, like every other nation, has the right to study their native language, to receive objective information and to preserve their culture.
Currently there are neither high schools nor primary schools that provide education in the Mari language, and the number of books published in the Finno-Ugric tongue has been scaled back.
In the past, there have been numerous attempts to start a dialogue between Russian and Mari El authorities, but to no avail. In February 2005, a group of Finnish scientists appealed on behalf of the Mari on the latter's official Web site. Approximately 10,000 people from more than 60 countries signed the appeal.
An EU-Russia Parliamentary Cooperation Committee was held April 19-20 in Moscow, and MEP Tunne Kelam was quoted as saying that the Finno-Ugric members raised the issue of Russian minority rights.
"The Russian delegates treated this matter rather superficially and we did not feel genuine concern. They turned more serious only when we insisted and stressed the importance of this subject to us," he said.
By most estimates, Russia has some 100 national minorities. Three million people are said to be of Finno-Ugric origin. The Mari number about 750,000, and about half of them live outside of Mari El.
Seeking the sympathy of human rights organizations and other institutions, MEPs called for "the allocation of appropriate resources for cultural and youth exchanges with the Finno-Ugric minorities, for providing them scholarships in the schools and universities of the EU member states and for providing them information on the international agreements on Human Rights in their own languages."
"The resolution is a sign that the EU in general, and every member state in particular, are aware of the situation. Of course, adopting the document will not change the Mari's life at once, but it promises positive changes in the future," commented Mall Hellam, executive director of the Open Estonia Foundation.
"I hope that the resolution is not only a document on paper, but that it will elicit a reaction from the Russians," Kelam told The Baltic Times. "The EP delegation that has assembled to carry on a dialog with the Russian Federation always raises the question of observing human rights law. EP delegates will visit several minorities living in Russia next year."
