Opposition unites against education minister

  • 2005-09-07
  • From wire reports
TALLINN - A spokesperson for the Social Democrats has suggested that all three opposition parties join a motion of no confidence against Education Minister Mailis Reps for her apparent faux pas during a recent visit to a Russian province.


The motion was suggested by the right-wing party Res Publica on Sept. 5.

"We consider it necessary to discuss the matter in the full chamber of Parliament, where it will be possible to hear the government's official stance on what happened, and where the Estonian Mari Society, parliamentary partners, factions and the broad public can offer an assessment of Reps' conduct," party chairman Taavi Veskimagi was quoted as saying.

For nearly a month now, Reps has been castigated by the opposition for statements she made during her visit to the Mari El Republic in Russia.

As a result of her actions, Social Democrat Olari Koppel said the minister no longer deserved the party's respect. "We hope to start consultations on that topic at the first opportunity," he told the Baltic News Service, adding that he rejected Reps' explanations.

"The foreign relations' secretary of the Center Party, a cooperation partner for [Russian President Vladimir] Putin, cannot hide behind a shortage of skills or knowledge, nor provocation by the Russian propaganda machine," Koppel continued. "Reps said what she had to say and what she thought, with the purpose of rehabilitating the actions of the Moscow central power in the Mari republic."

Spokespeople for Pro Patria Union, the third opposition party in addition to Res Publica and the Social Democrats, said they would definitely discuss the matter.

Another right-wing opposition party, the Pro Patria Union, has condemned Reps' statements.

The minister's statements, broadcast in an interview with Russia's Vesti news program on Aug. 16, were largely perceived as being supportive of Moscow's policy vis-à-vis the Mari, a Finno-Ugric people, at a time when there have been major allegations of human rights abuses and inadequacies.

The European Parliament in May adopted a resolution calling on Russia to address the Mari's minority rights.

Reps, however, told Russian television, "The things I saw and the facts that I read at home are not very similar. One may say that [in Estonia] the situation [in Mari El] is perceived as being slightly worse," the minister reported after visiting a school and cultural center in Mari-El.

Pro Patria faction chairman Andres Herkel was so incensed he sent an inquiry to Prime Minister Andrus Ansip.

The party also demanded that the Centrists, to which Reps belongs, cancel their cooperation agreement with Russia's United Russia, the pro-Kremlin party that dominates Russia's Parlaiment.

A Center Party spokesman said the planned no-confidence motion was an attempt by Res Publica to distract public attention from its own internal problems and disintegration, in particular the party's failed education program (See story on Page 1). The fact that MPs and well-known academics had quit the party was further proof, he added.

"Res Publica has turned the tragic fate of the Mari people into a tool in the domestic political struggle," the spokesman said.

Reform Party members said they would discuss the possibility of a no-confidence vote once Parliament gathers for its fall session and the motion is handed in.

An official from the People's Union, the third party in the ruling trio, said the party was not taking a stance on threats emanating from the opposition. Neither the governing board nor the party council has discussed Reps' case, the spokesman added.

Media and NGOs have complained that the Mari, like other Finno-Ugric peoples living in Russia, are suffering extensively from a Russification campaign promoted by local authorities. Those in power, they argue, are doing nothing to stop attacks on Mari activists or punish those guilty of the violence.

The signatures of at least 21 MPs are required to file a motion of no confidence against a Cabinet minister. The motion must be backed by at least 51 members of the 101-seat chamber.