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Political terror in Mari El

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Title: Political terror in Mari El


1
Political terror in Mari El
  • Anna Rönngård

2
Basic facts about Mari El
  • One of Russias 89 republics
  • Capital Yoshkar Ola
  • Population over 760 000 (2000)
  • State of government 67 deputies and 1 president
  • Languages Russia (47), Mari (43), Tatar,
    Chuvash, Udmurt and others (10)
  • Finno-Ugric nation
  • Resources forest, metal industry, food processing

3
Recent history of the republic
  • 1920 - an autonomous region
  • 1936 - the Mari Autonomous Soviet Socialist
    Republic was created
  • 1990 - the Supreme Soviet of Mari declared
    sovereignty of the republic
  • 1991 a member of UNPO
  • 1992 - the republic changed it name from Mari to
    Mari El

4
Presidential elections in Mari El
  • January 1997, both final candidates were Russian
    speaking with no nowledge of the Mari language -
    Kislitsy won.
  • 2001, a native of Moscow who does not speak the
    Mari language won the elections Leonid Markelov
  • 19 december 2004, Markelov was re-elected with 57
    of the votes in the first round
  • Since 1997 the situation of the native Mari
    speaking people has become worse and worse

5
Current situation in Mari El
  • Since 1997 many Mari officials have been removed
    from key positions in society
  • Journalists are frequently beaten by people who
    never got caught by authorities
  • The republics independent newspapers is no
    longer independent
  • During Markelovs time in office, hundreds of Mari
    officials and teachers have been fired on false
    pretences
  • The number of Mari civil servant to loose their
    jobs can rise to 1,000

6
Crimes against journalists and opposition leaders
in Mari El
  • Examples from a list of many crimes during
    Markelovs presidency
  • November 2001 Aleksandr Babaykin, assistant
    chief editor of the opposition newspaper The Good
    Neighbours, is brutally killed in the centre of
    Yoshkar-Ola
  • March 2002 Vladimir Maltsev, chief editor of the
    newspaper The Good Neighbours, is attacked and
    caused severe bodily injures, two days later the
    door of his apartment is poured over with fuel
    and put on fire by unknown persons

7
Crimes against journalists and opposition leaders
in Mari El
  • January 2005 correspondent of the radio
    Liberty/radio Free Europe Yelena Rogacheva, is
    attacked
  • February 2005 Vladimir Kozlov, chief editor of
    the international Finno-Ugric newspaper, member
    of the Consultative Committee of the World
    Congress of Finno-Ugric Peoples and leader of the
    all-Russian movement of Mari people, was attacked
    and severely beaten

8
Crimes against journalists and opposition leaders
in Mari El
  • Nothing has been done by the local authorities to
    try to stop the discrimination and attacks
    against the Mari people
  • Nothing has been done to find out the identity on
    the attackers
  • The beating 2-3 strikes at the back of the head
    with an iron pipe, continued after the person has
    fallen to the ground

9
What actions are taken to stop this?
  • The opposition (Mari people) has appealed to
    courts after the presidential election
  • The council of the Mari El Association has wrote
    a letter of actions addressed to all people in
    power in Mari El
  • The Estonian Institute for Human Rights called to
    support Mari people on the 28th of February with
    a press relase, calling on Russia to stop
    persecuting Mari journalists and leaders of
    political opposition, as well as infringing on
    the rights of the minority people in Mari El

10
What actions are taken to stop this?
  • The issue of violation of human rights of the
    Mari minority will be examined at the European
    Parliament
  • Its Commission on Ethnic Minorities and Regional
    Languages has included the issue of violation of
    human rights of Maris on their agenda
  • The situation in Mari El is receiving extensive
    media coverage in Finland and Estonia

11
What actions are taken to stop this?
  • The European Comission was adressing this problem
    on April 26th at talks with the Russian
    parliament

12
Conclusion
  • The future of Mari people is still unknown
  • The European Union has given the people hope that
    there will be an end to the discrimination
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