Mari Demonstration

This news is a week old, but is none the less worthy of attention. It comes from the Finnish daily newspaper Helsingin Sanomat:

Foreign - Friday 25.2.2005
Members of Russia's Mari minority hold demonstration to defend language and cultural rights

Hard-line president demands cancellation of protest

Members of the Finno-Ugric Mari people have held their first demonstration to defend their culture and history. Friday's peaceful protest attracted a few hundred local people in Joshkar Ola, the capital of the Mari Republic, which lies east of Moscow.

Georgi Pirogov, the chairman of the Mari journalists' association, said by telephone that the slogans used by the demonstrators were somewhat subdued. Signs carried by the marchers bore slogans such as "Russia is our home", "The people are nevertheless stronger", and "Uncivilised officials are a loss for the whole people".

The purpose of the demonstration was to support a list of grievances sent to Leonid Markelov, the hard-line President of the Mari Republic, demanding improvements to the present situation of the ethnic Mari.

The demonstrators want Markelov to cancel the decision made in December to shut down the Mari National Theatre. They also demand that those responsible for making the decision should be punished.

Other demands include the re-establishment of the Mari language section of the Republic's Ministry of Education, the passage of a new language law, the creation of a Mari Cultural Programme in rural areas, and continued economic support for Mari artists.

The demonstrations also called for equal freedom for all newspapers, and the rehiring of the head of the Mari national printing press, who was recently removed from his post.

All of the moves to weaken the position of the Mari people have taken place during the Markelov Presidency. Pirogov says that the President had called the organisers of the march to meet with them just a short time before the event began. "At the meeting Markelov threatened to hurt our operations in any way possible if we would not immediately cancel the demonstration", Pirogov says.

Previously in HS International Edition:

Mari Republic President irate at HS articles; threatens legal action (31.1.2002)

Finno-Ugric Mari people of Central Russia complain of ethnic persecution (27.12.2001)

Links:

Information Centre of Finno-Ugric peoples: the Mari or Cheremisses

http://www.finugor.komiinform.ru/info/countries/mari.html

UNPO (Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organisation) web site: Mari

http://www.unpo.org/

http://www.suri.ee/hs250205.html

(via justice4northcaucasus - which collects news not only from the North Caucasus, but also from other regions of the Russian Federation. The list is well worth subscribing to, and is free.)

See also in this blog: Mari People Appeal
More On Mari Situation