Appeal of the Board of the Youth Association of Finno-Ugric Peoples
To the international society and the state authorities of Finno-Ugric countries
and regions
09.03.06
 1.
The Youth Association of Finno-Ugric Peoples YAFUP/MAFUN, uniting 39 Finno-Ugric
youth organisations from Finland, Hungary, Estonia and the Russian Federation,
is an independent, non-governmental, and non-political international union
of Finno-Ugric youth that was created to establish cultural contacts and
so as to strengthen national self-consciousness.
The YAFUP/MAFUN Board welcomes the striving of state authorities of
Finno-Ugric countries and regions for supporting youth movement and for
keeping dialogue with it. At the same time, the YAFUP/MAFUN Board expresses
its concern that state authorities started to interfere more and more frequently
into activities of the Association and to involve it into political games
and intrigues.
2. The VII YAFUP/MAFUN congress in May last year elected Vassily Petrov
to be the head of the Association for the second term. We know Vassily
Petrov as a man of principle and a person merited to represent Finno-Ugric
youth. The YAFUP/MAFUN Board expresses its indignation of the fact that
YAFUP/MAFUN chairman Vassily Petrov was attacked and mercilessly beaten
in August 2006. The YAFUP/MAFUN Board protests resolutely against insinuations
and lies of official authorities of the Republic of Mari El connected to
this incident.
3. The YAFUP/MAFUN Board declares its intention that also in the future
it will continue to stand up for its right to freely and unprejudicedly
evaluate the conditions of the Finno-Ugric youth and to take measures for
their improvement. The YAFUP/MAFUN Board expresses its indignation of the
situation in the Republic of Mari El and joins the Appeal
on Behalf of the Mari People. At the same time, the YAFUP/MAFUN Board
sees possibilities for state authorities to improve the situation in particular
by organising events like the International Finno-Ugric Students Conference
IFUSCO XXII.
4. The YAFUP/MAFUN Board hopes that state authorities of the Republic
of Mari El will assist in creating favourable and democratic conditions
for the International Finno-Ugric Students Conference IFUSCO XXII and other
events. However, the YAFUP/MAFUN Board declares as a matter of principal
that attempts to involve the youth into political games are inadmissible
from whoever's site, including the official bodies of the Republic of Mari
El.
SYAFUP/MAFUN Board,
Helsinki, 5th March 2006
Source: Information Centre
of Finno-Ugric Peoples
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