Address
of the Extraordinary Republic Congress of the Mari
People to the United Nations and world public
In these disastrous days for the native people of the Mari El Republic,
we invoke aid all the progressive mankind of the world. The elections of
the new president of the Mari El Republic that have been recently held
in our republic have confirmed our apprehensive that L. Markelov will come
to power again. For the period of four years, this man has
done everything in order to depredate the national republic, abase Mari
nation. Using impudent method of pressure and horrification of people,
using all the administrative resources and with the help of officials from
Moscow L. Markelov managed to keep the power in his hands. This man
has not got any kind of relations to our native land. We are being insulted
and it is publicly said that we are not able to rule our own republic and
that a man of Mari persuasion cannot be the president of the Mari El Republic.
All kind of information about the distressful situation of people is concealed
meticulously and everything possible is done so that the president of Russia
V. Putin gets to know nothing about the real situation in the republic.
Already now, after the elections, the prosecution of those who let themselves
to take against Markelov has begun. Moreover, this campaign against
everyone who is unwanted for him will continue further. People have
no idea where to hide themselves, where to go, and how to save their children
and families. We are sure that there can be beaten and dismissed
victims who dared to tell the truth about Markelovs regime. The
whole nation lives in fear.
The indexes of socio-economic development of Mari El demonstratively
speak for themselves there is no one poorer than we are in Russia.
People leave the republic; the factories, villages, and households are
disorganized and abandoned but in Moscow we are convinced that the republic
under Markelovs leadership is on the up grade. We personally experience
this up grade. The most important is that we are deprived
of elementary human freedom and rights, not the new buildings and cities
grow but the graveyards do. We appeal to you to do everything
possible to bring L. Markelov to international tribunal for the genocide
of Mari people.
We are not nationalists, not any political opposition. We just
want to live worthily, use all worldwide accepted freedom and rights, earn
a living worthily, bring up children. Why is one person the
master of thousands beggarly fates of people, why does he consider us to
be the trash? We do not want to bear it any longer and we are forced to
appeal to the world public in order to protect the whole nation and all
our fraternal people who live on the territory of Mari El from this impudent
man by the name of Markelov.
Initiative group of the Extraordinary Republic Congress
of the Mari People
The Mari El Republic Yoshkar-Ola 23 December 2004
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