More Russian input on the Ilves flap
- From: holman@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (Eugene Holman)
- Date: Fri, 04 Jul 2008 14:00:46 +0300
Source: http://www.themoscowtimes.com/article/600/42/368684.htm
<quote>
A Rich Russia Must Protect All People
02 July 2008
Estonian President Toomas Ilves should have known that his remarks that
some Finno-Ugric people have yet to taste freedom would irk Russia, home
to 2 million of its members.
"Many Finno-Ugric people have yet to make this choice," Toomas told a
Finno-Ugric conference on Saturday. "Once you have tasted freedom, you
will realize how much of it is sacrificed in the name of surviving or just
getting by."
He also hinted that only the European Union could protect the rights of
Russia's ethnic minorities. "The European Union umbrella has given the
Estonian, Finnish and Hungarian languages new guarantees they have never
before possessed in their history," he said. "We might thus ask: How can
we put all Finno-Ugric languages under European Union protection to ensure
their preservation and development?"
Russian policymakers quickly denounced the remarks as a veiled call for
the secession of the Finno-Ugric population from Russia. Ilves later
rejected such an interpretation as a product of a "hyperactive and
distorted imagination."
Despite his assurances, the damage seems to have been done. Relations
between the two countries -- already smarting from a confrontation over
the relocation of a Soviet military monument in Tallinn and the treatment
of ethnic Russians in Estonia -- appear likely to become even more
strained.
While Ilves' comments are open for interpretation, his clear concern about
the preservation of indigenous ethnic groups in northern Russia is
well-grounded. One such endangered group lives in the Nenets autonomous
district, a top producer of oil and gas. The district has a population of
7,000 indigenous Nenets, whose language is part of the same family as the
Finno-Ugric languages. Most Nenets devote themselves to traditional
occupations like reindeer herding and fishing, existing at barely
subsistence levels as the district's economy booms on the back of sky-high
oil prices. So while their right to study their own language and preserve
traditions is more or less respected, their survival as an ethnic group
could be in question.
If Russia indeed wishes to become a state where the rights of indigenous
people are properly protected, it needs to change the way that wealth is
distributed so that ethnic groups benefit more from the wealth of their
native lands. One positive example that federal authorities could learn
from is the Chukotka region, where billionaire Governor Roman Abramovich
has invested heavily into sustainable economic projects. The Kremlin would
also do well to narrow the expanding gap between the rich and poor. In
addition, steps should be taken to fight racially motivated crimes, not
only against dark-skinned foreigners but members of the country's own
indigenous ethnic groups.
Only then will the Finno-Ugric population and other ethnic groups taste freedom
</quote>
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