International conference

Small Nations of Eastern Europe in the End of Second Millenium - Possibilities of Real Democracy in that Region

and

UNPO Regional Meeting

 

Location: Otepää (Estonia), Resort Pühajärve

Time: October 13-15, 1996

Number of participants: 28; among them 9 delegations of the UNPO members of the region - Abkhazia, Buryatia, Bashkortostan, Chechenia, Chuvashia, Circassia, Ingrian Finns, Komi, Uighurs ; 2 delegations of the applicants - Kumyks and Subcarpathian Russins, and also the delegations of Estonia, Germany, Hungaria and Seto (a minority group of South-East Estonia), all together delegations of 15 nations and peoples (see list of participants).

 

October 13: International Conference

SPEAKERS:

Linnart Mäll, UNPO Assistant General Secretary, Director of the UNPO Tartu Coordination Office - An Opening Speech

Georg von Habsburg, Hungarian Paneuropean Society - Europe as Symbol

Taras Shamba, President of the World Congress of Abkhazian-Abazian People - Role of Small Nations in the Forming of Democratic and Legal State

Alexandr Kiryanen, Chairman of the National Movement of Ingrian Finns “Inkerin Liitto”- Problems of Small Nations and Peoples of North-West Rossia

Alexandr Okhtov, General Secretary of International Circassian Association - Situation in North Caucasus and Problems of the Development of Adyge (Circassian) People

Michael Van Walt, UNPO General Secretry - How to Establish Democracy in Eastern European Countries?

Knut Abraham, Chairman of the German Paneuropean Youth Movement - What Can European Union Do for Small Nations of Eastern Europe

Alexander Toropov, member of the Committee for the Rebirth of Komi People - The Komi Village in the End of Second Millenium

Zhanetta Proshutinskaya, member of the Committee for the Rebirth of Komi People - An Official National Politics of the Republic of Komi in the Current Stage of Development

 

October 14-15: UNPO Regional Meeting

The following questions were discussed:

• Five years of UNPO Tartu Coordination Office: main results of the work and prospects;
• Problems of prepearing the UNPO Fifth General Assembly, which will be held in July, 1997 in Estonia;
• Contacts and ties between the UNPO members of Russia and CIS region: the possible ways of enlarging and improvement of cooperation;
• Financial problems of UNPO in general and UNPO Tartu office in particular;
• Problems connected with admission of new members.

A general resolution on the current situation of the Small Nations of Eastern Europe was adopted by the Conference.

Seven resolutions and appeals were adopted by the Regional Meeting for discussing in the Meeting of UNPO Steering Committee (texts included to the report).