Statement on suspension of educational activity

Minsk, May 5, 2004

In accordance with Decree #17 of the President of Belarus this university was scheduled to re-new its license for educational activity by May 1, 2004.

In line with decree regulations, the European Humanities University (EHU) submitted all the required documents for licensing procedure to the Ministry of Education of Belarus on March 30, 2004. According to the aforementioned decree, the Ministry of Education had to make decision on EHU license request within 30 days after application and officially notify the university on the license decision.

By May 1, 2004 the EHU has not received any notification on the requested license. Beginning from this date the university cannot continue educational activity without breaching Belarusian laws. This means the EHU cannot receive tuition payments, and therefore will not be able to pay faculty and staff of the university. Otherwise, since May 1, 2004, any university income on educational activity would be regarded as illegal profits, which would be penalized by confiscation of such income and 100% penalties on the income amounts.

On May 3, 2004, the EHU requested official information from the Ministry of Education on what was the decision by the Ministry regarding license for the EHU.

Since the Ministry of Education has given no reply whatsoever, the EHU has to suspend its undergraduate and graduate programs. The university has notified both the Council of Ministers of Belarus and the Ministry of Education on the suspension of EHU's degree academic programs.

These developments clearly demonstrate that the Ministry of Education of Belarus under the leadership of Minister Alexander Radkov, acting in breach of provisions of the Presidential Decree #17 on licensing, has been working to damage the EHU and its reputation, disrupt academic process at the university and violate rights of the university students, faculty and staff.

This conclusion is based on retrospective analysis of actions by Minister Radkov since previous year, when in December 2003 he publicly voiced his displeasure with the EHU for the university 'hosting too many foreign lecturers', and later in January 2004 when he asked Prof. Anatoliy Mikhailov to step down from his position of the EHU rector, without giving any reason for such a request or any claim that something has been or is being done wrong in this university under Prof. Mikhailov's leadership.

In addition to these developments, it has become clear that certain officials in Presidential Administration have been blocking registration of foreign grants from EHU donors since February this year, the time when Prof. Mikhailov, EHU Rector, refused to resign.

While about 40% of EHU budget revenues come from international financial aid, blocking EHU foreign grants leads to university financial crisis and failure to respect financial obligations before faculty and staff.

These two different developments have been bringing a combined effect of an increasing pressure on the EHU that would lead to the disruption of university funding, leaving faculty and staff without income, and depriving EHU students of opportunity to continue their education at the university of their free choice. In most vulnerable situation there will be students scheduled to graduate this summer and EHU faculty left without jobs. This increasing pressure can be interpreted as an indirect way to punish students and faculty, which demonstrated solidarity and support to their rector at a time of pressure exerted on Prof. Mikhailov earlier this year.

The EHU intends to file a suit in Belarusian court against illegal actions by the Ministry of Education and do whatever is possible within the existing legislation in Belarus to re-establish its legal right to operate as university recognized both nationally and internationally and to re-establish constitutional rights of university students and faculty that have been grossly violated due to the failure of the Ministry of Education of Belarus to discharge its legal duties in accordance with Belarusian laws.

In the meantime, the EHU calls on university's donors, partners and Governments of those countries that have been supporting international cooperation in the area of higher education with Belarus and this university in particular to provide for support to the students, faculty and administration of this university, which have been all united and determined to preserve their right to have access to education that is based on values of European civilization, academic freedoms and university autonomy.