Fraudulent elections; oppression and suppression of the Mari language instruction in schools and use in the public and media; and campaigns of intimidation, such as harassments, beatings and killings of public and private officials and media personnel are other abuses faced by the Mari people.

The Appeal hopes to draw the attention of the international community and most importantly, the attention of the Russian Federation authorities, to end the discrimination and abuse of the Mari people and restore justice, order and peace to the republic of Mari El. The appeal has been supported by a number of well-known and important figures, such as Toomas Hendrik Ilves, Vice-President of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the European Parliament; Professor Paul Goble, USA; Mart Laar, MP, former Prime Minister of Estonia; Dr. Lennart Meri, former President of Estonia; and Pertti Paasio, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Finland.

UNPO supports the Appeal on Behalf of the Mari People and invites everyone to show their solidarity and support by signing the appeal, which can be accessed at: http://ugri.info/mari/.