Respected Belarusian University Reborn in Exile :: Charter'97 :: News

The United States almost a year ago expressed deep concern about the Belarusian government`s assault on academic freedom when it shut down a respected private university, the European Humanities University (EHU) in Minsk.

The action against European Humanitarian University was one in a series of measures that demonstrated Belarusian authorities` opposition to developing a democratic society and improving relations with the trans-Atlantic community. The use of force by Belarusian police to disperse a July 21 gathering of pro-democracy activists in Yakuba Kolas Square in Minsk was in the news about the same time as the closure of EHU, as were attacks on media freedom.

Opened in 1992 in Minsk, EHU at one time served 1,000 students and was especially well known for its graduate programs in philosophy, law, politics, languages and European studies.

On July 21, 2004, the Belarusian government informed EHU that it would terminate the lease on the building that housed most of the University`s academic programs and facilities. This step, along with continuing Belarusian government attempts to force EHU`s rector, Anatoly Mikhailov, to resign, forced the university to suspend its operations, jeopardizing the future of its students and faculty along with the universityт’s vital contributions to intellectual thought and academic freedom in Belarus.

In the wake of that action, the American Council for International Education received two grants totaling $900,000 in January to help establish the European Humanities University in exile in Vilnius, Lithuania. The grants were awarded by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, a private institution dedicated to helping individuals and groups foster lasting improvement in the human condition.

The Chicago-based MacArthur Foundation has sought since 1992 to foster strong, independent universities as essential to the strengthening of democracy and freedom in Eurasia.

With the new grants and help from other private and public donors, the university that was shut down in August 2004 by the Belarusian authorities re-emerged as EHU-International, with many of its old programs continued in its new institutional form on the premises of Mykolas Romeris University in Vilnius.

The MacArthur Foundation grant included funds for strengthening the university`s PhD and gender studies programs, administrative costs and a new distance-learning program.

The distance-learning program will involve EHU faculty in offering courses to students in Belarus and elsewhere in the region.

Activities of the new EHU-International will be carried out under the supervision of the American Council for International Education, an exchange agency with significant field experience in the region, according to January 20 statement on the grant released by the MacArthur Foundation.

The European Parliament on January 9 passed a resolution voicing satisfaction with plans to re-open EHU in Vilnius and urged member states to support the initiative.?а?а

An inaugural conference was held June 9 in Vilnius on the initiative to recreate EHU as a university in exile.

Lithuanian President Valda Adamkus welcomed EHU to Vilnius, promised his governmentт’s support and reaffirmed Lithuaniaт’s commitment to the cause of freedom in Europe, according to an account of the conference that appeared in the Baltic Times.

"It was quite logical to re-establish the university in Vilnius, as Belarus and Lithuania have a common history that runs back centuries, beyond the Soviet period," EHU`s President, Anatoly Mikhailov, told the Baltic Times. "But more importantly, it`s a two-hour drive for students from Belarus to come study in Vilnius."

Jonathan F. Fanton, the president of the MacArthur Foundation, attended the inaugural conference and wrote an account of EHU`s closure and rebirth in exile for the June 28 International Herald Tribune?

Fanton said he expects 750 of EHU`s original Belarusian students will take distance-learning courses over the Internet from Lithuania. Another 250 will be able to attend classes in Vilnius.

International academic exchanges and scholarly links with universities in 18 countries will remain active, said Fanton.

He also quoted his own remarks at the conference: “Let us today dedicate EHU International, this new university in exile,“ as a symbol of hope that freedom, opportunity and democratic prosperity will flourish in Belarus when this university returns to its rightful home in Minsk.