RehtiSedu.org

Concert information

An aiding concert will be held on thursday May 23rd, starting at 18.00, at the Lapua cathedral, address Kosolankatu 3.

RehtiSedu press release

The RehtiSedu Project is organizing an internet appeal and a supporting concert for the rights of the Russian students at Lapua.

The actions of Sedu, the Seinäjoki Joint Municipal Authority for Education, violate the rights of the Russian students at Lapua, the common ethics in Finland, and the Administrative Procedure Act of 2004, says Jussi Lähde, a volunteer taking care of the PR for the RehtiSedu Project.

The students were recruited to Finland with a promise of support for living, eating and expenses. A written agreement concerning the support was made with the students. Sedu has unilaterally announced that it will no longer follow these agreements. News on this have been published for example in Ilkka (Friday April 3) and Helsingin Sanomat (Sunday April 5).

The administration of Sedu has publicly defended itself by referring to instructions from the Ministry of Education. - The responsibility can not be outsourced to the Ministry. Sedu has forgotten The Rules for Judges by Olaus Petri: "What is not just and fair cannot be law either", Lähde points out.

According to Lähde, the Administrative Procedure Act of 2004 postulates that rules can not be changed within a study period, for example.

Similar arrangements for supporting Russian students exist in other educational institutions as well. According to the information the RehtiSedu Project has received, they have not been contacted concerning this. According to Kaija Suorsa-Aarnio, a ministerial councellor at the Ministry of Education, the procedures are illegal (Ilkka April 3).

When common sense and the law contradict it is better to change the law than common sense. The Russian students have fallen victims to unjust bureaucracy. We appeal to the administration and the governing board of Sedu, and to Henna Virkkunen, the Minister of Education with an internet appeal. The decision must be canceled, and the students would deserve an apology, says Lähde.

The RehtiSedu Project demands that the Russian students' rights shall be restored immediately. Most of the students are to graduate this year. After the unilateral announcement from Sedu the students' would find it practically impossible to finish their studies.

This is about building the widely discussed National Brand for Finland. Sedu has not realised how meaningful a topic this issue would become, both nationally and internationally.

The governing board of Sedu will meet on Monday April 6. The RehtiSedu Project demands fair actions from Sedu.

What is the RehtiSedu Project?

The RehtiSedu Project is an open project, organising an internet appeal for the rights of the Russian students at adressit.com/rehtisedu, and informing about its activities through the web pages at www.rehtisedu.org. Jussi Lähde also reports on the activities in his own blog at aamulehti.fi/blogit.

The RehtiSedu Project will organise an aiding concert, the venue and time for which are to be announced on Monday April 6. More information about the concert will be published on the web pages and in press announcements.

All communities, businesses and individuals in the RehtiSedu Project work on the pro bono principle, that is free in favor for a good job.

The RehtiSedu project warmly welcomes places for free ads both on printed and network media.

Contact

Contact: Jussi Lähde +358-40-594 4444 (due to daily work the media is asked to make contact by SMS).