Official letter to BMDA Members

Dear BMDA members,

BMDA Board has already expresses its position and strongly condemned the aggression of Russian government against the people of Ukraine who are fighting to protect their sovereignty and the right to live in a democratic society.

As this aggression is continuing and getting even more severe, we feel obliged to move to the next step and invite the international academic community, who  hold the social influence, to demonstrate their support for the victims of this unprovoked war which is unleashing a humanitarian crisis.

To implement this, we encourage all BMDA members to support the Ukrainian society, its HEIs, and Ukrainian students in a variety of ways you will find most appropriate.

Second, we invite all our member Institutions, including those from Russia and Belarus, to publicly condemn the Russian and Belarusian military invasion of Ukraine. This will show that your academic community in complying with those globally excepted general moral values.

Third, we also express the need to spread around the world the message of what is happening in Ukraine, and in such a way put pressure on Russian and Belarusian Government to stop this brutal act of violence.

In the meantime the BMDA Board has decided to suspend cooperation with BMDA member Institutions from Russia and Belarus until peace is restored.

As we are faced with this uncivilized aggression we have to unite and follow our personal and BMDA community values, which we all share regardless of our language or nationality!

We believe that keeping silent and not expressing our strong stand for the peace we will encourage this war to continue. As E. Burke has said many years ago –“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”

On behalf of BMDA Board,

Prof. Edita Gimzauskiene,

BMDA President