University of Applied Arts Vienna: Rector Bast rejects KSORS demand

The "Coordinating Council of Organisations of Russian Compatriots" in Austria (KSORS) demanded that the Rector of the University of Applied Arts Vienna, Gerald Bast, should remove or have removed a poster that students of his university had put up on the façade of the university building in Vordere Zollamtsstraße as part of an artistic intervention. The poster shows the text "RUSSIA IS A TERRORIST STATE". KSORS justifies its demand as follows: The content of the poster would "incite sedition in Austrian society" and "contradict the principles of university neutrality, impartiality and apoliticism".

The Rector of the Angewandte rejects KSORS' claim and speaks on behalf of the university:

- There can be no neutrality in matters of violation of international law. Not even, and especially not, for a university.
- In the framework of the last United Nations General Assembly, 143 UN states condemned the "illegal annexation" of Ukraine by the Russian Federation and declared it invalid. The UN resolution calls on Russia to reverse the annexation of the occupied territories.
- Russia's belligerent aggression against Ukraine is not only a violation of international law, but also - according to Human Rights Watch - a violation of the law of war.
- Russian authorities are prosecuting people who call Russia's belligerent aggression a war and not a "special operation".
- Individuals who have publicly demonstrated or protested against Russia's war of aggression in Russia are being detained by Russian police.

The University of Applied Arts Vienna stands in solidarity with the Russian people who have been and are being held hostage by the government of the Russian Federation for its aggression against the sovereign state of Ukraine in violation of international law.