NICHOLAS ROERICH MUSEUM

319 West 107^th Street,

New York, NY 10025

Tel: 212-864-7752, fax: 212-864-7704

e-mail: director@roerich.org

March 2, 2002

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STATEMENT BY THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF NICHOLAS ROERICH MUSEUM

We, the members of the Board of Trustees of Nicholas Roerich Museum, wish to affirm that we fully support the statements and actions by our Executive Director, Daniel Entin, in the matter relating to Sfera Publishing House, of Moscow. We assert that the attacks against him, issuing from the International Centre of the Roerichs in Moscow, are without foundation. We see clearly that the accusations about copyright are a pretext to attack Mr. Entin and Sfera, simply because they are independent from and not submissive to the self-proclaimed authority of the Centre and its Director,

The accusations against Mr. Entin are indeed slanderous, and we strongly protest such intemperate and destructive language. In this country, these statements would be prosecutable offenses.

Criticism is a normal human response to actions that one disagrees with. But valid criticism must have a factual basis, and must come only after possessing all relevant information. And slander is never an acceptable method for civilized discourse.

The question of copyright claims is a matter for legal procedures, not for police action. We are astonished that the police in Moscow could even consider intervening in such a totalitarian manner in a copyright dispute, and are amazed that they could invade and shut down a thriving publishing house, based simply on such an unproven claim. It is clear that other motives and means caused this to happen.

The appropriate action on the part of the Centre and the authorities would be to cease all such brutal methods and resort to established and accepted legal norms.

Signed, for the Board of Trustees

Edgar Lansbury, President of the Board

Dr. David Fogel

Aida Tulskaya

Tamara Kachanov

Laraine Lippe

Ingrid Tollius

Lloyd Nick