Serbia
30.08.05
Urgent Interventions
Serbia and Montenegro: Open letter: Harassment of defenders
OPEN LETTER
To Mr. Svetozar Marovic,
President of Serbia and Montenegro
Mr. Vojislav Kostunica,
Prime Minister of Serbia and Montenegro
Geneva-Paris, August 30, 2005.
Your Excellencies,
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), expresses its deepest concern about the acts of harassment and the hostility to the legitimate work of human rights defenders in Serbia and Montenegro.
The Observatory has been informed that human rights defenders, especially those who fight against impunity relating to war crimes committed under the former Yugoslavian regime, have been subjected to discrediting and harassment, in particular on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the Srebrenica massacre in July 2005. Indeed, with claims that human rights NGOs conduct an “anti-Serb campaign”, a slandering campaign and judicial proceedings have been carried out against several defenders in Serbia and Montenegro.
On July 7, 2005, the daily Danas quoted the director of the Serbian Security Intelligence Agency (BIA), Mr. Rade Bulatovic, saying the service is keeping the activities of “certain NGOs” under scrutiny as they are allegedly “abusing their NGO status and are mostly financed by centres situated abroad” which have political interests.
On July 10, 2005, the human rights NGO Women in Black carried out a protest in Belgrade to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Srebrenica massacre. The protest was disrupted violently as a group of extremists threw tear gas at the protesters and insulted the human rights defenders present, including Ms. Natasa Kandic, Executive Director of the Humanitarian Law Center (HLC).
On July 11, 2005, a star of David was sprayed on the centre’s plaque in a similar incident to the one on March 22, 2005, when messages were written on a wall across the HLC office. The messages included: “Natasa Kandic is a Jewish pawn – a humble servant of the Jewish world order”; “Fight for Serbia until final victory”; “Say No to the Zionist occupation of the world”, etc. This had already happened once in 2004 when anti-semitic graffiti were found on the door of the HLC in the night of November 4, accusing Mrs. Kandic of being a “ lackey of Jewish zionism”; two swatsikas and the mention “Serbia for the Serbs” were then signed by the fascist Group “Combat 18” (see Annual Report 2004 of the Observatory).
Similar acts took place at the offices of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia, with the inscription of messages against its president, Ms. Sonja Biserko, and of phrases such as “Serbia to the Serbs”.
Finally, the Serbian Radical Party (SRS) has filed a criminal complaint against Ms. Natasa Kandic and the editor-in-chief of TV channel B92 for Ms. Kandic’s TV-broadcasted statement on the responsibility of the vice-president of SRS, Mr. Tomislav Nikolic, in the 1991 killing of civilians in the Croatian village of Matic. The complaint was dismissed by the Fourth Municipal Prosecutor’s Office in Belgrade. On July 23, 2005, the General Secretary of SRS and member of the Parliament, Mr. Aleksandar Vucic, announced in a press conference that Mr. Nikolic himself would file a civil complaint against Ms. Kandic. He threatened that if by October 15 the case did not result in a condamnation, there would be “half a million people in the streets of Belgrade”.
The Observatory is seriously concerned about the fact that those who fight against impunity in Serbia and Montenegro are subjected to discrediting, acts of harassment and reprisals, including by state agents and members of the Parliament.
In view of these events, the Observatory urges Your Excellencies to:
In hope you will take these requests into account,
We remain,
Sidiki KABA
President of FIDH
Eric SOTTAS
Director of OMCT
To Mr. Svetozar Marovic,
President of Serbia and Montenegro
Mr. Vojislav Kostunica,
Prime Minister of Serbia and Montenegro
Geneva-Paris, August 30, 2005.
Your Excellencies,
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), expresses its deepest concern about the acts of harassment and the hostility to the legitimate work of human rights defenders in Serbia and Montenegro.
The Observatory has been informed that human rights defenders, especially those who fight against impunity relating to war crimes committed under the former Yugoslavian regime, have been subjected to discrediting and harassment, in particular on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the Srebrenica massacre in July 2005. Indeed, with claims that human rights NGOs conduct an “anti-Serb campaign”, a slandering campaign and judicial proceedings have been carried out against several defenders in Serbia and Montenegro.
On July 7, 2005, the daily Danas quoted the director of the Serbian Security Intelligence Agency (BIA), Mr. Rade Bulatovic, saying the service is keeping the activities of “certain NGOs” under scrutiny as they are allegedly “abusing their NGO status and are mostly financed by centres situated abroad” which have political interests.
On July 10, 2005, the human rights NGO Women in Black carried out a protest in Belgrade to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Srebrenica massacre. The protest was disrupted violently as a group of extremists threw tear gas at the protesters and insulted the human rights defenders present, including Ms. Natasa Kandic, Executive Director of the Humanitarian Law Center (HLC).
On July 11, 2005, a star of David was sprayed on the centre’s plaque in a similar incident to the one on March 22, 2005, when messages were written on a wall across the HLC office. The messages included: “Natasa Kandic is a Jewish pawn – a humble servant of the Jewish world order”; “Fight for Serbia until final victory”; “Say No to the Zionist occupation of the world”, etc. This had already happened once in 2004 when anti-semitic graffiti were found on the door of the HLC in the night of November 4, accusing Mrs. Kandic of being a “ lackey of Jewish zionism”; two swatsikas and the mention “Serbia for the Serbs” were then signed by the fascist Group “Combat 18” (see Annual Report 2004 of the Observatory).
Similar acts took place at the offices of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia, with the inscription of messages against its president, Ms. Sonja Biserko, and of phrases such as “Serbia to the Serbs”.
Finally, the Serbian Radical Party (SRS) has filed a criminal complaint against Ms. Natasa Kandic and the editor-in-chief of TV channel B92 for Ms. Kandic’s TV-broadcasted statement on the responsibility of the vice-president of SRS, Mr. Tomislav Nikolic, in the 1991 killing of civilians in the Croatian village of Matic. The complaint was dismissed by the Fourth Municipal Prosecutor’s Office in Belgrade. On July 23, 2005, the General Secretary of SRS and member of the Parliament, Mr. Aleksandar Vucic, announced in a press conference that Mr. Nikolic himself would file a civil complaint against Ms. Kandic. He threatened that if by October 15 the case did not result in a condamnation, there would be “half a million people in the streets of Belgrade”.
The Observatory is seriously concerned about the fact that those who fight against impunity in Serbia and Montenegro are subjected to discrediting, acts of harassment and reprisals, including by state agents and members of the Parliament.
In view of these events, the Observatory urges Your Excellencies to:
- guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of all human rights defenders in Serbia and Montenegro;
- put an immediate end to any kind of violence, act of retaliation and harassment against human rights defenders
- ensure that investigations be thoroughly conducted in order to identify those responsible of such acts and bring them to justice;
- comply with the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted by the General Assembly of United Nations on December, 9 1998; in particular its article 1 that states “Everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, to promote and to strive for the protection and realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels”, as well as article 12.2., which states that “The State shall take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities of everyone, individually and in association with others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the rights referred to in the present Declaration”;
- conform with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and international and regional instruments relative to human rights, binding the Russian Federation.
In hope you will take these requests into account,
We remain,
Sidiki KABA
President of FIDH
Eric SOTTAS
Director of OMCT