D-A-S-H
networking against exclusion
 
Stop the Conspiracy of Silence!
  branka  03/19/2005 - 18:41  Array  Array  

After series of anti-Semitic incidents in Serbia and Montenegro, eight non-governmental organizations initiated action entitled "Stop the Conspiracy of Silence", appealing on necessity of establishing anti-discrimination laws and politics of tolerance in Serbia. They have started with organizing public actions in cities all over Serbia and started collecting citizens’ signatures that will be pursued until 30.000 signatures are collected and possibility to propose anti-discrimination law to Serbian government is possible.

Petition's text is appealing to the public and is warning on the examples of fascist radicalism in political, public and media scene in Serbia. Many promoters of fascist and anti-Semitic ideology are quite skillful in using publishing and new communication technologies. In the beginning of 2005, among many Internet forums and websites, in Serbia appeared publication "Serbian Nation in the Claws of Jews" promoting the idea of anti-Semitism. It represents the revival of some Serbian ideologists from the period in between two world wars. They were pointing out that "Yugoslav bank, commerce and industry are in claws of Jewish capitalism” and that “Jews conduct the oppression politics of people." They were also thinking that Jews are using traditional methods and that through democracy, communism and masons they are dividing our people in political parties and leading them to destruction. At the end of the publication, there is a list of Jewish people in Serbia with addresses of places where they live. On the "Serbian" part of American nazi web site, besides anti-Semitic texts, the names of Jews in Serbia are also publicly reachable. The lists of names were removed from web site, but ruining Jewish cemeteries, monuments of holocaust and appearance of anti-Semitic graffiti is constantly present.

Eight non-governmental organizations have gathered and reacted by initiating the action "Stop the Conspiracy of Silence", appealing to the government and people on necessity of bringing anti discrimination law in Serbia. They are also appealing on media in Serbia to stop using "language of hate" that often contributes to the rise of nationalism. This petition is encouraging people in Serbia to join and express their solidarity in action against any kind of national discrimination. Organizers of the petition are finishing their text by asking: Today it’s the Jews, and who is next?

Initiating organizations are:
Center for Cultural Decontamination (http://www.czkd.org.yu/english/indexe.htm),
Belgrade Circle,
Lawyer’s Committee for Human Rights (http://www.yucom.org.yu/EnglishVersion/LawyersCommittee.asp),
Humanitarian Law Center (http://www.hlc.org.yu/english/index.php),
Youth Initiative for Human Rights (http://www.yi.org.yu/),
Women in Black (http://www.wib-zeneucrnom-belgrade.org/index-en.htm),
Civic Initiatives (http://www.gradjanske.org/eng/index.php),
Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia (http://www.helsinki.org.yu/).

And in Novi Sad, several non-governmental organizations joined and have supported the action and they are:
Regionalni centar za prigovor savesti Vojvodine (www.prigovor.org),
NGO Esperanca,
New Media Center - Kuda.org (http://kuda.org),
RANI Basno
and Alternative Cultural Organization.

 
Dossiers
  • Dossier#5: Residency Rights for Victims of Racist Violence
  • Dossier#4: Initiatives against extreme-right influence on music and youth culture
  • Dossier#3: Strategies against right-wing extremism on the net
  • Dossier#2: Racism in the stadium
  • Dossier#1: Freedom of movement


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