Violence combined with territorial pretensions

Students of the University of Kosovska Mitrovica and youth members of the Serbian National Council for Northern Kosovo and Metohija held a protest in Belgrade, where party officials and leaders of non-governmental organizations supporting the referendum boycott were labelled "Shiptars" and were presented with mock awards.

Natasa Kandic, Director of the Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) was awarded the "Golden Heels"; Cedomir Jovanovic, leader of the Liberal-Democratic Party (LDP) was awarded the "Golden 'Kece'" ["kece" is a traditional Albanian hat, often used in Serbian language derogatively for Albanians]. Similar “awards” were given to Natasa Micic, President of the Civic Alliance of Serbia (GSS), Sonja Biserko, President of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia, Goran Svilanovic, former Yugoslav Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Nenad Canak, leader of the League of Social-Democrats of Vojvodina (LSV).

The "awards" were received by young men dressed in traditional female Albanian costumes. The protesters then walked over to the LDP seat in order to hand the award to LDP leader, while shouting "Ceda Shiptar".

Several hundred citizens attended the protest, carrying the slogans "Kosovo is the soul of Serbia – save our soul", while some wore T-shirts with the insignia of the disassembled Unit for Special Operations (JSO), the members of which have been accused of several political murders in Serbia, and among them of the assassination of Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic.

The protest was attended by political leaders of the Kosovar Serbs, those known to be supported by Belgrade – Milan Ivanovic and Marko Jaksic – together with one Orthodox Church priest from Kosovska Mitrovica.

Jovanovic and Kandic responded to the protest. The LDP leader announced his party to have launched an even stronger anti-referendum campaign. To this he added that "calling for violence and murder is a politics that has destroyed the lives of Serbian citizens ". Jovanovic believes these invocations were designed to intimidate the voters before the referendum on Saturday and Sunday, while the authorities are devising a self-protection strategy to "guard them from defeat".

"This protest lends support to the former regime, to Serbia's ugly past. It is not facing the future," said HLC Director Natasa Kandic. She also added that the thesis claiming the Constitution to be closely linked with Kosovo's independence is a "poorly composed message". The authorities obviously believe it to be "a good thing that the Constitution Preamble renders Kosovo an integral part of Serbia". Kandic then asked why the protest hadn't been held in Mitrovica, which would have made much more sense.

Kandic earlier said she would not vote in the referendum, because the Constitution presupposes "Serbia's territorial pretension to others, especially to Kosovo".

Not only boycott

The YIHR Kragujevac office organized a public debate in the Student Cultural Center in Kragujevac, entitled "Serbia is Waking Up", as part of their anti-referendum and anti-Constitution campaign. Teofil Pancic, columnist of the weekly "Vreme" appeared as panellist at this second public debate and, before several dozens of citizens, said that the proposed Constitution should be not only boycotted, but altogether ignored because it represents the peak of government's unprincipled and anti-democratic attitude.

"The most telling indicator of why the referendum should be boycotted is Milorad Vucelic's (SPS official) praise of the new Constitution on the grounds of its similarity with Milosevic's Constitution. This is enough to prove that the whole circus about renewed national unity is a mere charade", said Pancic, and added that merely a read through the Constitution Preamble is enough to make you stop reading.

"If the Preamble concerning Kosovo is so imaginary, one cannot expect the rest of the proposed Constitution to contain anything more firmly grounded in reality", concluded Pancic.

Youth against defenders of the Constitution

At the Nis Media Center, a press conference organized by the Youth Initiative for Human Rights was held, which presented the results of a research about youth attitudes towards the referendum.

The research was conducted by the Center for Development of Civil Resources and a marketing agency WebEx from Nis. The polling sample consisted of 400 students from all Nis faculties and 100 high-school seniors. To the question "Will you vote at the referendum?", 45% respondents replied positively, 32% said "no", while 23% of them have not decided yet; 64% of the pool were not familiar with the text of the new Draft Constitution, while the rest were informed of its content. Interestingly, 60% of the respondents familiar with the text of the Constitution do not support its content.

The youth were also asked about Kosovo. Only 27% of the entire sample thought that the introduction of Kosovo into the Constitution would affect its future status. Furthermore, 58% of students and high-school seniors believe that, if Kosovo gains independence, Serbia should accept this as a final solution. In conclusion, 53% of the respondents said the right to giving birth should be granted only to women, rather than everyone/anyone, as the Draft Constitution stipulates.

STOP to reduction of rights and freedoms

A group of 28 Serbian NGOs warned that the proposed text of the Constitution significantly reduces the level of human rights in Serbia.

“It is forbidden to reduce the achieved level of human rights; this is one of the basic principles of modern law. This principle will be fragrantly violated if the new Constitution is confirmed in the referendum on October 29th and 29th”.

These non-governmental organizations offered dozens of examples testifying to the reduction of human rights in the new Constitution. For example the text does not include rights to privacy or abortion.

“Since the damage that the provisions of the new constitutional have produced are impossible to remove in any other way, human rights organizations advocate for the respect of established principles that demand already achieved levels of human rights protection not be reduced, as stated Article 20, Count 2 of the as yet unconfirmed constitution (“achieved level of human and minority rights ought not be reduced”), while at the same time refusing to vote in the referendum about a text which they had no chance to design in any way”, says a press release, signed by 28 NGOs from Serbia.

Discontinuity with one’s self

“The future Constitution contains a large number of advancements and amendments to existing constitutional solutions, which largely pertain to human and minority rights and freedoms”, writes Slobodan Vucetic, former President of Serbian Constitutional Court.

Vucetic states: “just like the existing Constitution marks a discontinuity with the Communist
system in constitutional and legal terms, and October 5th 2000 marks discontinuity with Milosevic’s authoritarian regime, the new Constitution will be a synthesis of both these discontinuities. This is the most important thing for the European and democratic future of Serbia”.

A judge betrays his profession

by Dragan Popovic, Youth Initiative for Human Rights

“It is not rare in Serbia to see legal experts and professionals betray their profession and principles. However, the article signed by Slobodan Vucetic, former President of Serbian Constitutional Court, published in “Blic” on October 20th brought me to the verge of desperation. The retired judge tells us that something good has finally happened in Serbia - the Draft Constitution has been adopted! He is even tries to impose legal conclusions suggesting that this Constitution should be seen as stellar.

According to Vucetic, the most positive aspect of the new Constitution is the paragraph concerning human and minority rights. At the same time, he shamelessly concludes thatthe new Draft Constitution is in harmony with the European Convention on Human Rights.

The proposed Constitution reduces the already achieved level of human rights protection, which is a serious violation of one of the basic principles of international law does not guarantee the right to privacy. Indeed, citizens may submit complaints to international bodies if their constitutional rights have been violated, rather than in the event of violation of rights warranted by the agreement by which this body has been established.

A state is not obliged to carry out the decisions of international bodies or to provide compensation for potential damage done to citizens; the already achieved right of mothers to decide on giving birth is drastically reduced; so is the right to conscientious objection; there is no ban on discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation; judges are appointed to a three-year position by the Parliament (in Serbia this is called the permanency of judicial position); there is no so-called fourth branch of power.

Proceeding from the proposed primacy of the Constitution over international law, Serbia will most likely suspend the implementation of the European Convention and thus abolish its own membership in the Council of Europe.

Constitution written by Radicals

Hypocritical scam

"International community should assume a large chunk of responsibility for the content of the proposed Draft Constitution and its passage procedure. The Council of Europe did not utter a single word about the new Constitution, which only means that it supports a quiet coup d'etat and introduction of dictatorship", said Biljana Kovacevic Vuco, President of the Lawyers' Committee for Human Rights at the conference organized by GSS, entitled "Serbia before the referendum and elections". While criticising the OSCE, she said the world should not have allowed the passage of a Constitution which only fortifies Slobodan Milosevic's criminal politics.

Sonja Biserko, President of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia suggested that "by introducing Kosovo into the constitutional Preamble, the authorities wish to use it for election campaign". For her, the Constitution is "marked by SRS and SPS politics, and it fortifies the concept of 'all-Serbs-in-one-state'".

Zoran Ostojic, GSS official, supports the referendum boycott, because the Constitution is embodiment of Milosevic's politics and a result unity between DSS, DS and the Radicals. In short, the referendum is "a lie, scam and hypocrisy", said Ostojic.

Andrej Nosov, Director of Youth Initiative for Human Rights, said the referendum boycott is the only possible solution: "This Constitution was written by Tomislav Nikolic from the Radical Party of Serbia, proofread by Ivica Dacic from the Socialist Party of Serbia, while President of Serbia Boris Tadic conceded to it all".

Worse than the worst

Authorities of the central Belgrade municipality Stari Grad did not allow the representatives of the "anti-referendum coalition" – LDP, LSV, GSS and SDU – to organize public debates in this municipality last week. On Saturday a debate on war crimes was prohibited in Dom omladine, while a gathering about the referendum was not allowed on Friday. Anti-referendum protest was nonetheless held outside, in front of Municipal Assembly, where the protesters said – "Even Milosevic didn't do this. This is worse than the worst".

Benefits to Serbs

National minorities need a constitution to guarantee their rights – precisely what this particular Constitution lacks, says Pal Sandor, President of Democratic Community of Vojvodina Hungarians (DZVM). He has stated that even in Milosevic's Constitution Serbia was a state of all it citizens, while this is obviously not the case in the new Constitution. "Only Serbs have been singled out; the rest are presented as unified collection", says President of DZVM.

Far from Europe

"We are a long way from a document which would lead Serbia into Europe. Even the outside chance for Serbia's democratization has been thrown away. The minorities expected more from the new Constitution. Those who claim the new Constitution to be the best possible solution are a minority. The Draft Constitution can be qualified as best only in terms of compromise", says Riza Halimi, President of the Party for Democratic Action in the South of Serbia, bordering Kosovo.

Constitutional contradictions

"The first article of the new Constitution negates the meaning of its Preamble and the part concerning Kosovo, which says that Serbia is the state of the Serbian nation and citizens of Serbia. If the Constitution is to be valid in Kosovo, this sentence is simply impossible", says economist Vladimir Gligorov. He adds that, in a unitarian sense, the Constitution defines Serbia as a unique legal territory. This is not in line with the Preamble, which stipulates essential autonomy for Kosovo, writes this economist from Vienna.

Cheap tricks of Serbian Government

A foggy Preamble

A professor of the Novi Sad Law School, Marijana Pajvancic, severely criticized the new Constitution of Serbia, suggesting that the supreme legal document is essentially flawed. In her lecture at the "School for Democracy", organized by the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia, Professor Pajvancic said the constitutional Preamble, which renders Kosovo an inseparable part of Serbia, does not in fact oblige anyone.

"The binding quality of the Preamble is being spread like fog all around us. But the Preamble actually does not have legally binding power", says Pajvancic, who also reminded her audience that the Constitution of Serbia had been adopted with no prior public discussion. According to professor Pajvancic, this means that the basic definition of any constitution had been breached at the very outset of the process, because a constitution is "a contract between citizens and their state".

In response to arguments that the new Constitution of Serbia is better than the previous one because it is liable to amendments and change, Pajvancic said: "When they say that it is good that the new Constitution can be amended from time to time, I say that this is not good at all, on the contrary – it is very bad, both for the country and for the Constitution itself, since the Constitution is composed of a set of rules that cannot be bargained over every day. In Pajvancic’s view, the state pro-referendum campaign is especially irritating, because it does not explain to the citizens that casting a ballot in the referendum is their right rather than their duty. "The state cannot and must not influence your decision about whether or not to vote", concluded Pajvanovic.

In defense of legend and myth

On October 18th, in Kragujevac, central Serbia, Cedomir Jovanovic, leader of Liberal-Democratic Party (LDP) invited the citizens to boycott the referendum on the new Constitution, underlining that Serbia's civic potential is being tested now. "Ninety percent of citizens who say that they will vote at the upcoming referendum do not actually know what the new Constitution really says, nor do they have the chance to discuss it with those who had compiled it. Kostunica, Tadic and Nikolic should come to Kragujevac and explain to the citizens why the Constitution is regarded as crucial for them", said Jovanovic at this public event, organized by LDP’s Kragujevac branch-office.

"Serbia's civic potential is being tested at this very moment. It is up to our citizens to decide whether they will be the fuel to keep this state going and whether or not their referendum vote is their duty toward Serbia", said leader of LDP.

In stressing that Kosovo is, indeed, a difficult and serious problem, Jovanovic added that the current government is not heading toward a serious solution to this problem, but is only defending a legend and a myth.

"Rather than investing in turning Serbia into a positive place, rather than developing the economy, health sector, education, rather than making everyone want to belong to this community, they don't even think about Kosovar Serbs; they don't even think about creating a Serbia like that and strengthening the position of Kosovar Serbs, who could then, in ten years maybe, form a government with Albanians, just like it now happening with Serbs supporting HDZ in Croatia or with the tripartite presidency in Bosnia, composed of a Bosniak, a Serb and a Croat", concluded Jovanovic.

Constitution doesn't draw borders

Continuing the program of establishing alternative dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, the Youth Initiative for Human Rights, in cooperation with Heinrich Bell Stiftung, organized a public debate in Belgrade today, the October 18th, entitled "Kosovo and Serbia – The Day After".

However, deligates could not avoid the issue of the draft constitution. Goran Miletic from the Swedish Helsinki Committee for Human Rights suggested that, compared to Serbia's supreme legal document, Kosovo's Constitutional Framework is more successful in regulating human rights issues. The Serbian Constitution places human rights below the minimum, while the equality of sexual minorities is not even mentioned, says Miletic.

Zorica Trifunovic, a representative of the Quaker Peace and Social Witness, noted that "gradjanke" (female citizens) are never mentioned in the Constitution – only "grajdani" (masculine noun, plural). Trifunovic says Article 63 of the Draft Constitution is rather unclear, because it could be interpreted as allowing each member of the society to decide whether every child born in Serbia should, or should not, be born.

Jelena Bjelica, editor-in-chief of "Gradjanski glasnik", a Serbian language magazine published in Prishtina, suggests that "rather than focusing on a civic Serbia, the Constitution focuses on a territorial Serbia", denying the Albanians the right to self-determination. "Better Serbia does not mean Kosovo within Serbia", concludes Bjelica.

Sasa Gajin, from the Center for Advancement of Legal Studies, stressed that the Constitution narrows the level of human rights in Serbia.

Maja Stojanovic from the Youth Initiative for Human Rights said: "Even Slobodan Milosevic would allow Albanians to vote at the referendum".

An insulting legal document

On October 17th a public discussion event was organized in Nis about the referendum on the Draft Constitution. The event was organized by the Youth Initiative for Human Rights and Center for Civic Resources Development in cooperation with LDP and GSS Nis-branches.

More than a hundred citizens of Nis attended the event, although it had been relocated, at literally the last moment, from the initially designated Law School premises to the Municipal Hall. The Law School Dean assessed the event to have been of political nature as insisted it be moved. Marko Velickovic and Aleskandar Kekenj spoke about the referendum boycott on behalf of non-governmental organizations, while Sima Radulovic and Misa Bojovic spoke on behalf of GSS and LDP, respectively.

Among other things, Velickovic said: "No one can correct this Draft Constitution until the referendum is over…. Through this Constitution, 242 Serbian MPs told us that they see us as their subjects. The narrative about the Constitution is, again, a narrative about patriotism and mythology, just like it used to be in 1989, when the Constitution, which later became a catalyst of war in the former Yugoslavia, had been adopted. A democratic Constitution is passed with intent to respond to the demands of the 21st century, rather than to respond to questions about Lazar's curse or Milos's oaths. This Constitution is backward and insulting for anyone who tends to see himself or herself as a free citizen of an open political community wanting to continue to live in the future," said Velickovic.

Constitution doesn't draw borders

"The referendum, which is to be held in October 2006, will not really be a referendum on the Constitution, but a referendum on Kosovo", writes Dusan Pavlovic, a professor at the Belgrade Faculty of Political Science, who reminds: "When, in June 1990 Milosevic, claimed it necessary to validate the Constitution at the referendum, and then to announce the first multi-party elections, he also claimed this order to be essential for the defense of Kosovo".

Pavlovic adds: "The new Constitution, whose Preamble underlines that Kosovo will remain within Serbia, is founded on the Serbian delegation’s [at Kosovo status negations] belief that negotiations about Kosovo's final status may eventually yield a solution according to which Kosovo would remain within Serbia. Everything is wrong about this kind of reasoning – everything, from the beginning to the end. A Constitution does not define state borders. Today's Serbian elite does not much differ from Milosevic's elite, which only means that the symbolic break with Milosevic's era will never really happen", says Pavlovic.

Kosovo beyond Constitution's reach

The chief of UN Mission in Kosovo, Joachim Ruecker, said the referendum for the new Constitution of Serbia will have no effect on the process of defining Kosovo's status. After his meeting with Kosovo's negotiation team, Ruecker said that the UNMIK administration will focus only on principles put forth by the Contact Group on September 20th.

"The referendum in Serbia will not affect Kosovo's status – neither now nor in the future", said the chief of UNMIK. Ruecker repeated that UNMIK will not support the referendum to be held in Kosovo, but at the same time will not disturb the citizens who wish to vote. On behalf of the Albanian negotiation team, Kosovo's President Fatmir Seidiu agreed with Ruecker and added: "We have made ourselves clear: we are against the referendum on the territory of Kosovo, especially at this moment when Kosovo's status is being defined."

It is a long way from words to deeds

In establishing a Municipal control commission for referendum monitoring, the Serbian Election Commission (RIK) either forgot or deliberately neglected the fact that the Municipality of Presevo has an approximately 90 per cent Albanian population, said the President of the Democratic Party of Presevo Valley, Skender Destani. He claims RIK to have assembled the referendum commission for Presevo only from "members of Serbian political parties".

"This clearly proves authorities' disinterestedness in minority rights, although the new Constitution addresses them. This only means that the government is not ready to realize its own writs", says Destani. He said that "although they will boycott the referendum", Albanians "want to be included in monitoring commissions and polling committees, in order to prevent potential misuse of Albanian votes from the Presevo Valley".

Neither multinational nor multicultural

The Islamic community and five Bosniak parties in Novi Pazar have signed a declaration that condemns the government's neglectiion of Bosniaks' proposals concerning the new Draft Constitution. The signatories demand that the Serbian President and Prime Minister, Boris Tadic and Vojsilav Kostunica, to begin dialogue on the status of Sanjak and the Bosniak community living in Serbia. The declaration is signed by all Bosniak parites, except Sulejman Ugljanin's List for Sanjak.

"It is unacceptable that the first article of the Constitution defines Serbia as a state of Serbian people. Furthermore, this supreme legal document shows utter disregard for the principles of European regionalism", reads the Declaration.

As stipulated in the document, it is unacceptable that the Constitution, in defining the state symbols and the national anthem, failed to acknowledge that Serbia is both a multinational and multicultural state.

The Declaration was signed by Sanjak's Mufti, presidents of Bosniak parties in Sanjak: Rasim Ljijic (Sanjak Democratic Party), Fevzija Muric (Party for Sanjak), Dzemail Suljevic (National Movement for Sanjak), Tarik Imamovic (Sanjak Alternative), and Zehnija Bulic (Sanjak Democratic Union).

Criminal charges against members of RIK

The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) will raise an inditement against the members of the Serbian Electoral Commission (RIK) and Predrag Marković, speaker of the National Parliament, for severe violations of the Law on Referendum and people’s initiatives, said Čedomir Jovanović, president of LDP, at a press conference.

Jovanović explained that RIK granted the LDP and other parties of the anti-referendum bloc the right to participate in only 1% of the election committees (polling stations), “which means that the Referendum will be legal in only 1% of the election committees, while it will be illegal and therefore unacceptable in 99% of the polling stations.” The president of LDP said that the anti-referendum parties will not accept the offer to participate in only a fraction of the election committees. However, 20.000 party activists will stand in front of all the polling stations in Serbia and follow the voter turn-out. “At this point, it is not even probable that the referendum could be accepted as legal,” said Jovanović.

The Civic Alliance of Serbia (GSS) announced that 20.000 activists will stand in front of the polling stations and follow the referendum. “The presence of the opposition’s representatives in elections committees at less than 1% of the polling stations confirms our claims that the Referendum will be falsified. Otherwise, the government in Serbia would not oppose the participation of the opposition parties in the referendum process,” stated a GSS announcement.