SERBIA IS WAKING UP

Violence combined with territorial pretensions

2006-10-26T10:15:00.000+02:00

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

2006-10-25T17:57:00.000+02:00

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

2006-10-24T09:45:00.000+02:00

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

2006-10-20T09:10:00.000+02:00

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

2006-10-19T10:45:00.000+02:00

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

2006-10-18T11:53:00.000+02:00

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

2006-10-16T19:20:00.000+02:00

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.

Serbian NGOs demand explanation from Chief of OSCE Mission to Serbia

2006-10-14T12:10:00.000+02:00

Eighteen Serbian NGOs today requested that Chief of the OSCE Mission to Serbia, Hans Ola Urstad, to explain "which of the reasons have instigated" him and the organization he represents to qualify the Draft Constitution as democratic.

The signatories have sited a press release previously issued by the Serbian Ministry of Justice, which says that Hans Old Usrtad had "unambiguously emphasize that OSCE does not support a call for any kind of referendum boycott, because democracy is based precisely on the principle of participation in democratic decision-making process, rather than on boycotting."

The Humanitarian Law Center, Lawyers' Committee for Human Rights, Youth Initiative for Human Rights, Helsinki Committee in Serbia and Women in Black, among other things, say:

"We firmly believe that one of the basic civic rights is for citizens to have insight into the operation of state institutions and for state institutions to be subjected to citizens' control (…) Underlining that the recent past and crimes committed in our name and on our behalf demand real discontinuity with the politics of evil (…) Protesting against the reduction of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina to the level of local self-governance and of human rights to a declaration (…) This referendum calls on the citizens to vote on the new Constitution by way of flagrant violation of human rights, especially those of Albanians, with Serbia 's territorial claims and the abolishment of human rights (…) The Constitution is a result of compromise with those who conducted Milosevic's politics of atrocities. As organizations and individuals devoted to the protection of human rights, we kindly ask for your explanation concerning the reasons which have instigated Your Excellency and the organization you represent to portray this referendum as democratic?".

The letter is signed by: Humanitarian Law Centre, Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, Youth Initiative for Human Rights, Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia, Women in Black, Initiatives (Prokuplje), Centre for Development of Civic Resources (Niš), Caribrod (Dimitrovgrad), Lambda (Niš), Urban – in (Novi Pazar), Centre for Human Rights (Niš), Helsinki Committee for Human Rights (Novi Sad), Sanjak Committee for Human Rights (Novi Pazar), Childrens’ Rainbow (Niš), Argus (Novi Sad), Panonija (Novi Sad), Independent Journalists’ Association of Vojvodina (Novi Sad) and Centre for Development of Civil Society (Zrenjanin).

Legal lacuna

2006-10-13T09:27:00.000+02:00

Editor of “Serbian Legal Review” , Vladimir Todoric, says there is a certain “legal lacuna” situated in the way the media have been handling the referendum campaign. This void can be abused for “deregulated campaigns”.

“The Law on Referendum Procedures includes a legal lacuna which points to the Law on Election of Members of the Parliament; the latter is applied when the former renders a provision incomplete. During the referendum in Montenegro, the international community expressed great interest in campaign rules, while it avoids to interfere in pre-referendum process”, says Todoric.

Neither does the Constitution nor the law – the referendum is mentioned in Article 86 of the Law on Public Announcements of State Institutions (and political organizations), where it is treated the way humanitarian actions, emergency measures or school enrolment announcements are treated. This article comes in handy to those radio and television stations which advertise the referendum free-of-charge. The time used for pro-referendum campaign will not be counted as part of 12-minute-advertisement by hour.

The Montenegrin referendum held in May is remembered by Belgrade’s insistence on equal space to be given in the media to both referendum parties (those pro-independence and those advocating against it). The block in favor of boycotting the referendum on the Serbian Constitution, composed of LDP, GSS, SDU and LSV, some of which are represented in the Parliament, demanded from Predrag Markovic, President of the Serbian Parliament, be visible during the referendum campaign, but received a no in reply. RIK too rejected these parties’ demands.

Citizens of Kragujevac against new Constitution

2006-10-13T09:24:00.000+02:00

More than 300 citizens in Kragujevac, the biggest city in central Serbia, attended public discussion about the new Constitution of Serbia. The event was organized by the Youth Initiative for Human Rights.

Biljana Kovacevic Vuco (Lawyers’ Committee for Human Rights), Andrej Nosov and Predrag Madzarevic (YIHR), Ljiljana Palibrk (Helsinki Committee for Human Rights) and Vladimir Paunovic (Millenium) were among the discussants. The political parties was represented by Branislav Lecic and Milena Stankovic (Liberal-Democratic Party), Nenad Canak (League of Social-Democrats of Vojvodina), Mirko Rosic (Civic Alliance of Serbia) and Branislav Kovacevic (coalition “Sumadija”).

The discussants all concluded that the new Constitution should be boycotted because it had been adopted through “murky procedure” and because it contains a number of “semi-solutions which drive Serbia back to the 19th century”. The discussants stressed that “only through the process of dealing with the past and the creation of modern society can Serbia’s future be envisaged as democratic”. The Draft Constitution was estimated to further distance Serbia from Europe, legitimize the crimes committed in the past, excluding the citizens from decision-making processes.

The opposition now officially excluded from monitoring commission

2006-10-12T09:11:00.000+02:00

The Serbian Elections Committee (RIK) has decided that the commission designed to monitor the referendum on the new Constitution of Serbia will be composed of representatives from the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS), Serbian Radical Party (SRS), Democratic Party (DS), G17 Plus, Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS), New Serbia (NS) and the Serbian Renewal Movement (SPO). In ethnically mixed areas, one member of a party with most representatives in the local municipal parliament will also be included in monitoring commission.

The decision on the referendum control mechanisms excludes the parliamentary parties that have announced anti-referendum campaigns and criticized the new draft Constitution. The Social-Democratic Party (SDP), Civic Alliance of Serbia (GSS) and Social-Democratic Union (SDU) will not be included in monitoring commissions, despite the fact that these three parties, respectively, have three, two and one member in the parliament.

Although SDP has the same number of MPs as SPO, SPO was given a place in monitoring commissions. "We are appalled by this move, through which the governing coalition has deprived us of the right to monitor the referendum. Obviously, the there is a deal amongst certain parties to share the huge amount of money allocated for monitoring commissions", said Meho Omerovic, SDP MP.

RIK and the Serbian Supreme Court have rejected all objections as unfounded and untimely.

Serbian legal experts critical of the Constitution Draft

2006-10-12T09:10:00.000+02:00

The draft Constitution, on which citizens are to vote on October 28th and 29th, lacks "legitimacy in terms of processing and content", while the referendum results will also be doubtable, says the Forum Iuris, a non-governmental organization based in Novi Sad.

In its analysis, conducted at the request of Vojvodina Assembly President, Bojan Kostres, Forum Iuris concludes that the process in which the new draft Constitution was designed included only a small group of political parties leaders and that ultimately they were under pressure from the Serbian Radical Party. The institutions responsible for preparing the constitution had been excluded from the process of adopting it, such as the Council for Constitutional Matters of the Serbian Parliament. The Constitution prepared in haste, within less than two weeks; the MPs received the draft on the day of its scheduled adoption, and were thus deprived of the right to take part in constitutional debate; the general public was deprived of the right to be informed about the content of this supreme legal document.

Forum Iuris suggested that the legitimacy of the referendum and its results will also be debatable, as the central polling list is under dispute; there are no reliable data on the number of voters (according to official estimations, the margin of error is 400,000). In addition to this, the referendum will last two days, and there will be no supervision or monitoring control of the process. Forum Iuris concludes by noting that "although Kosovo and Metohija have been defined as integral part of Serbia, Kosovar Albanians are to be excluded from the referendum".

Kosovo should not be included in Serbian Constitution

2006-10-11T09:58:00.000+02:00

President of the Liberal-Democratic Party (LDP), Cedomir Jovanovic, one of the leaders of the coalition strongly campaigning against the referendum on the new Constitution of Serbia, has said that Kosovo should not have been included in the supreme legal document of Serbia. The UN Security Council should address and deal with the issue of Kosovo, said Jovanovic.

He continued, "Kosovo will be a new Balkan state. The extent to which this will be formalized depends on political circumstances and the willingness of the world to insist on new solutions. However, this will soon boil down to some of the most painful issues for Serbia", defining how Serbia will build a relationship with it’s new neighbor.

Both guilt and responsibility are involved in this relationship, said Jovanovic, adding that Slobodan Milosevic was not alone in initiating and implementing his politics – and so he should not be the only one to pay the price for a failed national project.

"Serbs in Croatia live better today than Serbs in Serbia, wile Serbs in Republika Srpska say they are better off than Serbs in Serbia. Serbs in Timisoara are in a sense already part of the European Union", Jovanovic told Studio B.

Milosevic's cadre heads the referendum committee

2006-10-11T09:56:00.000+02:00

Dobrivoje Glavonjic, a judge famous for his suppression of the Serbian media, has been appointed head of the Commission for public purchases for the upcoming referendum. Today Glavonjic is a lawyer; he was Chief of the Belgrade Misdemeanor Court at the time when this court was notorious for its punishing of Serbian media under the auspices of an even more notorious JUL-SRS Law on Information.

In December 1998, Glavonjic himself fined "Dnevni telegraf" 300,000 dinars, a daily then owned by late Slavko Curuvija, who was murdered four months later. In addition to this, Glavonjic fined Dnevni telegraf’s editor-in-chief, Dragan Novakovic, 150,000 dinars for allegedly breaching the Law on Information, says "Kurir". In November 2001, the daily "Glas javnosti" conducted an interview with four lawyers who had defended the media and journalists in that period.

"Glavonjic was a text-book example of an apparatchik, who demanded that his colleagues act in the same manner as he did, regardless of their beliefs", said lawyer Rajko Danilovic.

CESID to monitor the referendum in Serbia

2006-10-09T17:46:00.000+02:00

On Sunday, October 8th, the Serbian Electoral Commission (RIK) gave a license to the Centre for Free Elections and Democracy (CESID) to monitor the referendum on the new Constitution of Serbia, to be held on October 28th and 29th. CESID is currently the only independent organisation to be grant permission to observe the referendum.

On Friday, October 6th, the RIK refused the applications by the Civic Alliance of Serbia (GSS) and the Social Democratic Union, opposition parties within the Serbian parliament, to be involved in election monitoring. The Supreme Court of Serbia ruled that official complaints by GSS missed the deadline for applications. In its complaint, the GSS said that the RIK improperly implemented the laws ‘on Referenda’, on ‘Civic Initiative’ and ‘on the Election of MP’s’.

Serbian civic opposition established a coalition calling for referendum boycott

2006-10-09T17:42:00.000+02:00

The Liberal-Democratic Party (LDP), Civic Alliance of Serbia (GSS), Social-Democratic Union and League of Social-Democrats of Vojvodina agreed to form an election coalition and called for a general boycott of the referendum on the new Constitution of Serbia. This coalition will be open to citizens and non-governmental organizations, but not to other political parties. The decision was reached at joint session of the four parties' Stirring Committees on Sunday, October 8th, in Belgrade.

Leader of LDP, Cedomir Jovanovic, called on the public to express their dissatisfaction with the new draft Constitution at the upcoming elections. It is expected that elections will be announced at the beginning of November. "We cannot control the referendum, but elections will be our pay-back time, where we will make sure that the public is allowed to take part in state politics", said Jovanovic.

GSS President Natasa Micic said her party would not consent to a Constitution that had been designed as compensation for the failure of the Action Plan for Cooperation with the Hague Tribunal, the breakdown of negotiations with the EU, and as a smoke-screen to hide the looming resolution of Kosovo’s status.

At the coalition meeting several non-governmental organizations were represented – the Youth Initiative for Human Rights, Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia and the Lawyers' Committee for Human Rights.

This is not my Constitution!

2006-10-06T19:11:00.000+02:00

On the evening of October 5th in Nis, southern Serbia, a street action was held entitled "Let's not change bad for worse! NO to the Constitution!" Some fifty activists handed out the leaflets which criticized not only the way the the new Constitution was passed, but also its content. Citizens in Nis watched the screening of the only public discussion about the new Constitution, "YES to Civic, NO to Party-directed Constitution", organized on September 29th by the Liberal-Democratic Party (LDP) at the Sava Center in Belgrade. The conference footage has not yet been broadcast by any media, although professionals, experts, and leaders of the civic option in Serbia and NGO activists spoke in detail about the new Constitution.

The street action in Nis was envisaged as supporting the values of a European Serbia, which the organizers believe to have been crushed by the passage of the new Constitution. The action was organized by members and activists of the YIHR's Nis branch-office, LDP, Center for Civil Resources Development, LAMBDA, AGITPROP, Civic Alliance of Serbia, the Human Rights Center, and Differentia.

Citizens of Novi Sad against the Constitution

On October 6th, activists from the Social Democrats League of Vojvodina, the Youth Initiative for Human Rights, and Liberal Democratic Party organised an action in Novi Sad under the slogan This is not my Constitution.
In central Novi Sad (capital of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina) activists displayed banners stating “Your Constitution – Your Decision” and “What am Ito Vote for? ”, and handed out leaflets with comments from law experts and politicians about the content and clandestine manner in which the draft constitution was adopted by parliament. The majority of citizens welcomed this action, stopping to discuss the key issues.
The YIHR’s activists in Vojvodina are organizing a sustained campaign called This is not my Constitution. The first street action was held in Zrenjanin on October 5th, with actions taking place in Novi Becej today.

The right to monitor the referendum has not been granted to the opposition

2006-10-06T19:06:00.000+02:00

Serbian Elections Committee (RIK) has not allowed the representatives of two parliamentary parties - Civic Alliance of Serbia (GSS) and Social-Democratic Union (SDU) to monitor the referendum.

"During Milosevic's rule this was something to be published as breaking news. We will file our complaints with the Supreme Court of Serbia", says Natasa Micic, GSS President.

According to the SDU, the right to appoint referendum monitors has been granted only to the parties that "called for the referendum". In its press release, the GSS expressed surprise at the RIK's decision, interpreting it as and attempt at abolishing the only parliamentary opposition in Serbia, and distorts the will of electorate, whose votes elected SDU and GSS representatives to Parliament.

Serbian NGOs: Referendum on the Constitution is unconstitutional and illegal

2006-10-05T18:36:00.000+02:00

The Lawyers' Committee for Human Rights, Youth Initiative for Human Rights, Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia and Center for Cultural Decontamination requested from the Constitutional Court to immediately establish the discrepancy between the referendum announcement and the Law on Referendum and People's Initiative. The NGOs demanded the Constitutional Court to officially declare null and void the National Assembly's decision about the referendum on the new Constitution of Serbia.

As explained, the Assembly's decision on referendum announcement, passed on September 30th, runs contrary to the Constitutional article which stipulates that all citizens are equal in their rights and obligations – NB: while the referendum has been announced for the territory of Kosovo and Metohija as well, the citizens of Albanian nationality will be deprived of their right to vote.

"Discrimination against all Albanians in Kosovo, who are not even permitted to decide whether to use their right to vote or not, is directly contrary to the Law on Referendum and People's Initiative", reads the joint press release.

"CIVIL SOCIETY IS OUR ENEMY"

2006-10-05T09:37:00.000+02:00

The protests put forth by civil society organizations and political parties of civic opposition against the draft of the new Constitution initiated serious criticism by particular media and some politicians from ruling coalition.

A commentator of the daily "Glas javnosti", Vjekoslav Radovic, said: "Is it really worth wasting breath on Ceda [Jovanovic] and his Belgrade company who all oppose both the Constitution and Kosmet as integral part of Serbia? Taking into account the incompleteness and rashness in passing the new Constitution as well as potential uncertainty of its fate, it is enough to only glance at the list of those opposing it to have the majority of normal Serbia vote for it."

Nikola Milosevic, a DSS MP (DSS - Democratic Party of Serbia, led by Serbian PM Vojislav Kostunica) Nikola Milosevic believes that opponents of the new Constitution draft "instead of Serbian tend to defend Albanian interests". "The crème of this trendy, i.e. anti-Serb circle, organized recently a round table from which it declared Kosovo's independence a done deal, which is the sole interest of Serbia… Today, membership in any n on-governmental organization is not only political affiliation, but also a profession – profession that brings lost of money with not much effort", concluded Milosevic.

PATRIOTIC BOYCOTT

2006-10-05T09:36:00.000+02:00

Several leading non-governmental organizations from Vojvodina, Serbia, announced the launching of a campaign aimed at boycotting the referendum on the new Serbian Constitution.

"This boycott is not a manifestation of lack of patriotism. On the contrary – it is the manifestation of patriotism. If patriots are to defend anything today, it is their own country – to defend it from its government and political elite", explained the reasons for boycott Pavel Domonji, Chief of the Vojvodina office of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia.

The League of Social-Democrats of Vojvodina will join the boycott. The same announcement was made by the Democratic Vojvodina, mainly due to the octroyé-like nature of the Constitution, but also because of the constitutionally stipulated status of Vojvodina, which renders it "more restrictive and less principled than the previous, Milosevic's one."

CITIZENS OF KOSOVO DEPRIVED OF THE RIGHT TO VOTE

2006-10-04T11:59:00.000+02:00

The Serbian Elections Committee informed on Tuesday, October 3rd that the referendum on the new Serbian Constitution, scheduled for October 28th and 29th, will have been held in Kosovo as well, at polling stations where referendum conditions can be met, i.e. where all voters and polling material can be safe. In practice, this means that a vast majority of Kosovars will not even be allowed an opportunity to cast their ballot on one of the constitutional provisions, which stipulates that Kosovo is an integral part of Serbia. Thus, there will be no possibility for the Constitutional Draft to not be supported through the up-coming referendum due to potential Kosovar Albanians' boycott. In short, the right to vote at this referendum was given only to Kosovar Serbs.

"The main problem is how to play fools – we want to preserve Kosovo as part of Serbia, but we won't allow the Kosovar Albanians to vote on this issue. Then we'll come up with something along the lines – well, they have excluded themselves by having boycotted it", said Vojin DImitrijevic, Director of the Belgrade Center for Human Rights.

Leader of the "Serbian List for Kosovo and Metohija", Oliver Ivanovic, assessed that the new Constitution would not influence the international community in their deciding on the status of Kosovo. Ivanovic said the inclusion of Kosovar Albanians in the referendum "would only increase the number of pro-Constitution votes".

Deputy Prime Minister of Kosovo, Lutfi Haziri, said the Serbian constitutional provision concerning Kosovo will not make impact on negotiation process about the status of Kosovo. "This is a threat and one-sided decision, which would create problems for normalization of relationship between Kosovo and Serbia", said Haziri.

AGAINST THE CONSTITUTION OF HEAVENLY SERBIA

2006-10-04T10:31:00.000+02:00

Activists of NGO coalition "Group 8" and political parties of civic opposition protested on Saturday, September 30th, in front of the Serbian National Assembly against the manner in which the new Serbian Constitution was being adopted. The protest, which gathered several hundred citizens, was held in evening hours, while the MPs were adopting the draft of the new Constitution – a document which had been designed with no previous public discussion and in breach of democratic procedures.

The citizens managed to temporarily block traffic in front of the Parliament, welcoming the arrival and departure of MPs and other state officials with disapproving shouts. Among them were members of the Youth Initiative for Human Rights, Liberal-Democratic Party, Civic Alliance of Serbia, League of Social-Democrats of Vojvodina, Helsinki Committee of Human Rights in Serbia, Humanitarian Law Center, and citizens who spontaneously responded to a text message invitation sent out earlier that day.

The protesters carried flags and banners – "Djindjic Forever, Milosevic Never Again", "Against the Constitution of Heavenly Serbia", "For the Constitution of Modern Serbia", "Straight to the Hague" and "Arrest Mladic". There was also a "Ferrari" flag, the symbol of a three-month protest against the election fraud in 1996-1997. Accompanied with loud shouts "Come out!", the protesters cried "You betrayed Zoran", "We are waiting for you, Boris" and "Thieves!".
Around 9:30pm the security in front of the Parliament building was strengthened by a gendarmerie unit, while the protesters sat on the road and lighted candles. The police, with some pushing and bickering, drove the citizens away from the building and surrounded them in a closed circle.

When around 10pm the MPs and state officials began leaving the Parliament, the Serbian Radical Party MPs and Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica were saw off with the loudest whistling and shouts.

The arrival of Serbian President, Boris Tadi's arrival to the Parliament around 8pm was accompanied with roaring shouts – "Betrayal" and "Shame on you". Tadic approached one of the protesters and to her comment about shamefulness of the new Constitution and about his betrayal of Serbia, he replied: "Elections will be held soon". After the Parliament session was over, a police cordon prevented another anointer of the protesters and President.

How can Civil Society Respond to the new Constitution of Heavenly Serbia?

2006-10-03T15:37:00.000+02:00

Andrej Nosov, Youth Initiative for Human Rights
www.yihr.org

We believe our response can only be essential resistance and rejection of the superimposed part-oriented Constitution of Serbian oligarchs. "Serbia is Waking Up" is a blog the Youth Initiative for Human Rights will be releasing daily, in order to inform the region and the world about new events. The new Constitution, marginalization of "other citizens living in Serbia" and all other relevant information will be the content of this newsletter series.

The media remain silent and are reluctant to convey what those who think differently have to say. One-track politics and political conformism will lead heavenly Serbia out of Europe and out of modernization which we need.

A group of organizations which clearly confronts the new Constitution as well as the continuation of nationalistic politics has been labeled as "attending to politics and support of only one option".

We say loud and clear that at stake here is not one option, but a new and different Serbia, a Serbia which is waking up, a Serbia which wants to be civil, modern and European… Europe is our option. We believe in secular state. We want the rights of all our citizens to be respected.

Contributors to this blog will be the youth of Serbia, politicians, activists, professionals and businessmen. Your contribution is welcome.