Continuity of Thuggery and Insults
On the occasion of recent demonstration of hate-speech in Serbian Skupstina (the parliament), when Zoran Krasic, MP from the Serb Radical Party, called Ivana Dulic-Markovic, Minister of Agriculture, an "ustasha" from the pulpit, a group of eight NGOs printed a leaflet to remind the public about previous cases of Radicals' involvement in similar incidents.
Centre for Cultural Decontamination, Belgrade Circle, YUCOM, Humanitarian Law Centre, Youth Initiative for Human Rights, Women in Black, Civic Initiatives, Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia, believe it is their duty to remind that such insults are not, by any means, “incidental” but remain a continuity of expression of a criminal and destructive politics, which was not absent from the Skupstina’a pulpit, either. Following is the text of the leaflet: Lest we forgot, threats and insults for MPs from other political parties are not some new phenomena – previously, they have targeted Zarko Korac (Vjerica Radeta, June 21, 2005); Natasa Micic (Aleksandar Vucic, June 24, 2005); but also the Speaker Predrag Markovic himself, whose party (at that time he was member of G17 Plus) was named "fascist" by SRS MP Natasa Jovanovic in May 2004. The last listed example is made even more strange by the fact that Tomislav Nikolic, SRS leader, said in the Parliament (February 13, 2001), that he was "...proud to be a fascist". “If you measure one's fascism through the war-mongering campaign that we took part in, then I can say I am proud you consider me a fascist". The insults directed at the Minister of Agriculture are just a logical continuation of a policy of public appearances, such as the case of Slobodan Janjic from SRS saying, on March 29, 2001, that the then Minister of Justice would "certainly die from a dog-catcher's noose, since he is not worth wasting a bullet". “That street-sweeper says that all dead and alive Serb patriots are dogs of war. I say to that kleptomaniac that dogs of war die a hero's death, from a bullet. Or, they are taken to the Hague by the thugs of Vladan Batic. He, on the other hand, will sooner die from a noose at a dog-pound, for he is not worthy to waste a bullet on him”.
All of the above proves that the latest excesses are not isolated incidents, but a continuous rampage of clearly defined politics that can call the people suspected of worst war crimes "Serb heroes" (for example, Aleksandar Vucic, July 11, 2001, Vjerica Radeta, 21 December 2005), and all cooperation with the international community is noted "grand treason". The price of such policies is paid by all citizens of Serbia, especially the coming generations, which will have to bear the consequences of these actions and the excommunication of the country from international integration processes in the decades ahead. The political struggle, as perceived by SRS, uses the Skupstina as a powerfull propaganda tool, not only to send the darkest messages, but also to promote their own (omni)potency, as if the policies actively pursued by the Serb Radicals, during the 1990s, didn’t cause enough damage to the citizens of Serbia and their neighbours.
The eventual ban of SRS would present, belated as it is, an indicator that there is a critical mass of people that care about the future of Serbia and the better life for her citizens. The ban would also contribute to sobering up and understanding that there is no place in politics of a society for people that support crimes and are proud with their "fascism" today, at the beginning of 21st Century. |
Printable version
Back to top
