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June 10 2022

Progressive forces in the region should not retreat in front of a retrograde and loud minority

The panel, which discussed the possibilities of politicians of civic orientation, civil society organizations and activists to influence better relations in the region, yesterday ended the ZAGREB PLENUM – QUO VADIS, BALKANS? organized by the Regional Academy for the Development of Democracy (ADD) from Novi Sad, the Center for Dealing with the Past Documenta from Zagreb and the Centre for Civic Education (CCE) from Podgorica, with the support of the European Fund for the Balkans (EFB). The panel was moderated by Branka Vierda, coordinator of the justice programme at the Youth Initiative for Human Rights in Croatia.

The representative of the Možemo coalition in the Parliament of the Republic of Croatia, Sandra Benčić, spoke about the policy of remembrance and reconciliation and about the attempts to raise these issues in the Parliament in a different way. She said that “several examples from Zagreb, such as the mayor’s speech at the monument to Aleksandra Zec or the unveiling of the monument to the victims of Ustasha terror, showed that we can work on a local level on reconciliation and a culture of remembrance”. Benčić considers that it is not true that these topics are controversial in Croatia and that they cause divisions, stating that the majority of Croatian citizens do not perceive them in that manner. She concluded that “progressive forces must stop dealing with the ideological margin that pulls society backwards“, and that they must start focusing on essential things and achieve cooperation there, especially when it comes to seemingly “small topics”. Benčić concluded that “progressive forces in the region should send a message of hope and faith in victory and that they should not retreat in front of a retrograde and very loud minority”.

Lana Prlić, representative of the House of Representatives of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Parliament, said that “young people in Bosnia and Herzegovina have very radical views despite knowing very little about what happened during the war” and that political parties do not offer them nothing but the shackles of the 1990s, sometimes even the 1940s. She added that “education on the principle of ‘two schools under one roof’ is shameful and cannot, in any way, contribute to the creation of generations whose future will be different and better”.

Councilor of the Belgrade City Assembly from the Moramo coalition, Dobrica Veselinović, said that he believes that “it is possible to reach big topics through small topics” and that is the road to achieving cooperation on issues that are essential for the future of all our citizens. “It is clear that there is a triangle of pollution in the entire Balkans caused by coal-fired power plants and that is why our cities are the most polluted in Europe, and it showed that cooperation on these topics is possible”, he explained. He said that “hope that a new political age is coming and generations of politicians who will not be afraid to stand up for true values and will not calculate for them because of daily political points”.

The European parliamentarian from Croatia, Predrag Matić, said that it is crucial for the countries of the Western Balkans to work on their own relations, and that the European Union currently has numerous priorities that do not include the countries of our region.

With the Zagreb Plenum, after the Podgorica Plenum, the work on strengthening the progressive forces in the region through gatherings and talks on modalities of response to growing right-wing extremism, the crisis of democracy, current challenges and obstacles to democratization in the region is continued.

June 8 2022

Zagreb Plenum QUO VADIS BALKANS – proposals by Vesna Pusić for B&H

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In Zagreb, from 26 to 28 May, organized by the Regional Academy for the Development of Democracy (ADD) from Novi Sad, the Center for Dealing with the Past Documenta from Zagreb and the Centre for Civic Education (CCE) from Podgorica, with the support of the European Balkans Fund (EFB), ZAGREB PLENUM – QUO VADIS, BALKANS? was held.

The Zagreb Plenum is the second in a series of events aimed at empowering progressive forces in the region through gatherings and talks on ways to respond to growing right-wing extremism, the crisis of democracy, current challenges and obstacles to democratization in the region. Within the two days, more than 50 domestic, regional and international experts, officials, members of national parliaments and the European Parliament, diplomats, historians, journalists, publicists, academics and prominent activists from Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Slovenia and Kosovo gathered in Zagreb.

Discussions and six separate panels at the Zagreb Plenum were dedicated to current topics and problems that countries in the region face with. The most significant challenges and obstacles to democratization of the region, relations between countries and regional cooperation, the position towards war crimes and dealing with the past, abuse of history for daily political purposes, impact of Russian aggression on Ukraine on the situation in the region, attempts to confidence-building and opportunities for politicians, movements, parties and civil society activists to counter negative tendencies at the local and regional level were discussed.

Participants and panelists of the Zagreb Plenum agreed that reconciliation, confidence-building and dealing with the past have no alternative when it comes to establishing regional cooperation, but also agreed on some of the concrete steps that must be taken to achieve a better future for all citizens of the region. Most participants expressed concern over the fact that the security and political situation is worse than twenty years ago and assessed that immediately after the end of the armed conflict there was more potential for cooperation and building sustainable peace than nowadays. The assessment is that the political elites have no interest in resolving the conflicts that still exist, closing open issues, and finally overcoming the past. The same refers to the case of the registry of victims of the wars of the 1990s, which is manipulated for the sake of daily political points and needs, as well as historical facts that are twisted and changed every day to create myths and keep political elites in power throughout the region.

The plenum also pointed out the disastrous influence of Russia on the situation in the region, as well as the fact that the Russian aggression on Ukraine completely changed the bloodstream of international relations, and that all countries in the region, without exception, will have to take a stance. It was assessed also that the foreign policies of Croatia and Serbia towards Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro disrupt good neighborly relations and destabilize the entire region, and that the role of the two countries that are already members of the European Union, Croatia and Slovenia, is not what it should be in terms of greater support for the Western Balkans and encouragement for reforms that are a precondition for European integration. The panelists agreed that it is necessary to nurture the common culture of remembrance, and that it is possible to do so in all communities and at all levels – from local to the highest.

The Zagreb Plenum also adopted some of the measures and conclusions, made and presented by Vesna Pusić, former Minister of Foreign and European Affairs in the Government of Croatia. The conclusions concern concrete proposals for a model for the integration of the Western Balkans into the European Union and special support for Bosnia and Herzegovina in overcoming the current five-point political crisis.

For the integration of the so-called Western Balkans in the EU, it is needed to apply the Baltic model of integration. Back in the 1990s, when the three Baltic states began their path to EU membership, three Nordic member states entered into a partnership with them: Denmark, Sweden and Finland, with Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. That partnership included training for civil servants, assistance in harmonizing laws, building institutions and introducing the necessary procedures for decision-making and implementation. Of course, they also facilitated their communication with EU institutions. To date, it is considered the most successful EU integration since 2004. Partners to aspirant countries from the Western Balkans can be neither the largest EU member states, nor, unfortunately, the countries from the region, including Austria and Hungary. The reason for this is the latent danger that the neighbouring countries have their political agendas and goals in the region and therefore there is no trust among the citizens of the Western Balkans in their bona fide The six member states, partners in the Western Balkans on their path to the EU, could be Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Ireland, Portugal and the Netherlands. These are all stable democracies, without special political agendas in the region, and with strong EU orientation.
When it comes to Bosnia and Herzegovina, this country already has the institution of the High Representative. In combination and partnership with one of the Nordic Member States, for example, it could focus on institution building and the introduction of procedures leading to EU membership. Additionally, in this period should:
- Strengthen the presence/number of EUFOR throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina;
- Start drafting a democratic B&H Constitution to replace the fourth annex to the Dayton Peace Agreement;
- Start drafting an election law that would take into account two important components: the concept of B&H as a civic state (because modern democracies do not know other models) and at the same time introduce some mechanisms for the protection of collective ethnic rights. Given the recent past and the current political climate, it is necessary to take care of the protection and guarantee the collective rights of individual peoples. There are many examples in the world that can be used. But that cannot be instead of or to the detriment of the fundamental idea of a civic state – one person, one vote. The protection of collective rights is an additional form of preventing possible ethnic discrimination, not a substitute for the equality of all citizens in their rights;
- Insist that all changes related to EU membership take place simultaneously and throughout the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina;
- Develop political partnerships with non-ethnic political parties and leaders.

At the Novi Sad Plenum, which follows after Podgorica and Zagreb, we plan to come out with clear positions and proposals that address other current topics and practical policies for the entire region and individual countries in it, and the focus will be on dealing with the past.

April 11 2022

Balsa Bozovic: Government and opposition to talk about sanctions against Russia

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I am inviting the pro-European opposition to use the announced conversations with the President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić about calming tensions in society and repeating the elections to initiate the most important issue for Serbia – a clear commitment to the country’s pro-European foreign policy. Vast majority of political players and actors, both the government and majority of the pro-European opposition, has been in a state of hibernation since the beginning of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and remains silent about Russia’s war crimes, crimes against humanity, murders and the danger the aggression poses to the rest of the world. It seems that they are in a state of shock from learning that Moscow, as a recent pillar of Serbian foreign policy, no longer exists in that sense. Serbia’s attitude towards sanctions against Russia will be reciprocal to the European Union’s attitude towards Serbia, and that is why Serbia has to make a decision – whether it is for a European Serbia or for an isolated Serbia. This is the most important issue for the future of our country. You can constantly repeat that you are for the continuation of Serbia’s European path, but if you do not harmonize your foreign and security policy with the foreign policy of the European Union and impose sanctions on Russia, absolutely no one will trust you or consider you a credible partner. Significantly more powerful and richer countries than Serbia had to swallow this bitter pill, Serbia also can and should do it.

The past elections in Serbia have shown that the future government has a historic task ahead – to decide what Serbia will be like in the years to come. Will it choose the foreign policy course of the European Union and the European future for our country, or will it continue to delude itself that it can sit on “two chairs” at the same time, not realizing that circumstances have changed and that Russia is no longer what it used to be in international relations? If Serbia does not realize that the Russian foreign policy “chair” does not exist anymore, it can easily lose the European one as well. That would mean isolation and transformation into Balkan Belarus which will be a constant source of destabilization in the region, accompanied by a very low standard of living. The citizens of Serbia do not deserve such a future. Serbia deserves to continue to develop into a democratic, economically strong and modern European state.

The citizens of Serbia expect certainty from the Government, which, regardless of the number of deputies in the Assembly who support it, should make a historic decision to impose sanctions on Russia, harmonize its foreign and security policy with the European Union and continue the accelerated path to full membership in the European Union. Such a decision should be supported by the part of the opposition that calls themselves pro-European, because for Serbia it means the continuation of reforms and further strengthening of the rule of law and independent institutions. It is not a collaboration of the pro-European opposition with the regime, it is a responsible, joint decision on the foreign policy of Serbia, but also the value orientation that the citizens expect.

April 11 2022

NGO Network Calls Citizens to Take Part in the Democratic Election Process

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The NGO Network for Democracy, Development and Security calls on the citizens of Serbia to exercise their right to vote, to go out to the polls on 3 April and to vote freely, according to their own beliefs and free from coercion.

The right to vote is one of the most powerful tools of the citizens, and the more people who partake in the elections, the more credible and democratic the voting process becomes.

We expect all institutions included in the election process to perform their duties in accordance to the law and to utilise all of their powers to ensure standard, fair and democratic voting take place and to adhere to the expressed will of the citizens.

We call upon all governing authorities to ensure the application of the law, to react in cases of breach, without exception, thus contributing to the legality of the election process. At the same time, we call upon all members of the polling stations to monitor voting in line with the law, to react to any and all irregularities or breaches of the right to vote and to record any complaints into the Polling Station Records, as polling stations are where the will of the citizens will is being collected.

We remain dedicated in our quest to ensure the further development of a democratic society and democratic representative institutions.

The NGO Network for Democracy, Development and Security

Council for Strategy Policy

Center of Modern Skills

Center for Foreign Policy

Academy for Democratic Development

Center for Democracy Foundation

February 23 2022

Bozovic: It is crucial for Serbia to align with EU regarding Ukraine

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The Chair of the Executive Committee of Regional Academy for Democratic Development, Balsa Bozovic, said that the Russian-Ukrainian crisis and Russia’s latest moves, as well as the reaction of the European Union and Western democracies, put Serbia in front of the choice of whether to harmonize its foreign policy with EU, or to again pretend to be neutral under various naive excuses and thus show again and again that it is not a reliable partner of the European Union.

He said that the eyes of Western democracies are currently focused on Serbia and that in such crisis and situations it can be seen which countries are credible and reliable partners and can be counted on, and which are building a policy of distrust towards EU as their largest economic and political partner due to the wrong policy.

Bozovic concluded that this choice should not be made upon whether someone loves Russia or not, and that emotions towards Russia should not be questioned. However, he reminded that Serbia must be aware that it has its own policy and priorities, while Russia has its own and that things in that sense should be clean. If Serbia loves itself, it will do what is in its interest in foreign policy, and that is to support its partners in the European Union. Bozovic also warned that the countries of the region have already declared themselves about this situation, while Serbia is again late to do so.

February 21 2022

Closing panel of Podgorica Plenum: They are teaching people to hate, although they know that they are wrong

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The final and closing panel of the Podgorica Plenum: “Quo vadis, Balkans?” organized by the Regional Academy for Democratic Development, Center for Civic Education and Friedrich Ebert Foundation hosted Mayor of Sarajevo Benjamina Karic, Mayor of Podgorica Ivan Vukovic, former Croatian President Stjepan Mesic and Johns Hopkins University Professor Daniel Serwer from USA.

Former President of Croatia Stjepan Mesić said that when he was finishing his mandate, it was impossible to think that in 2022 we would discuss ethnic tensions in the region and the rise of nationalism. He stated that ethnic tensions and nationalism not only resisted, but also turned into dominant ideologies and dominant discourse, for which there are several reasons. One of them lies in the fact that the political elites in the newly formed states realized that they would most easily mobilize voters, keep themselves alive, and often unhindered criminal activities, through the production of enemies. He paid tribute to all those who worked and continue to work for reconciliation, respect for all victims and normalization of relations in the region and strongly criticized those who present themselves as defenders of the nation and national identity while manipulating and creating an atmosphere of constant growing fear and teaching the public that everyone who is different should be hated. He cited the shameless abuse of democracy and freedom of public speech as the second cause of today’s situation, warning that democracy must never become anarchy and allow everyone to do whatever they want, just as freedom of expression must include responsibility for every word spoken. President Mesic emphasized that freedom must never be at the expense of someone else’s freedom, that freedom of expression must be guaranteed but we must never abuse it to spread fear and hatred towards the other and the different. He warned of the danger of growing voices advocating the free spread of hatred under the auspices of the fight against the “culture of prohibition”, which in fact are trying to enable themselves to act unhindered and expressed concern that there is no organized force in society which would oppose them. He reminded that hatred was fabricated to make it easier to mobilize people for war and that it just served as a basis for war and that the only wars in which our nations truly clashed were the wars in which Yugoslavia disintegrated. Mesic warned that in our region, nationalism does not mean loving one’s own, but hating others. He believes that our societies urgently need a fundamental and radical reform, re-establishing the order of social values, redefining the values and rules on which societies are based, correcting completely wrong values, a turn in social development that can almost be called a revolution. President Mesic said that he believes that, if this does not happen, we will face a radical right-wing counter-revolution whose devastating consequences we cannot even imagine.

The Mayor of Podgorica, Ivan Vukovic, said that there are new generations in the region whose worldview is significantly more conservative, who were educated and brought up in the spirit of emphasized religiosity, whose perspective is, paradoxically, narrower than those of those who grew up in a country that could not be considered democratic. He added that we are in a situation where the European perspective is increasingly uncertain, the economic situation is increasingly difficult, and global priorities are moving further and further away from the Balkans, and that it is extremely suitable ground for strengthening retrograde ideas. He said that there is a line on the political scene that separates those who believe that diversity is a treasure and that we are all equal, and those who believe that through multiculturalism we separate ourselves from our identity, our roots and annul what we are and that that is the essence of the political struggle that is being waged today in all post-Yugoslav societies. Vukovic assessed that a minimum of social consensus is necessary for the construction of a new system of values, which, in turn, it is necessary to set an example in which political elites must play a key role. He concluded by saying that in Montenegro some things must remain outside the domain of daily politics because that is the only way to preserve social forces that must work in favor of preserving those ideas, regardless of who is in power at the moment.

The Mayor of Sarajevo, Benjamina Karić, emphasized that she was concerned that the values instilled in many of us in our families, such as anti-fascism, would not be possible to pass on to young people and that they would not adopt them. She said that those topics are important in all times and are not just World War II-related topics. She assessed that we are wrong when we talk about the return of the ideas of social democracy and anti-fascism, and that we should talk about their intensification or empowerment, rather than disappearance, since these are universal ideas that have nothing to do with religion, nation or political conflicts. She emphasized that civil society should be a corrective and a partner in everything that politicians do.

Daniel Serwer, one of the most prominent international experts on the situation in the Balkans, said that many people in the Western Balkans are saying that they are disappointed with the situation over the past twenty years and that not much has changed since the war. He assessed that the situation in the Balkans is extremely difficult, that all countries in the Balkans are economically dependent on aid from the European Union, which, in turn, is facing other crises and has other priorities, which has slowed down the process of European integration. At the same time, Moscow and Beijing are increasingly present in the region, each in its own way and with its own goals, just like Turkey, without any of these powers sharing the values of the liberal democracy system on which the European Union and the United States are based. He stated that the ethnic populism that is flourishing in the Balkans is a fertile ground for the actions of Russia, China and Turkey, and that one of the ways to oppose these influences in Western Balkans is empowering progressive politicians who must act in cooperation with civil society. Speaking about the situation in Montenegro, Professor Serwer praised the peaceful change of government in this country and said that it is necessary to closely monitor how Montenegro will emerge from the current crisis.

February 21 2022

Historians at Podgorica Plenum: Marriage between history and politics is always a bad match

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The second day of the Podgorica Plenum: “Quo vadis, Balkans? “ organized by Regional Academy for Democratic Development, Center for Civic Education and Friedrich Ebert Foundation, started with the panel of historians, where Ivo Goldstein from Croatia, Milivoj Beslin from Serbia, Husnija Kamberovic from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Dubravka Stojanovic from Serbia and Adnan Prekić from Montenegro gave their views on the problem of radicalization and fascism of societies in the Western Balkans.

Historian Ivo Goldstein said that the Second World War was crucial for our understanding of the present. He emphasized that in the time of socialist Yugoslavia, a culture of remembrance was created, interwoven with a strategy of creating brotherhood and unity and a clear definition of who was on the right side and who was on the wrong side in World War II. He concluded that the former Yugoslavia provided an honest and accurate answer to that question. With all the knowledge about the crimes that were committed then, the fact remains that the partisans were the only ones on the right side. He added that in the 1980s and 1990s, both in Croatia and in Serbia, these things began to relativize. Historical revisionism entered the scene in a grand style. Goldstein recalled the first election campaign in Croatia when Franjo Tudjman declared the fascist NDH an expression of the Croatian people’s desire for their own state. He stated three reasons for Croatian revisionism. First, imposed silence about sensitive topics from the Second World War, political goals of revisionists who are extremely right-wing and because of which we can call that revisionism Ustashaization or Ustasha–nostalgia, and then the response to Serbian nationalism generated by the situation in Kosovo and dissatisfaction with the 1974 Constitution. Goldstein added that revisionists have been operating in Croatia for more than thirty years and are constantly and very actively spreading lies, the amount of which is quite difficult to deal with. He concluded that the marriage of politics and historiography is always a bad match.

Dr. Milivoj Bešlin said that history never belongs entirely to the past and that it is impossible to study history without a modern context. He warned of the constant needs of political structures to legitimize themselves by abusing history. He emphasized that the problem in the Balkans is that national historiographies have never separated from nationalist ideologies, and that is why historians in this area are fighting battles that their colleagues in Europe won in the 20th century. All right-wing movements are based on bribery, which means abuse, fabrication and falsification of facts. He assessed that the dominant nationalism in our region is Serbian nationalism, which, like other nationalisms in our region, abuses history and myths, that it does not recognize polyvalence of identity and that it depicts the totalitarian character of nationalisms in our region. He also spoke about the role of the Serbian Orthodox Church as the initiator of Serbian nationalism today, but also about the basis on which the Serbian world is being built, as a kind of replica of the Russian world. Beslin assessed that it could be concluded that Serbia has overcome the phase of historical revisionism and entered the phase of historical revanchism, which in a violent way, by destabilizing the region, is trying to change relations in the region and endanger other countries.

Dubravka Stojanović said that history is a science about the present, and not about the past, and emphasized that a distinction should be made between revision of history and revisionism, which implies conscious, malicious ideological and targeted manipulation of historical facts and abuse of the past. This is a big problem when it comes to science, but a much bigger problem when it turns into history teaching and when we talk about right-wing movements and young people who are mostly right-wing oriented, we should keep in mind that one of the reasons is history teaching. Professor Stojanović said that the goal of the changes in the history textbooks of the 1990s was to put the war in the context of the present and to justify it. During 2000s, there was a radical change in the position and perception of historical role of partisans and Chetniks in Serbia, and that is the interpretation of the Second World War that has remained until today. The last attack on textbooks in Serbia took place last year, with calls from officials to abolish the possibility of choosing between various textbooks and for the state to write textbooks that will “tell the truth”. She assessed that in all countries of the region, when it comes to school history, there has been a drastic deterioration through heroic narrative, glorification of war and self-victimization. Professor Stojanović estimated that nationalists have created states without a future since the 1990s and during the wars, and created states that offer eternity, but without hope and without a vision of the future.

Professor Husnija Kamberović analyzed the dramatic situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina and identified different motives and dynamics in radicalization. In political terms, if we focus on the post-war period, he identified several different channels for implementation of extremism, the most important and potentially the most dangerous being institutional. He emphasized that the problem is that there is a large number of different truths in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and that talking about national historiographies means giving them the importance of scientific historiography, which certainly cannot be the case. He added that the nationalist interpretation of the past is trying to create a better image of the past in order to gain legitimacy through such an image. He assessed that the way to fight against these phenomena can be cooperation between historians, both at the regional and national level, and that a joint response must be provided.

February 21 2022

Journalists and Writers at Podgorica Plenum: Region needs politics of hope, and not politics of fear

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The third panel of the Podgorica Plenum: “Quo vadis, Balkans?” organized by Regional Academy for Democratic Development, Center for Civic Education and Friedrich Ebert Foundation, featured journalists, writers and publicists. The key speakers were: Vesna Mališić, journalist and editor from Serbia, Montenegrin writer Andrej Nikolaidis, Bosnian journalist Dragan Bursać, journalist and director of the Center for Post-Conflict Research Velma Šarić, as well as professor at the Faculty of Montenegrin Language and Literature Vladimir Vojinović.

Journalist Vesna Mališić stated that one of the basic problems in the region is the fact that the hate speech is interpreted as a freedom of speech. She emphasized that the problem in Serbia is that the society is deeply polarized and radicalized. Radical voices, rhetoric and views appear to be the loudest and dominant in the media. She added that we have created an entire atmosphere that reinstalls the figure of the enemy, and a constant feeling of being threatened and endangered from all sides. It is an atmosphere in which right-wing ideas break through very easily. She added that she is not optimistic when it comes to the leftist or civic ideas becoming more prominent and significant in Serbia.

Bosnian journalist Dragan Bursac said that there are not many people who speak out against the nationalist structures in power in Republika Srpska and that they are exposed to constant attacks and threats, without any protection from the relevant authorities. He said that one of the key problems is that we are surrounded by people who basically do not distinguish good from evil. Bursac warned that for every young political representative of the Serbian people who said that the past was not important and that it should be left behind, in the end it turned out that they had a very clear agenda when it comes to these topics and concluded that these things are extremely dangerous and harmful. He said that the right naturally acts united and unique, while the left is not such by nature, but that despite that, it is necessary to act in a coordinated and very active way.

Professor Vladimir Vojinović emphasized that we have reached a situation where even literary awards in Montenegro are questionable and give reasons for dispute and that this indicates the depth of the crisis in which Montenegro finds itself. He added that the key problem of Montenegro is the danger of introducing religious education in schools and that it lies in the education system. Montenegro has a number of problems that manifest themselves in everyday life and that destroy the multiethnic essence of Montenegro and lead to segregation.

Writer Andrej Nikolaidis said that every great idea is ignored at first, then encounters violent resistance, and in the end it is accepted as something that goes without saying. He believes that the situation in the region is very bad and that there is no great hope for its improvement. He said that the idea of the left often seems like something that is dying, but that it always survives because it is a policy of hope, unlike the right which is a policy of fear. He reminded that this is not the first time in our time that we feel as if there is no hope and as if the situation is hopeless, but it turned out that there is still a way out and hope. Speaking about the influence of the Serbian Orthodox Church on the situation in Montenegro, he quoted Miodrag Perovic, who said that the Serbian Orthodox Church and its liturgies have exceptional emancipatory potential. He said that the problem is not that the Serbian Orthodox Church interferes in politics, but that it is actively involved in politics, and stressed that the church is the basic tool for cross-border expansion of Serbia’s influence in the region.

Velma Saric, a journalist and director of the Center for Post-Conflict Research in Bosnia and Herzegovina, said that the role of religious leaders in shaping politics in Bosnia and Herzegovina is important and that instead of bringing peace and stability, they had long been factors in spreading hatred and destabilization. She stated that the law punishing the denial of crimes and genocide was imposed on Bosnia and Herzegovina by the High Representative and that it served as a mere excuse to fabricate the latest crisis by those who are constantly in the campaign of genocide and crime denial. She stated that in a country facing such serious social problems, such as Bosnia and Herzegovina, such a law was much needed and that without it, Bosnia and Herzegovina would sink into an even deeper crisis and there would be no future for young people.

February 19 2022

Politicians at Podgorica Plenum: Regional Cooperation – a key to the fight for the core values

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The second panel of the Podgorica Plenum: “Quo vadis, Balkans?” organized by Regional Academy for Democratic Development, Center for Civic Education and Friedrich Ebert Foundation, hosted the Member of the Parliament from Democratic Party of Socialists and former Montenegrin Prime Minister Dusko Markovic, longtime member of the German Bundestag and Bundestag rapporteur for the Western Balkans Josip Juratovic, Executive Director of the Center for democracy from Serbia Natasa Vuckovic, former President of the Parliament of Montenegro Ranko Krivokapic, Member of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina and founder of ADD Sasa Magazinovic and former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of Croatia Vesna Pusic.

Josip Juratovic, one of the most influential deputies in the German Bundestag, said that the topic of the Western Balkans in the Bundestag is very important and that the reason for this are the constant smoldering conflicts that threaten to escalate and keep this topic in constant focus. He expressed great concern, especially because of the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but also because of the situation in Montenegro where nationalism threatens to prevail and become the dominant narrative, as well as North Macedonia whose dispute with Bulgaria, which has long blocked European integration, puts to the test not only entire European Union, but the core foundations of democracy as well.

Ranko Krivokapic, longtime President of the Parliament of Montenegro, said that ethnocentrism has proved to be the greatest enemy of democracy in the former Yugoslavia and that this is a problem we still face and need to fight, both nationally and regionally.

Member of the Parliament of Montenegro and former Prime Minister of Montenegro Dusko Markovic stated that today, in the political sense, Montenegro is lagging behind the period reached in the late 1990s. He said that this situation is inappropriate for a NATO member state and a former regional leader in European integration and added that that the biggest losers, besides a multiethnic society, are citizens, and that the time has come for Montenegro to give a strong civic response to a situation in which it has found itself.

Former Deputy Prime Minister of Croatia Vesna Pusic said that in the previous thirty years, Croatia had had a right-wing government for more than twenty years, and that this reflects the situation in the entire region. She said that it is crucial for democratic control of the government that there are credible alternatives to each government and that every government must have an equally strong political option to control it, and that she is concerned about the lack of truly democratic and civic options in many countries in the region.

The executive director of the Foundation Center for Democracy, Natasa Vuckovic, said that when we talk about social democracy in Serbia, we are talking about the opposition and that we are talking about two very unequal sides, where there is no counterbalance that is often talked about as the need of every society. She emphasized that in Serbia, the social democratic parties do not have answers to the modern challenges that our society is facing, starting with economic, development, environmental and other issues. Social democracy in our region implies regional cooperation, reconciliation, turning the nationalist narrative into a narrative of reconciliation, and we do not have a social democratic option that actively speaks about these things. The social democratic parties in the Western Balkans, especially in Serbia, were the bearers of the European story, and now that policy is being put aside today and it can be seen that it is slowly disappearing from the narratives of these parties. Moreover, the social democratic parties are proposing and supporting candidates who openly speak of being right-wing, nationalist and conservative, which calls into question the entire political project of the social democrats in this area.

Sasa Magazinovic, a longtime member of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, said that the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina does not differ significantly from that in Serbia or Croatia, but that it is much more complex and difficult due to specific problems and challenges Bosnia and Herzegovina is facing. He reminded that one of the most prominent examples of this is the current crisis regarding changes of the electoral system in which the international community is not very helpful. He emphasized that values have to be foundation of our policy and that any abandonment of values comes with a great price. Flirting with right-wing sentiments and policies has always ended disastrously, not only for those civic-oriented and social democratic politicians who have done so, but also for the countries in which they are active.

February 19 2022

Podgorica Plenum: Solidarity in fighting right-wing extremism and nationalism

RegionalADD Uncategorized 0

The Podgorica Plenum “Quo vadis, Balkans?” was held from February 10 to February 11 and was organized by Regional Academy for Democratic Developmentm Center for Civic Education and the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, with more than thirty participants from across the region discussing ways to jointly fight nationalism, chauvinism and extremism in our societies and various modalities to counter fascisation of the countries throughout the region.

Over the course of two days, the issue will be elaborated from different angles, and some of the participants include: mayors of Podgorica and Sarajevo, Ivan Vukovic and Benjamina Karic, former Croatian President Stjepan Mesic, longtime member of the German Parliament Josip Juratovic, historian Ivo Goldstein , historian Dubravka Stojanović, former President of the Parliament of Montenegro Ranko Krivokapić, Member of the Parliament of Bosnia and Herzegovina Sasa Magazinović, former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of European and Foreign Affairs of Croatia Vesna Pusić, journalist Vesna Mališić from Serbia, writer Andrej Nikolaidis from Montenegro, as well as other prominent fighters for peace, reconciliation, respect for human rights and democratization of the region.

At the opening of the meeting, the President of the Executive Board of the Regional Academy for Democratic Development Balsa Bozovic said that the glorification of war crimes and politics of the 1990s again took the lead in public speech and that this narrative goes hand in hand with attempts to change history and adjust it to the current political needs of corrupt political elites. He said that this is not a problem exclusively of Serbia, but also of other countries in the region, and that we are all part of one cultural space in which such phenomena are mutually conditioned. Bozovic emphasized that the fact that in Serbia there is no institutional protection for those who are fighting for the promotion of just, peaceful and modern Serbia gives special reasons for concern, just as there are no sanctions for those who spread national hatred, glorify war crimes and even call for violence. He assessed that in the entire region we are witnessing the cessation of dealing with the past, that without that there can be no reconciliation, and that without reconciliation there will be no sustainable and lasting peace in the Balkans, and that this suits traditional conservative political elites which benefit and profit from this state of art.

The executive director of the Center for Civic Education, Daliborka Uljarevic, said that only a few years ago in Montenegro, it was almost impossible to assume that we will discuss topics such as religious and ethnic conflicts, and not such as progress in European integration. She assessed that such problems were imported to Montenegro from neighboring countries, and that it turned out that the structures in power were not able to resist these influences. Daliborka Uljarevic emphasized the importance of cooperation between the non-governmental sector, academic community, media, value-determined and uncompromising political parties, and that this cooperation should be based on common values, and not on daily political needs.

Maja Raičević, executive director of the Center for Women’s Rights from Montenegro, said that education is crucial when it comes to the fight for human rights, and that it has to go in pair with the responsibility of those who are in decision-making positions, who often, with their rhetoric, lack of reaction or selective reaction, encourage hate climate and contribute to the normalization of hate speech. She assessed that all the countries of the region are at the very beginning of building institutions to establish responsibility for these situations and that it is necessary for all political actors and all institutions to be clearly determined and resolute in every case of extremism, chauvinism and spreading hatred.

Demush Shasha, director of the EPIKEU Institute from Kosovo, assessed that nationalism and right-wing extremism are the main obstacles to the European integration of all Western Balkan countries, and to the overall development of societies in these countries. He pointed out that it seems that all our countries are trapped in their past, doomed to a constant repetition of history, with the same actors, the same disastrous policies from the war years, and that this hinders their progress.

Kalinka Gaber, advisor to the Government of North Macedonia and one of the founders of the ADD, stated that ignorance and poor education always stand behind speech and hatred, but that the example of North Macedonia can clearly shows how change in the political context can affect the public discourse and the use of hate speech, both through a change in the narratives of those responsible and through the reaction of institutions and competent bodies. She assessed that the Europeanization of the society is not a question of membership in the European Union, but above all the creation of better living conditions for the citizens of our countries.