As part of the project “The Youth Voice is the Voice of the Future,” organized by the Association for Education and Development from Montenegro, the Youth Development Center from Serbia, the Union Center for Education and Training from North Macedonia, and the Union Educational Center from Bosnia and Herzegovina, and funded by the European Commission through the Erasmus Plus program, the First Regional Trade Union Academy was held. The academy brought together 50 young union activists from 7 countries, including Montenegro, Serbia, North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina (both the Federation and Republika Srpska), Slovenia, Greece, and Turkey. The event took place at the Montenegro Hotel in Čanj from September 15th to September 19th, 2023.
The First Regional Union Academy took place in the context of informal education, which the activists encountered for the first time. Through brief theoretical lectures, but primarily with excellent trainers:
Balša Bozović, Human Rights and Association, Institute for Youth Development “Kult”
Aleksandra Knežević, Youth Development Center
Aleksandra Mirković, UGS NEZAVISNOST, in a panel discussion on labor rights and collective bargaining.
Dynamic work in small groups, knowledge and experience exchange, panel discussions, case study analyses – all of these activities allowed the youth to acquire knowledge about union activism as a distinct category of youth participation. They also gained insights into human rights and freedoms, along with essential skills for further union work, such as communication, presentation, organizational skills, and many
The First Regional Union Academy was focused on the Unions of Public Administration and Judiciary from all 7 countries, with the intention of transforming this concept into a traditional educational activity in the future.
The attack on Predrag Voštinić, one of the founders of the Local Front, which occurred last night in Kraljevo when a car first pushed him off his bicycle onto the roadside, and then turned around to knock him down, demands an immediate, severe, and uncompromising response from all relevant institutions, primarily the prosecution, which must approach this shameful incident in the most serious manner possible.
Any attempt to downplay the significance of this event, treating this attack as a mere traffic accident, or similar efforts to diminish its importance, will signify support for all those who take the law into their own hands and believe that it is permissible and desirable to confront political opponents in this manner.
Predrag Voštinić is one of the most prominent opposition activists in Serbia, and therefore, we will closely monitor the responses of the relevant institutions and inform international bodies about the actions taken.
President of the Executive Board Regional Academy for Democratic Development
The Regional Academy for Democratic Development calls on the relevant authorities in the Government of the Republic of Serbia to urgently take action to allow Jovana Marović, a citizen of Montenegro and former Deputy Prime Minister of Montenegro, to regain her freedom of movement and to promptly return her personal documents.
Such treatment towards Jovana Marović, who has been denied entry into Serbia on the grounds of “protecting the security of the Republic of Serbia and its citizens,” is unlawful, undemocratic, and constitutes a clear retaliation for her freely expressed political views regarding the role of Vučić’s regime in destabilizing the region and undermining democracy in Serbia. This is not the first time that the regime in Serbia has targeted individuals with differing political views in this manner, and the international community must respond urgently and firmly to such a position taken by the regime in Serbia.
Chair of the Executive Committee of the Regional Academy for Democratic Development Balsa Bozovic will participate at a closed-door event in Valladolid, Spain, on 11 July 2023 to gather Progressive stakeholders from across Spain and other EU Member States for a timely exchange of views on acting together for a Just Transition. The event is organised in connection with the significant and demanded focus on Just Transition by the Spanish and Belgian Presidencies of the Council of the EU, by SOLIDAR, the Foundation for European Progressive Studies (FEPS) and Movimiento por la Paz, el Desarme y la Libertad (MPDL).
This high-level event will bring together over 50 progressive stakeholders (Ministers, scholars, experts and civil society organisations concerned with social and environmental sustainability) from Spain and Europe. During the first part of the event, civil society representatives will participate in roundtable discussions and will develop recommendations on advancing a Just Transition in Spain and all of Europe that will be presented at the end of the meeting.
Taking advantage of the Informal Meeting of European Environment & Energy Ministers that will take place in Valladolid on the same day, European progressive Ministers such as Teresa Ribera (Spain), Zakia Khattabi (Belgium), and Leonore Gewessler (Austria) will participate in our event and showcase the perspectives of their countries.
A call to action from European civil society organisations will be presented to the Ministers and will give impulse for further action for a Just Transition in the framework of the Spanish and Belgian Presidencies of the Council of the EU in 2023 and 2024. In addition, it will be published on Euractiv on the 11th of July and sent to more Ministers, EU leaders and other decision-makers.
We invite you to apply for the POLITEIA Regional School for Youth Participation that will take place July 6-12, 2023 in Niš, Serbia.
The first POLITEIA School for Civil Society took place in 1997 where youth gained valuable knowledge of democratic and European values. Since then, hundreds of young people were taught and motivated to actively participate in social and political processes. POLITEIA is recognized as one of the leading non-formal educative programs for because of its great choice of lecturers, interactive methodology as well as choosing qualified participants. POLITEIA was raised to a regional level during a three-year regional project “Regional Youth Compact for Europe – RYCE” (2018-2021) and participation is now available for young people from the entire Western Balkans region. POLITEIA Regional School is organized within the three-year regional project “Regional Youth Dialogue for Europe” funded by the European Union.
Some of the main issues of this year’s POLITEIA will be:
European Union and enlargement – Western Balkans and accession to the EU: stagnation or progress?
National, Regional and European Identity – How can we connect them?
What kind of economic and social progress does the adoption of European standards bring?
What kind of country and society do we want to build?
Public space – inclusive, democratic, without hate speech and fake news
What are the domestic assignment on the way to the EU? How does the EU help us achieve them?
Key challenges at the national and regional level
Regional cooperation – a condition for EU accession or a real need in the Western Balkans?
What are public policies and how are they designed?
What are the youth policies in the EU and the Western Balkans?
Dialogue between youth and decision-makers – how is it organized, who participates in it, what is discussed?
Participation in the POLITEA Western Balkans School for Youth Participation is open to final-year undergraduate high school students, students, young professionals and activists from the age of 18 to 25 from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Kosovo*, Serbia and North Macedonia. Participants will be chosen according to their academic, activist and other achievements as well as their motivation for being part of POLITEIA alumni network.
Successful candidates will be those who have a strong interest in acquiring new knowledge about the social, economic and political benefits of the European integration of the Western Balkans, youth policies, youth networking at the regional and European level, as well as mechanisms for participation in the process of creating and implementing public policy.
Certificate for successfully completing POLITEIA Regional School for Youth Participation will be awarded to the POLITEIA participants.
The deadline for submitting application is June 4, 2023.
Please kindly note that participation in POLITEIA Regional School for Youth Participation 2023 is free of charge! The organizer is also covering all accommodation, food and travel costs
Novi Sad event consisted of two panels and was highly influenced by the Russian aggression against Ukraine which happened days before the conference. Journalists who spoke at the panel I used the way in which media reported about the war in Ukraine to depict overall role of the media in political processes in Serbia.
At panel I, there were three speakers – Dinko Gruhonjic, professor of journalism at the University of Novi Sad, Darko Sper, Chairman of the Trade Union of culture, art and media and Denis Kolundzija, journalist and winner of numerous awards in the field of civic oversight of the work of the government. They spoke about the role of the media in the country’s democratization process. They also gave their position about the control of the work of institutions, timely, objective and truthful information of citizens and the process of building inclusive institutions at all levels of government, and they also referred to the manner in which media in Serbia report on the war in Ukraine.
Denis Kolundzija pointed out that when reporting on the conflict in Ukraine, conflicting messages are being sent to the public, and that even the European Union is being sent messages that, although we are trying to lead a balanced policy, our heart very clearly belongs to one of the sides. He emphasized that completely contradictory information is being distributed to citizens, with the explanation that Serbia will not choose sides in the conflict, and that the fact that the authorities are standing behind these information is particularly problematic. Kolundžija warned that meaningful, investigative and critical journalism remains extraordinary rare, and that in situations like this one it is very easy to manipulate citizens’ fears. He emphasized that it is not enough just to list information, often contradictory, because then citizens are only overwhelmed with data and information, while in fact they are very ill-informed. He stated that the role of media is also to process information, analyze data, follow-up on the stories and hold authorities and institutions accountable to citizens.
Darko Sper warned that there are not many serious and meaningful articles about the conflict in Ukraine, that every information is presented with disclaimers, that there is lot of unconfirmed and unverified information, fake news and propaganda and that there is very little awareness of how dangerous processes we are witnessing are. He emphasized that a month after the start of the war, the situation is increasingly dangerous and that any voices siding with Russia or expressing support to the war have to be condemned. Sper assessed that the situation now resembles the situation in Serbia in the 1990s. He warned that the entire media scene is tabloidized and that both the government and the opposition are happy to give statements, interviews and cooperate with tabloids, depending on whether they are pro-government or pro-opposition oriented. Speer noted that many political parties are trying to benefit from the situation in Ukraine and using it in the electoral campaign trying to show support for Russia. He said that currently one of the main problems is the lack of an organized editorial audience and that the fact that only 1% of information about European integration is in the media is of particular concern. He also warned that the situation in Ukraine could spill over into the Western Balkans first. Speaking about the role of the media in the electoral campaign, Speer stated that there is no culture of civic dialogue in Serbia, and that the fact that many journalists and analysts who pretended to be independent found themselves on electoral lists and campaigns of different parties also indicates how deep the crisis is. He said that there is no realistic, truthful and non-biast information for voters and citizens, and that they have nowhere to hear the views of political parties on key topics, such as the European Union, war crimes, facing the past, and so on.
Dinko Gruhonjic said that Serbia is Putin’s only ally in the Western Hemisphere. He said that the cruicial question, the one that depicts overall situation in media, is why the media do not warn the public about the dangers that are arising from this position of Serbia, just as they ignore the dangers that come from Greater Serbian nationalism, the consequences of which are currently felt most in Montenegro. Gruhonjić wondered why the media, even those that are considered to be liberal, analytical and civic-oriented, do not deal with these topics at all, even though they are crucial for our society. He stated that the root cause of the downfall of journalism in Serbia was in 2006 during the constitutional campaign, when the so-called independent media apparently joined the campaign to promote the referendum, despite numerous warnings that they have to stay independent and must not engage in political campaigns.
Speakers at the Panel II were H.E. Oleksandar Aleksandrovich, Ambassador of Ukraine to Serbia, Bohdan Ferens, President of the SD Platform from Ukraine, who participated online directly from Ukraine, President of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights Sonja Biserko, prof. dr. Milivoj Bešlin, historian, Aleksandar Popov, president of the Center for Regionalism and one of the founders of the Igman initiative and Balša Božović, Chair of the Executive Board of the Regional Academy for Democratic Development. Activist and President of the SD Platform from Ukraine Bohdan Ferens joined directly from the field from Ukraine and emphasized that the situation in Ukraine is extremely difficult both in humanitarian and security terms, and that this war is not only war between Russia and Ukraine, but also a struggle between totalitarianism and the values of freedom and human rights. He warned that the Russian side is trying to push part of the Ukrainians into Russia and that the citizens of Ukraine are very grateful for all the help that arrives in Ukraine, primarily from neighboring countries, such as Poland and Hungary, but also Germany, whose position was very delicate from the beginning of the conflict. Ferens emphasized that one of Russia’s basic weapons is propaganda, and that the fight against propaganda and the fight to hear the truth about the real state of affairs are extremely important.Balša Božović, Chair of the Executive Board of the Regional Academy for Democratic Development, said that solidarity and joint activism are important in such difficult times and that it is crucial to explain to citizens what is propaganda and what is the truth. H.E. Oleksandr Aleksandrovich said that Ukraine will never give up on its main goal, which is the complete withdrawal of Russian forces from the territory of Ukraine. He emphasized that every help is valuable, as well as the organized admission of refugees in Serbia, and expressed his satisfaction with the fact that the Government of Serbia organized this admission. He warned that Russia will use every opportunity to destabilize relations in the Western Balkans region and then offer help in solving the crises it deliberately caused itself. He said that the history of Russian-Serbian relations is similar to the history of Russian-Ukrainian relations, that the success of Russian attempts will depend on the power of the countries in the region and the ability to resist Russian influence. The ambassador said that sometimes the interests of the governments of countries in the region coincide with Russian interests and that the danger lies in that. He said that it was expected that before the attack on Ukraine, Russia would create small fires everywhere – in the Balkans, in Syria, Kazakhstan – to distract the attention of the international community. The ambassador said that he has been warning for years that violent groups that the government thinks it controls can very easily get out of control and start receiving orders from various structures from other countries. He expressed his belief that Ukraine will prevail.
Historian Prof. Dr. Milivoj Beslin gave the historical context of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and stated that Ukraine did not pose any danger to Russia and drew a parallel with the attack on Czechoslovakia in 1968. He interpreted Russia’s attack on Ukraine as an attack on the idea that democracy and liberalism are possible in a large Orthodox Slavic country. He assessed that Ukraine proved with both Maidan events that it can democratize and build a civil and plural society, that it can have free elections and media, and that the only danger Kremlin could see laid in that fact. He assessed that the ideological basis of the attack on Ukraine were two speeches – one by Vladimir Putin, in which he said that Ukraine does not exist as a nation and state, and the other by Sergey Lavrov, when he said that artificial creations should not exist. Beslin drew a parallel with the ideology of Greater Serbian nationalism and recognized similarities in the attitude towards neighboring states whose existence Serbian nationalism also calls into question.
The director of the Center for Regionalism, Aleksandar Popov, assessed that we are witnessing Russia’s long-term malignant influence in this area and continuous attempts to destabilize the situation in the region, citing Montenegro as currently the biggest victim of that pernicious Russian influence. He said that more than a quarter of a century was missed to make Bosnia and Herzegovina a functional state and a service for citizens, and that the fact that there was a need to strengthen EULEX’s forces is worrying. When it comes to Kosovo, Popov warned about the events of a few days ago and the crisis that arose around the organization of elections in Kosovo and said that it is a dangerous game in which all actors have their own interests, and that the definitive victims will be the Serbs in Kosovo. Popov said that in the western part of the region there is unequivocal support for Ukraine and condemnation of Russia’s attack on Ukraine, but that, as we move eastward, the situation is becoming more and more worrying. Speaking about Serbia, Popov said that attempts to “sit on two chairs” can be extremely dangerous. He estimated that many things in the region will change depending on the position of Serbia. He assessed that the Open Balkans and the “Serbian world” do not go together and that precisely those contradictory messages coming from Serbia prevent the stabilization of the region.
The president of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights Sonja Biserko said that the preparation of the aggression against Ukraine began with Putin’s coming to power, that it was not a decision that was made at the moment, and that Putin had been announcing and hinting for years that exactly this would happen. She drew parallels between the “Russian world” and the “Serbian world” and warned that the “Russian world” has turned from a project to protect the Russian people and the Russian language into an attempt by Russia to expand its influence and territory. She agreed that there was no reason to suggest that Ukraine could pose any threat to Russia and that the only surprise for Putin was that Ukraine showed incredible strength and courage to stand up to such a military power as Russia. She warned that Putin has managed to corrupt many leaders in the West and to finance left and right movements in various Western democracies. The fact that the West will not intervene and only helps despite Russia threatening nuclear weapons, and that this reaction largely depends on whether Russia will try to implement other activities in other areas, primarily in the Western Balkans region. Biserko assessed that Serbia is facing a whole series of questions and that it is in a situation where it will soon have to make a decision. She said that in Serbia it was Russia that launched an anti-NATO campaign through its media and that it succeeded in establishing a presence in all areas of public life and political processes. She concluded that a big mistake was made in Montenegro when the riots were not immediately recognized as a danger and an attempt at destabilization organized by Moscow and the Russian services.
Round table in Presevo turned out to be dedicated to the most relevant topic in the local community at the moment, since they were held in the eve of the repeated elections for National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia. Election results were contested four times in the attempts to prevent Albanian national minority from parliamentary representation and this is why the panel there was of extreme importance for the local community. Topics discussed were, among others, inter-ethnic relations, efforts to make Serbia a truly civil society, coexistence and tolerance, human rights, rights of national minorities, equality, reconciliation, overcoming differences and various local initiatives that aim to achieve those goals, as well as their results and scope. The participants of the round table were activists, journalists, members of parliament, representatives of local youth civil society organizations who have been working for years to build better inter-ethnic relations in this part of Serbia.
The Chair of the Executive Committee of the Regional Academy for Democratic Development, Balša Božović, strongly condemned the attempts to illegally annul and change the results of the last parliamentary elections and to deny the Albanian national community the right to parliamentary representation. He warned that no one has the right to deny the right of citizens of Serbia who belong to Albanian national minority to have their own representatives in the Parliament of Serbia, and that attempts to change and negate their electoral will send them the message that they are not an equal part of our society. He called on all pro-European parties in Serbia to stand up for the protection and defense of the election result, thanks to which the list of the Party for Democratic Action won one mandate in the elections, and to strongly oppose attempts to strip Albanian minority from that seat by force and contrary to the law. Božović assessed that without that, without the complete integration of all national communities in Serbian society, there is no possibility for Serbia to become a democratic country and that this is an issue that goes beyond the electoral success of any party. He concluded that respecting the electoral will of the Albanian national community is a way to build trust, and that it is key to establishing good inter-ethnic relations. Long-term Member of Parliament and President of the Party for Democratic Action, Šaip Kamberi, said that the year 2022 is crucial for the image of Serbia in 2030, and that this image netirely depends on how Serbia will determine itself according to some of the most significant issues and challenges it faces. He said that among them are the question of the solution of the status of Kosovo, which is crucial not only for the situation in Serbia in the coming years, but also for the stability of the entire Western Balkans. He warned that the citizens of the Preševo Valley are hostages of what is happening in the relations between Serbia and Kosovo and that in order to reach a permanent and sustainable solution, the cooperation of all the countries of the Western Balkans is necessary. In this regard, Kamberi stressed the importance of the Open Balkans initiative and emphasized that some of the ideas coming from the central government, such as the one about the “Serbian world”, are directly opposed to everything that cooperation in the Balkans entails and that they go hand in hand with the glorification of war crimes and war criminals and politics from the 1990s. Commenting on numerous obstructions and sabotages in connection with the last national elections for deputies and attempts to challenge the election results of the Albanian community and prevent parliamentary representation, Kamberi assessed that the Albanian community in Serbia is at a crossroads and that even those political forces that have always, since the 1990s, advocated for participation in the elections, are brought into a situation where they have to reconsider the expediency of their views on participation in the elections and political processes in Serbia and make a new decision about whether it is worth participating in the elections or resorting to other methods with the full risk that they may have destabilizing effects.
Regional cooperation is important, but the Open Balkan cannot be an alternative for European integration, as it was underlined at the debate on Open Balkan held within the Novi Sad Plenum QUO VADIS BALKAN?, organized by Regional Academy for Democratic Development (ADD), Centre for Civic Education (CCE) and the European Fund for the Balkans (EFB).
About this topical initiative that caused a lot of divided opinions, from different perspectives, spoke Branko Ružić, first Deputy Prime Minister of the Government of the Republic of Serbia, Nataša Vučković, Director at the foundation Center for Democracy and dr Gordana Đurović, former Deputy Prime Minister of Montenegrin Government and President of the Montenegrin Pan-European Union (MPEU), while the debate moderator was Balša Božović.
Nataša Vučković considers that in the previous period were several events significant for regional cooperation and that it is important to recognize the need to improve this type of cooperation, and that it is wrong to foster competition between various modalities, since each is needed and has its specificities. “The major deficiency of the Open Balkan initiative is that only three countries participate in it, while the greatest advantage is precisely the fact that it is an autochthonous initiative created in the region and that great political credibility has been invested in it”, she pointed out. Vučković added that the shortcoming of the Berlin Process and the Open Balkan is that their content and activities stem from what the Regional Cooperation Council designs, assessing that in the coming period, integration of these regional initiatives should be done, not creating competition between them.
Speaking about European integration, she stated that the slowing down of the process of European integration of countries in the region is evident and followed by the calculations that the Open Balkan is presented as a substitute for European integration, which must not be the case.
“All regional initiatives are political and building solidarity and trust in the region is a positive shift. The Berlin process, which started exclusively as an economic process, gradually included the rule of law and democracy in its postulates”, reminded Vučković. She also indicated that non-transparency is one of the main problems of the Open Balkan, and that it stems from weak institutions and internal problems related to the democracy of the countries of the Western Balkans.
She warned of frustration in Western Balkan countries due to the slowdown in the process of European integration, which is the result of the failure to meet the commitments of the candidate countries, but also of the EU’s unwillingness to keep its promises.
The first Deputy Prime Minister of the Government of the Republic of Serbia points to the importance of the Open Balkan as the first initiative that originated from the region itself. “The Open Balkan is a tool that brings Serbia and other participating countries closer to EU membership. The first concrete results are already visible. I think that the Berlin Process and the Open Balkan should not be confronted and contested, since these are initiatives that have the same goal. Rather, they should be perceived within the context of what is happening in Europe – the crisis in Ukraine and the security risks it carries – which largely defines numerous processes in Europe and opens up new opportunities for progress in European integration”, claimed Branko Ružić.
Ružić added that the Open Balkan is primarily an economic initiative and that it should be seen exclusively within that framework. “The Open Balkan is based on voluntary approach and each country has the right to decide for itself whether it wants to join it. I believe that this is in the interest of all countries in the region, as well as that membership in the Open Balkan also contributes to trust building,” Ružić emphasized.
Speaking about the reasons of certain authorities in the region for not joining the Open Balkan, he said that all political elites bear the responsibility towards their citizens. “And it is up to them to explain why they do not want to do something that is good for their citizens,” he added. “When we become a member of the EU, some things become irrelevant, such as, for example, the four-year position of Serbia to support visa liberalisation for Kosovo citizens, as such things also contribute to trust building”, stated Ružić, concluding that the Open Balkan is good for the entire region and that connecting our markets can help all the countries participating in it.
Dr Gordana Đurović assessed that it is economically most profitable for Montenegro to remain within the process of European integration and that for its underdeveloped economy, even in comparison with other countries in the region, it would be very dangerous and harmful to open abruptly.
“On the other hand, Montenegro has implemented some of the standards that other countries in the region have not yet adopted, such as those in the food safety area, where more than 5,000 directives have been adopted. Joining an initiative, such as the Open Balkan, would essentially mean a step backward for Montenegro”, Đurović was explicit.
Dr Đurović considers that – speaking in the language of economic integration – the Open Balkan actually means a customs union, which brings with it a whole series of challenges and problems, as well as the need to finance, organize, structure and institutionalize it.
“Although it seems that concrete solutions emerge from the Open Balkan, in fact, these are very general agreements, expressions of good intentions, without many concrete procedures and protocols for their implementation”, stated Dr Đurović, citing as an example the recognition of diplomas, which she pointed as a good political move, but with deficiencies in the absence of deadlines, rules and procedures for the implementation.
How important art is for the culture of remembrance, and how important it is to draw attention to key social issues through art, which includes remembering the victims, was discussed at the closing panel “Dealing with the past through the culture of remembrance and art” of the Novi Sad Plenum QUO VADIS BALKAN?, organized by the Regional Academy for Democratic Development (ADD), Centre for Civic Education (CCE) and the European Fund for the Balkans (EFB).
How important art is for the culture of remembrance, and how important it is to draw attention to key social issues through art, which includes remembering the victims, was discussed at the closing panel “Dealing with the past through the culture of remembrance and art”of the Novi Sad Plenum QUO VADIS BALKAN?, organized by the Regional Academy for Democratic Development (ADD), Centre for Civic Education (CCE) and the European Fund for the Balkans (EFB).
The discussion was moderated by Aleksandra Jerkov, the founder of ADD, who stated that they considered it necessary to organize a discussion about the culture of remembrance, about the role that culture and art play in the process of reconciliation in the region and in dealing with the past right this year, when Novi Sad hold the title of European Capital of Culture.
“We cannot say that we are in the city of culture without mentioning and ignoring the fact that our townswoman was chosen as best European actress this year.Jasna Đuričić received the most prestigious awards in Europe at many festivals, but Novi Sad in no way acknowledged that fact, nor did it respect her work. And while she receives the most prestigious international awards, she remains completely unacknowledged in her city, as well as all her achievements,” explained Jerkov.
Director Kokan Mladenović talked about what it is like to be an artist exiled from the hometown, as more than twenty of his plays are played in cities in the region, and he works the least in Belgrade.
“In the last ten years, I have directed only twicein Belgrade. But one gets used to it somehow. They forced me to go to better places, and one gets used to better things easily. Losing contact with loved ones during those refugee theater dayswas not the most pleasant. However, the other sort of pay is much more terrible. That is the price of compromise with those who make up the current life of the theatre in Belgrade and who constitute the current government at the level of ministries and others. If we make pacts with them – and many of our respectable and successful colleagues have switched to that dark side, we have no peace. They went to Voldemort himself to get some more privileges in their mature years. This defines us in the long term, and that is why I think it is better to live our refugee theatre life and look at ourselves in the mirror as we should, rather than sell ourselves easily for their funds and competitions”, said Mladenović.
He also reflected on the treatment of the film “Quo Vadis Aida?” in Serbia.
“The treatment of the film “Quo Vadis Aida?”, not only in Novi Sad, but also in Serbia, is shameful. The other day, residents of this country could watch that film on HRT 2, and that is the closest we have come to it. It only shows the complete unconsciousness of those who lead the culture and the state regarding what is really valuable, which cemented turn into the 90s because in our government are accomplices in war crimes from that time. It is illusory to expect with all those like Vučić, Dačić and others, with that camarilla that is identical to those from the 90s, that they will suddenly be fighters for democracy, that they will make reconciliation in the region, that they will be eager for the truth about that period because the truth about the 90s is the last thing they want,” Mladenović assessed.
The founder of the Humanitarian Law Center, Nataša Kandić, who has been working on a list of all war victims by name and surname for decades, in order to find out the truth about each crime, believes that “the problem is that we have a “politics of remembrance”in our society – not a “culture of remembrance”.
“Exactly the example of the film “Quo Vadis Aida?” demonstrates how a very valuable work of art, such a good film, cannot be part of the culture of remembrance at this moment. The situation is similar to many other films and works of art. I will remind you of the film “Grbavica: The Land of My Dreams”, which was perceived as a betrayal in Serbia. The film “Hive”, by Kosovar director Blerta Basholli, was also in the race for the “Oscar”, but there was no space in Belgrade where it could be screened. That film outgrows Kosovo itself, the very area where so many crimes and victims took place in just 78 days. The director leaves that level of crimes and their perpetrators, and talks about the beginning of a new life, she talks about a woman from a village where a large number of men were killed. That woman becomes the leader of a new beginning even though she lives in a very conservative society. She has the strength to feel the need to put the past aside and move on in life, for the sake of the children and their future. The director, therefore, goes beyond that ethnic level, creates something very strong and powerful, but even that cannot be accepted in Serbia”, said Kandić, pointing to the fact that even art cannot overcome the obstacles set by society.
Kandić, who did a lot to build a culture of remembrance and who was not afraid to raise those painful topics, believes that the main obstacles are the strong politics of remembrance.
“Over the last few years, the situation in Serbia has been even more difficult, complicated and hopeless. Remembrance policies are the official model. Politics implements the official strategy of what, how and in what manner things should be remembered.That strategy has become dominant, and no rebellion helps. No instrument can break through those obstacles set up by the highest institutional levels. That is how strong they are”, Kandić pointed out.
However, she considers that no matter how complicated everything is, one should not give up. “I deeply believe that if all the victims were listed, that ethno-nationalist approach would be reduced and then, things would be easier for art, culture and civic activism. This is the only way to defeat those official strategies of politics of remembrance and to have a culture of remembrance”, she concluded.
Opera singer Katarina Jovanović shared her experience about the knowledge of young people today about our recent past since, in addition to practicing art, she also works as a pedagogue, and a professor at the Faculty of Music in Belgrade.
“When young people come to the Academy, it is already too late for them – their brains are already on a certain path. It is difficult to bring them back from that path, because if a young man does not have a capacity for curiosity or knowledge, especially if they are artists, he has already built awareness in another direction. The artist is the one within us who has to look for what is being said under the breath. There are loud things, but you go to listen to the quiet ones”, she states.
“In our country, nationalism and professional patriotism are so loud, and these are things that havenothing in common with art.There also lies the answer to the question that is always asked in July, on the days of commemoration of the genocide in Srebrenica…We are like fish on dry land struggling in a civilization that is in complete collapse. And the fact that you can not even assess the value of a work of art, such as the film “Quo vadis, Aida?”, fits into this. Ignoring a work of art is a feature of every totalitarian association, and we are in one of those in Serbia. How is this totalitarianism strengthened? By manipulating the data. It is very clear why the victims are not counted because that is how they can be manipulated in the centuries ahead. This is how textbooks can be rewritten,” said Jovanović.
“All this leads to the fact that a young man who comes at the age of 18 with the desire to engage in classical singing or artistic music, is fully formed in his narrative that is almost exclusively Orthodox and insufficiently educated in foreign languages. They come to the Academy with less and less knowledge of foreign languages because “speak Serbian so that the whole world can understand you”. It is a joke, but a joke that has sharp teeth. As a professor, I don’t have much hope that something will get better, since our education is so backward that it does not recognize the magnitude of the artwork”, elaborated Jovanović.
“The copyright for the murals of Ratko Mladić should be attributed to Boris Tadić and Vojislav Koštunica, that is always somewhere in the shadows,” said the writer Svetislav Basara, who considers “that Milošević, Koštunica and Tadić belong to the same political structure.”
“There is an anomaly called Vučić. He simply happened because of the bad judgment of the Cincar Belgrade bazaar, which has been raging for 200-odd years. All the evils that were committed here were supported by both the church and the state. Radomir Konstantinović was the first to question it. Unfortunately, some things cannot be proven, but 80 percent of people will tell you that the actions of Ratko Mladić in Srebrenica were good. Of those 80 percent, most will not admit it publicly, but 25 percent will say it publicly. It is our legacy of the past deeply rooted. Hence the narrative that the borders of the Serbian state should be where the last Serbian grave is. If someone here wants to engage in politics, s/he must tell those stories that will find allies in those 80 percent of people. Everyone, except for really rare individuals and some organizations, are deeply involved in that story, which has been dominant in our country for two centuries,” said Basara.
On the panel, the guest was the actor and writer from Sarajevo, Feđa Štukan, whose novel “Blank” had several editions in a short period of time, and in which he described his life experience, including voluntarily going to war but also escaping from the army by trick.
“Very young, at the age of 18, I went voluntarily into the army. But then I started asking questions. A person matures when s/he starts asking questions. And my first question was: How come I have a rifle made in Serbia in my hands but I am fighting against them? That was followed by questions about how it is possible that there is so much religion and fierceness on that side among the soldiers, and why food from humanitarian aid is resold on the market, wondering where the various donations end up…”, Štukan evoked memories.
“On reflection, a man can conclude that it is not really his war and that he should not be in the trenches defending himself. I managed to deceive them that I am crazy”, said Feđa Štukan.
He also shared with the audience the story of how the book was published, and now is widely read in the region, that is, he told the story about the promise to a friend who insisted on it after reading the manuscript.
With this panel, the Novi Sad Plenum was completed at the crowded Petrovaradin Fortress.
