Statement on the 6th anniversary of Slavko Ćuruvija’s Murder

Today, on the 6th anniversary of the murder of journalist Slavko Ćuruvija, the Belgrade Centre for Human Rights would like to warn that the perpetrators of this heinous crime have not been identified yet, despite the ruling parties’ election campaign promises that the public would learn the truth about this assassination. (more…)

Statement with regard to actions against JAT employees on strike

The Belgrade Centre of Human Rights is of the opinion that the manner in which the Serbian Government and the management of JAT, which is state-owned, are dealing with the employees on strike can seriously undermine the state’s reputation. The right to strike is a human right enshrined in the Serbian Constitution. It is guaranteed by the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (Article 8 (1d)) which is binding on SaM and protected by the obligatory ILO Conventions 87, 98, 151 and 154. (more…)

Today is the second anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Zoran Đinđić, the Prime Minister of Serbia. Zoran Đinđić was undoubtedly the leader of the new Serbia. Life without fear for one’s life, security or job became possible in this country only after the democratic changes in October 2000, which he had crucially contributed to. He helped bring us the freedom we had fought for over a decade. He took every critical remark we made with benevolence; he was always willing to think about them and he would usually reply by including us in his famous metaphors. (more…)

The Belgrade Centre for Human Rights is concerned by the continual undermining of judicial independence in Serbia. The executive branch has unfortunately been party to this trend. Serbia’s Justice Minister, the state official charged with ensuring and protecting judicial independence, is of the opinion that he has the right to politically control the work of judicial bodies and does not even try to hide his passionate revanchism. (more…)

The Belgrade Centre for Human Rights alerts the public, the organs of the state, and especially the media, to another wave of attacks against non-governmental organisations. A part of this ugly campaign was the article replete with defamation, libel and hate speech, published in the daily Internacional under the title Destabilisation. This tabloid attacked all non-governmental organisations in Serbia, alleging that they prepare the media field for an impending “Shiptar* offensive” in 2005. The major part of accusations against the non-governmental sector was arbitrarily constructed and attributed, as many times so far, to so-called “reliable sources”. (more…)

Malignancy and the ugliness of public discourse in Serbia are bringing us back to the times preceding the criminal wars, which have brought misery to all nations in our region, including the Serb nation. Unfortunately, the writings of lowbrow papers, which cater to the basest passions of their readers and satisfy similar needs of their owners are not meeting any resistance from state bodies which are bound to suppress incitement to racial and national hatred. Vicious and hateful items in the press have become “normal” – they are even interpreted by some as a manifestation of “free speech”. (more…)