Project: Roma in Serbia: How safe they feel and do they see improvements?09Nov2013
It’s a Disgrace!
It’s a disgrace that, on the International Day against Fascism and Anti - Semitism, citizens for days live in fear of fascist shouting that can be heard at the protests in Zemun Polje, in the part of the territory of the City of Belgrade. Civil society organizations request that the state bodies, especially the City and Municipal authorities, urgently respond to racist incidents because, otherwise, they will be held responsible for the violence that has been escalating lately in the settlement Kamendin in Zemun Polje, Municipality of Zemun.
We expect all the competent bodies to:
Condemn the incidents and initiate the procedures against all those who have been spreading racial intolerance and hatred, calling on discrimination and creating a lynch-mob atmosphere;
Stop politicizing this issue, because the safety of all citizens is a priority and elimination of racism a Constitutional obligation, and to set aside their political colours and jointly get down on resolving this problem;
Urgently respond and coordinate activities aimed at reduction of violence.
We expect the City and Municipal authorities to:
Publish correct data to deny false reports and information that have appeared in the domestic media for days in relation to social housing and actual costs of this type of protection of rights;
Organize a meeting as soon as possible with all competent secretariats and citizens and to coordinate activities that should result in improvement of health and other conditions of the residents of this part of the city.
We expect the Ministry of Interior:
Not to permit public spread and promotion of hatred and racial intolerance, in accordance with the laws of the Republic of Serbia and the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia.
At the same time, we to the citizens to be aware of all potential types of manipulation in this moment and not to take part and not to provide support to those whose only goal is to spread hatred and violence.
Putting the blame on Roma population for all the crimes that occur in a certain territory is extremely dangerous, because it means agreeing with the prejudices and criminalizing a vulnerable group of population.
In relation to discriminatory and insulting articles in the media, civil society organizations will file a complaint to the Press Council against the media which, through their irresponsible reporting, create a climate in which the violence against the Roma is permitted.
- Praxis
- Centre for Youth Integration, Drop in Centre - CYI
- House of Human Rights and Democracy consisting of:
- Lawyers Committee for Human Rights YUCOM
- Belgrade Centre for Human Rights
- Civic Initiatives
- Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia
- Policy Centre
- Regional Centre for Minorities
- Women in Black
- Center for Cultural Decontamination
- Center for Euro-Atlantic Studies (CEAS)
- Labris – Organization for lesbian human rights
Civic Reading-Room “Libergraf”
- Impuls, Tutin
- ALTERO – Association for personal training, education, development and empowerment
- Association South Serbia Women
- NGO “Veza”
- Roma Women’s Rights Center, Nis
-Reconstruction Women’s Fund
- Voice of Difference (Glas razlike)
- Centre for Advanced Legal Studies
- Centre for Margin (Centar za marginu)
- The Network of the Committees for Human Rights in Serbia CHRIS
- Roma Center DAE
- Centre for Nonviolent Action
- Sandzak Committee for Protection of Human Rights and Freedoms
