On street actions and actions in city squares…
On 9th October 1991, we began a public nonviolent protest against the war; the Serbian regime's policy; nationalism; militarism and all forms of hatred, discrimination and violence.
Thus far, we have organized more than 500 protests, most of which took place in Belgrade streets and squares, but also in other cities of Serbia and Montenegro, throughout the former Yugoslavia, many cities of Europe, and around the world. In its first ten years, Women in Black was constantly AGAINST because the regime in Serbia continually generated wars, misery and hatred. That is why our motto was "Not in Our Name." The belligerent Serbian regime was toppled on October 5, 2000. However, the cultural, moral and spiritual climate that it created lingers on. During the twelve years of our activities, we have tried to transform discontent into actions FOR. Our motto still remains "Not in Our Name," not only to distance ourselves from the regime, but also as a demand for a radical break with the former regime's policies. "For" and "Against" constantly intertwine and mingle to inform our relation to reality. Our protest actions have had different phases; levels; dimensions of political activism; and changing moral, emotional and aesthetic-activist dimensions.
Phase I – (from October 9, 1991 until the signing of the Dayton Agreement in November 1995)
Every Wednesday – in front of the Students' Cultural Center for the first year and then in Belgrade’s main square – we held our vigils, in silence and mourning, protesting against:
- The Yugoslav National Army (JNA) attack against Croatia; killing people; cutting off roads and contacts between people; the destruction of Vukovar, Dubrovnik, Zadar and other cities; and the devastation of cities and the environment;
- The forced mobilization of men for war, deployments to the theaters of war, and the persecution of deserters;
- The aggression against Bosnia and Herzegovina: the destruction of Mostar and Sarajevo, the creation of concentration camps, the Srebrenica massacre and countless other atrocities there;
- The abduction of passengers of Bosnian ethnicity in Strpci, Serbia; the oppression of and discrimination against ‘the other’ (in the ethnic, religious, sexual, cultural, and every other sense);
- The exodus of the civilian population from the Krajina (Croatia) following the Croatian Army’s "Lightning" and "Storm" military campaigns in May and August 1995, respectively.
During this period, we cooperated with many other groups to organize and implement anti-war actions in Belgrade.
Our simple ritual in black represents mourning for all victims of war. It is held in silence as an expression of our indignation at the tragedy generated by war and hatred. This ritual was modified and enriched over the first five years by street performances that took place during the annual conferences of the International Network of Women in Black.
Phase II - Cyclic Continuity (from November 1995 until the autumn of 1996)
Over this period, we organized actions: education in the streets on different topics (including nonviolent resistance to war, amnesty for war deserters, trials for war criminals, seeking the truth about the atrocities committed -- especially atrocities related to missing people, the position of refugees, and the oppressive policy of the Serbian regime against the Albanian population in Kosovo).
The protests were held with varying intensity and regularity, predominantly on Wednesdays, either every Wednesday, several times a month, or once a month.
We continued our ritual in black and added elements that "dispersed" the blackness, such as a rainbow flag, as a symbol of tolerance for diversity and ‘the other.’
During this period, we organized performances more often, including "Cassandra among Us" in cooperation with DAH women's theater in Belgrade and "Let’s Chase Militarism out of Our Lives".
Phase III - Continuity (from the autumn of 1996 – the massive civic protests – until the autumn of 1997)
This was the period in which we created space for the toppling of the regime and bringing about changes, increased our network of allies, and for daily education for peace and nonviolence. We, together with other citizens, protested in the streets daily in a carnival atmosphere. Unfortunately, very soon after the end of the protests, our hopes dwindled. The post-war period transformed into preparations for a new war.
During this time, our protests were also directed against the belligerent policy of Serbia towards Montenegro.
Phase IV - Cyclic continuity (from the autumn of 1997 until the NATO military intervention in the spring of 1999).
This period included protests against the oppression of independent media in Serbia, protests against the low intensity war and apartheid in Kosovo, actions in solidarity with nonviolent popular women's and students' movement in Kosovo, and "A Pact and Not a War:" support for peace negotiations between the Serbian and the Albanian factions in Rambouillé (February/March 1999 until the beginning of the intervention). We held street vigils once a week or several times per month. During the intervention, we did not organize any street actions because only demonstrations in support of the regime were allowed.
During this phase, we also organized numerous performances, predominantly to mark important dates for our group and the international feminist-pacifist movement. These included "Let’s Bring Attention to the Connection between Military Expenses and Tampons," "I Admit…," and "Networks of Women's Solidarity.”
Phase V - Cyclic continuity (from the NATO military intervention until the toppling of the regime, on October 5th 2000)
We protested against the mounting oppression and fascization of the regime and against ethnic cleansing of the non-Albanian population in Kosovo. This period was characterized by maintaining our ritual (silent vigils dressed in black), with occasional changes; a decentralization of our actions; and, due to intensified regime oppression against Women in Black beginning in June 2000, moving street actions and most of our activities to Montenegro. This is where our joint activities with other activist groups took place, the most comprehensive of which was "I Reject War" which was conducted in several dozen cities in Serbia and Montenegro in September 2000.
Phase VI - Cyclic continuity (from the fall of the regime until now)
This phase is characterized by a marked diversification of street actions, in regards to their content and form, and an even higher degree of decentralization.
The actions can be classified in the following way:
- Actions against violence and war: against the escalation of conflicts in southern Serbia and the wars in Macedonia, the Middle East, Afghanistan, Columbia, Iraq and other areas. We organized these actions in Belgrade and in many other cities of Serbia and Montenegro;
- Actions directed at confronting the past: demands for the extradition of all indicted war criminals to The Hague Tribunal, sensitizing the public to issues of accountability for war, revealing the truth about war and war crimes, annual commemorations of war crimes and sites where atrocities against civilians were committed (Vukovar, Sarajevo, Strpci, Srebrenica, Kosovo, and others), attending the commemoration in Potocare/Srebrenica on the anniversary of the massacre, and, marking the anniversary of the anti-war resistance in Belgrade and Serbia. During 2001 and 2002, as part of these protests, we organized the performance "We Remember…" in addition to vigils in Belgrade and in other cities of Serbia. During the state of emergency that was introduced in Serbia after the assassination of the prime minister (March 12th 2003), we organized, together with other NGOs, the action "Enough Crime," which included the distribution of leaflets and stickers in more than fifty cities and villages in Serbia in March and April of that year.
- Antimilitarist/feminist/alter-globalization actions: since the group’s beginning, we actively supported all war resisters, amnesty for deserters, and the right to conscientious objection to military service and military expenses. We also organized numerous traveling performances, including: "We Step Slowly in Order to Get There Safely,” "Let’s Demilitarize Ourselves – Let’s Demilitarize Our Environment," and "The Women's Solidarity Network Against War." These performances took place in approximately twenty cities in Serbia and Montenegro, primarily from 2001 to 2003. In addition to this, we organized other performances, mainly in Belgrade, including "These are Not Toys" (against the purchase of war toys), "We Remain Disobedient, We Remain in the Streets," "The Streets Are Ours – Let’s Globalize Solidarity and Social Justice" (a peace march) and "Let’s Globalize Antifascism."
Since the very beginning, we have been marking important days in the international women's and peace movement with street actions. These dates include:
- March 8th - International Women's Day (action for labor rights, social justice and solidarity);
- March 15th - International Day against Police Brutality;
- May 9th - International Day of Victory over Fascism, Day of Europe;
- May 15th - International Day of Conscientious Objection;
- May 24th - International Day of Women's Actions for Peace and Disarmament;
- May 28th - International Day of Action for Women's Health and Reproductive Rights;
- November 9th - International Day of Action against Fascism and Anti-Semitism;
- Beginning November 25th - Sixteen Days of Activism against Violence against Women;
- December 10th - International Day of Human Rights
INTERNATIONAL NETWORK OF WOMEN'S SOLIDARITY AGAINST WAR - INTERNATIONAL NETWORK OF WOMEN IN BLACK
Alternative women's policy
With the solidarity and support of our friends from all over the world, we started the International Network of Women's Solidarity against War/International Network of Women in Black. Since July 1992, there have been ten international conferences, including ones in Novi Sad, Totovo Selo, Subotica, and Ulcinj. Together with Women in Black – Italy, we organized the ninth conference of the Network in Brussels, held in the European Parliament building in October 2000. In August 2003, Women in Black – Italy hosted the eleventh conference of the Network in Marina di Massa near Florence.
This network brings together women from Europe (including all the countries of the former Yugoslavia), North America, Latin America, Africa and Asia. These conferences promote women's solidarity across all state, ethnic, racial and religious divisions and borders and encourage the creation of interethnic/intercultural peace coalitions, the participation of women in non-violent conflict resolution through peace negotiations, exposing local and global militarism, and showing the connection between feminism and antimilitarism.
Alternative international gatherings
Over the twelve years of our existence, we have participated at formal and alternative international conferences. The following is a partial list:
- War Resisters International (WRI) conferences in Thailand (1992), Brazil (1994) and India (2002);
- Feminist Network of Spain conference (1993);
- Conscientious Objection Movement of the Antimilitarist Network in Spain (MOC and OF) conferences;
-"Women and Health" conferences organized by the Women's Global Network for Reproductive Rights in Brazil (1997) and Toronto (2002);
- Summer School of Democracy in Croatia (1996, 1997, 200, 2002);
- The Fourth Session of the Helsinki Parliament, held in Tuzla, Bosnia and Hercegovina, in 1995;
- The Permanent Peoples' Tribunal (Barcelona, 1995);
- The European Peace Congress (Oldenburg, 1996);
- Peace conferences and debates that were part of the annual Peace March from Perudia to Assisi, Italy;
- The European Union Alternative Forum, (Madrid, 1995);
- The European Social Forum (Florence, 2002).
Official international gatherings
We have also participated at numerous official gatherings of international institutions, with the aim to influence these powerful institutions, to change the political discourse and the manner of pursuing political goals.
The following is a partial list of these gatherings:
- UN Conference on Human Rights (Vienna, 1993);
- UN Conference on Population and Development (Cairo, 1994);
- UN Conference on Women (Beijing, 1995);
- Council of Europe - European Bureau for Conscientious Objection, Sessions and seminars on conscientious objection (1996, 1998, 2001, 2003);
- UN sessions on refugees and women's human rights (Geneva, New York, Grenada, from 2000 to 2003);
- "Women's Contributions to Stability in East and Southeast Europe" conference (Brussels - European Parliament, 2000);
- World Exhibition (Hanover, 2000);
- Sessions of the UNIFEM advisory committee on women, peace and security (New York and Helsinki, 2002).
Membership in international networks:
- International Network of Women's Solidarity against War/International Network of Women in Black;
- War Resisters International (WRI)
- Women's Global Network for Reproductive Rights (WGNRR)
- International Federation of Reconciliation and Peace Bureau International (IFOR/PBI)
- Women Living Under Muslim Laws (WLUML)
- Nonviolent Peace Force
Awards and Prizes
Of the numerous awards from alternative networks and official institutions, we single out the Millennium Award for Peace, which was given to us in 2001 by UNIFEM (the United Nations agency for women). On behalf of the International Network, the award was received by Women in Black, Belgrade, on 8th March 2001 in New York.
ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION
Alternative education is one of our most important activities. Although we began these programs at the very beginning of the group's activities, it has been pursued systematically in the form of projects (workshops, seminars, lectures, and panel discussions) since 1998. Our educational activities can be divided in the following way:
Traveling Women's Peace Workshops
The project was launched in February 1998 and lasted until July 2002. The goal of this project was to encourage the development of civil society, autonomous women's organizations and women's solidarity and to promote values such as peace, nonviolence, feminism and antimilitarism.
This project was implemented in five cities of Serbia (Backa Topola/Novi Sad, Kragujevac, Kraljevo and Novi Pazar) and Montenegro (Niksic), with the participation of women from all regions. In each of the cities, over the course of five years, two-day seminars were held on the following topics: Women Change Women, Women's Rights are Human Rights, Interethnic and Intercultural Solidarity, Women and Power, Women and Antimilitarism and Women's Peace Policy.
More than 1,000 women from fifty cities in Serbia and Montenegro attended these workshops. After each of the six cycles, we organized joint evaluation sessions, where the workshop participants met and exchanged experiences. This project slowly, patiently, continually and resolutely expanded and strengthened the Women's Peace Network.
The Women's Peace Network -Expanding and Empowering
This is the continuation of the project "Traveling Women's Peace Workshops," which has been happening since July 2002. In this phase, the contents of our activities are greatly diversified:
International and regional conferences:
- "By Strengthening Civil Society, We Create Peace", October 2002, in Belgrade;
- "Globalization of Solidarity and Social Justice - We Create Peace by Offering Alternatives," March 7th - 9th 2003, in Belgrade.
- "All for Peace, Health and Education, Nothing for Armament", May 23rd-25th 2003, in Nis;
- "The Participation of Women in the Development of Civil Society," August 8th-10th 2003, on Lake Vlasotince, south Serbia.
Workshops:
Over this period, eight workshops were held in five cities (Zajecar, Prijepolje, Bela Crkva and Dimitrovgrad in Serbia and in Pljevlja, Montenegro), in cooperation with local women's groups or other NGOs in response to local activists' needs and interests. Topics included stereotypes and prejudices, interethnic/intercultural solidarity, living in diverse communities, and feminism.
Lectures / panels discussions:
Topics included globalization and conservatism, women's health and politics, and feminism as utopia and reality. Seven lectures were held in Belgrade, Pancevo, Leskovac and Novi Sad.
Seminars:
- A two-day seminar/consulting meeting on the network's activities and plans was held in Ovcar Banja, in August 2002.
- "Media Presentation:" a educational seminar for activists of the Women's Peace Network/Women in Black Network in Serbia and Montenegro was held on two occasions in 2003 (in Belgrade and Totovo Selo, Vojvodina). This project encompasses numerous other activities in cooperation with other groups.
- From the onset, this project has been financially supported by our German partner organization Heinrich Boell Stiftung.
Power and Otherness
This project occurred from March until October 2001. It involved three regions in Serbia (Sandzak, south Serbia and Banat). Since the population in these regions is very heterogeneous - in terms of ethnicity, religion, language and culture - the content of all the workshops was directed at recognizing diversity as a base for creative dialog and cohabitation.
The project (with over 250 participants) was carried out in three phases: the first consisted of workshops with the same content (on stereotypes and prejudices and living in diverse communities), whereas the contents of the second phase depended on the activists' needs in their respective regions. Topics included gender and nation, ‘us’ and ‘the other,’ and dismantling from patriarchy. In the third phase, women from all the three regions participated in workshops with the following titles: identities, confronting the past and ways of achieving justice, and the political and cultural consequences of September 11th.
Education for Democracy - Law in our Everyday Lives
An educational program for teachers was implemented from October 2002 to June 2003 in cooperation with The Forum for Freedom in Education of Zagreb and the financial support of UNESCO. The Ministry of Education and Sport of the Republic of Serbia recognized this program as a form of professional training for educators. The program enabled participants to apply interactive and participatory methods in education for democracy and human rights.
Within this educational project, two cycles of workshops were held, in November and December 2002, which were followed by practical application of the acquired skills and knowledge in primary and secondary schools in approximately thirty cities in Serbia. Out of 61 participants, predominantly teachers in secondary schools and upper grades of primary schools and a few university students studying humanities and pedagogy, 58 completed the training successfully and obtained licensed certificates. During the implementation period of the project, the participants held a total of 325 workshops in 31 cities, and they were awarded certificates in May 2003 in Belgrade.
Mutual Support - Women's Solidarity at Work
This educational activity started in the beginning of 2001, with the aim of empowering women, encouraging autonomy, broadening the public space for women, promoting peace policy in everyday life, and particularly, encouraging the creation of autonomous women's groups and lending support to groups in their initial stages. Fifteen workshops and five lectures were held in Futog, Novi Sad, Gospodinci, Zajecar, Lebane, Vlasotinci, Bojnik, Prijepolje, Vranje and Tutin (all in Serbia) and Niksic (Montenegro). The contents of the workshops are determined by consultation with the women from the local community. The topics, which are related to the women's autonomous movement and civil society in general, include:
- Recognizing women's needs;
- Mother-daughter relations;
- Friendship among women;
- Policies of peace and/or war;
- Reproductive rights: the Church and clerical nationalism and women's responses;
- The history of women's activism: before the war, during the war and in the post-war period;
- Dismantling patriarchy and patriarchal expectations of women;
- Stereotypes and prejudices.
In addition to the aforementioned educational activities, we also held a large number of workshops, lectures and panel discussions.
PUBLISHING ACTIVITIES
An alternative history
Since the beginning of our activities, Women in Black has been dedicated to historical plurality and for documenting the history of ‘the other.’
The compilations Women for Peace contain women's testimonies of war and women's resistance to war, primarily in the area of the former Yugoslavia, as well as throughout the world. So far, we have published nine compilations:
- Women for Peace 1993, 120 pages, in the local languages, Italian and English.
- Women for Peace 1994, 292 pages, in the local languages, English and Spanish.
- Women for Peace 1995, 296 pages, in the local languages, Spanish and English.
- Women for Peace 1996, 296 pages, in the local languages, English and Spanish.
- Women for Peace 1997, 309 pages, in the local languages, Italian, English and Spanish.
- Women fro Peace 1998, 310 pages, in the local languages and English
- Women for Peace 1999, 352 pages, in the local languages and English.
- Women for Peace 2001, 400 pages, in the local languages and English.
- Women for Peace 2002, 368 pages, in the local languages, and English in 2003.
- I Remember, testimonies of women refugees, 1995 with a reprint in 1996, 148 pages, in the local languages, Italian, English and Spanish.
- War Deserters in the Former Yugoslavia, a compilation, 1995, 50 pages: in the local languages, Italian, English and Spanish.
Women against War Magazines
- Issue 1, 1994, 102 pages, texts in the local languages, Italian, English and Spanish
- Issue 2, 1994, 102 pages, texts in the aforementioned four languages.
- Issues 3-4, 1995, 104 pages, texts in the aforementioned four languages.
- Women's Issue in Serbia in the 19th and 20th Centuries, a monograph by Neda Bozinovic, 1996 with a reprint in 2003, 276 pages (published in cooperation with Feminist '94).
- Women in Black, a photo-monograph, 2002, 89 pages.
Translations of literary works
(in cooperation with Feminist '94):
- Virginia Woolf, Three Guineas, 2001;
- Audre Lorde, Sister/Outsider
Educational material
- Nothing is the Same as Before September 11th, compilation, 2001, 60 pages;
- We Wish to Dance - We Wish to Play, translation, 2002, 98 pages;
- Women's Peace Policy, compilation, 2002, 90 pages;
- By Strengthening Civil Society, We Create Peace, compilation, 2002, 106 pages;
- Globalization: Problems, Dilemmas, and Answers, compilation, 2003, 180 pages;
- Women, Health and Disarmament, compilation, 2003, 162 pages.
Additionally, over this period we have developed aesthetic and practical items related to anti-war resistance and we have published women's peace agendas, peace calendars, posters, postcards, stickers, leaflets, and fliers, among other things.
CONFRONTING THE PAST
Since Women in Black began, we have urged confrontation with the past. In addition to an enormous number of protests demanding that all the war crimes suspects be handed over to The Hague Tribunal and sensitizing the public to issues of accountability for war and war crimes, we have conducted many other activities, which can be classified in the following way:
- Panels, discussions, and testimonies marking anniversaries of the beginnings of violence and war crimes committed in the area of the former Yugoslavia from 1991 until 1999 (including Vukovar, Sarajevo, Strpci, and Srebrenica…);
- Bridges of Peace and Democracy - a series of more than thirty panel discussions about The Hague Tribunal, issues concerning accountability and reconciliation have been held in various parts of Serbia since 1998. Activists from Croatia, Bosnia and Hercegovina as well as Montenegro attended these panel discussions.
- Commemorations as an act of responsibility: assisting commemorations on the sites of crimes and massacres (including Potocare/Srebrenica).
- Remembrance as an act of responsibility: reminders of the anti-war civil resistance in Serbia from 1991 until 2000.
CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTION AND ANTIMILITARISM
From 1991 until 1996
As early as October 1991, we publicly expressed our solidarity with all war resisters and all of the men who refused to go to the front lines, by demanding amnesty for deserters and the interruption of forced mobilizations for war. Since the end of 1991, a male support group has been actively working with Women in Black, organizing projects and assistance together with us. These activities have included:
- Providing moral, emotional and political support to deserters and conscientious objectors;
- Providing counter-information/alternative information, by writing reports about deserters and conscientious objectors’ human rights and the forced mobilization of refugees for international antimilitarist and human rights networks and also for relevant international institutions (The European Bureau for Conscientious Objection at The Council of Europe, Amnesty International, and others);
- Contacts with affected groups and their representatives (asylum seekers, deserters, returnees, lawyers' offices, bureaus for human rights, and others);
- Cooperation with other groups in the country, especially in the area of the former Yugoslavia, who work with the same or similar issues;
- Antimilitarist education.
From 1996 until 1999
The magazine PRIGOVOR (objection) has been published since 1996. Thus far, nine issues have come out.
Also in 1996, we began regularly marking May 15th, the International Day of Conscientious Objection, and promoting the idea of conscientious objection at concerts, public places and music festivals.
Male and female activists have taken part in seminars on conscientious objection across Europe and in non-European countries, thus establishing strong permanent ties and mutual support. We cooperate and hold joint activities with antimilitarist networks throughout Europe, especially in Germany and Spain.
In order to improve this informal network’s operations, three gatherings had been organized by the end of 1996. They were attended by approximately thirty activists from a dozen cities in Serbia.
During the NATO intervention, the activities of the solidarity and support network for young men who refused mobilization continued. To further this aim, a few of our activists set up a safe house for deserters and conscientious objectors in Budapest.
From 1999 until 2003
At the end of 1999, the Network for Conscientious Objection began. In this spirit, several gatherings were organized: in May 2000 - in Studenica near Kraljevo, in August 2000 in Vucje, Montenegro and in May 2001 at Srebrno Jezero in east Serbia. Additionally, the Network launched a number of campaigns: for codifying the right to conscientious objection. In May 2000, activities related to this campaign were carried out in more than twenty cities in Serbia and Montenegro. From December 2000 until May 2001, activities occurred in more than thirty cities of Serbia. From December 2000 until May 2001, we conducted a campaign to gather signatures to shorten of the length of compulsory military service and recognize the right of conscientious objection. This action was carried out, in cooperation with other organizations, in dozens of cities throughout Serbia. It made a very important contribution to mental demilitarization, confrontation with the past and above all, sensitizing the public to the issues of conscientious objection.
Educational activities related to mental demilitarization and deconstructing patriarchy continued during 2003 with a series of workshops in various parts of Serbia. These workshops were mostly oriented toward young people. Cooperation with other organizations that deal with these issues has continued on the legislative level.
Over this period, two feminist-antimilitarist conferences were held:
- "Let’s Globalize Feminism and Antimilitarism," from March 29-31, 2002 in Belgrade. Activists from the International Network of Women in Black from Italy and the Women's Peace Network/ Women in Black Network from Serbia and Montenegro participated in this conference.
- "Women Create Peace: More for Health and Education, Less for Armament!" on May 25th 2002 in Belgrade.
SUPPORT FOR VICTIMS OF WAR
AND OPPRESSION
Support to refugees and internally displaced persons:
From 1993 until 1997, we provided intensive aid and support to refugees living in refugee centers in inland Serbia. These activities included:
- Distribution of humanitarian aid to refugees and internally displaced persons. This was made possible by the solidarity and assistance of international peace organizations and women's networks;
- "Let’s Be Creative Together" – an aid and self-aid project for women refugees. Women refugees made artistic handicrafts and women's peace symbols that we distributed through our international contacts and networks;
- I Remember… - a compilation of women's testimonies. Refugees drew and wrote about what they wanted to forget from the war times;
- "A Window on the World" – a project to provide eye glasses for 300 people in three refugee camps. We supplied them with daily and weekly newspapers in order to keep them informed;
- "We are…" - with the support of a Swiss film director and activist from our network, we staged theater performances with girls and boys from refugee centers;
- "Let’s Adopt Peace - Godparents at a Distance" - a assistance project for several dozen children from refugee families supported by Italian and Swiss families;
- "Vuk Samotnjak" (Lonesome Wolf) - a photography workshop in the refugee center where the children learned, worked and trained for the future, by working as photographers;
Over this period, assistance was also organized for disabled people - civilian victims of war, predominantly from Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Krajina.
Since 1997, we have been providing occasional and modest support and aid to refugees and internally displaced persons from the Krajina and Kosovo.
Support to victims of oppression
Although it has always been a part of the group's activities, in the period following the military intervention (1999 and 2000), we devoted special attention to monitoring the politically motivated trials carried out by the regime. These sham trials of citizens of both Albanian and Serbian nationality went on in many cities in Serbia and we attended nearly all of them. By attending the trials and informing the international public about the oppression of citizens for political and nationalist reasons, we lent concrete support to the victims of terror against political opponents and enemies of the regime.
That regime was overthrown on October 5th, 2000. However, the culture of violence, nationalism, militarism and organized crime and murder has not disappeared from our environment. For this reason, we have continued to attend the trials for war criminals that are held in Belgrade.
In addition to this…
Most of our activities are conducted in cooperation with numerous women's groups and human rights organizations from throughout the country and with the support and various forms of assistance from numerous individuals, institutions and informal groups from all parts of Serbia and Montenegro and from abroad. We maintain permanent contacts with a large number of networks from this country, countries of the former Yugoslavia, Europe and the world by organizing informal meetings and developing networks of mutual support, friendship and solidarity. Without the emotional, moral and political support of our friends from all over Europe and many non-European countries, we would not have been able to survive over the past years. Without the solidarity and help of the feminist/pacifist/antimilitarist networks and individuals, we would not have completed many of our activities and projects that were mentioned in this publication. Therefore, we would like to thank everyone who has helped us.