The announcement about the neo-nazi march and rally, to be held on 7th October 2007 in Novi Sad, was accompanied by the information that the organizers have announced a public manifestation, so that the manifestation of The National League (Nacionalni stroj, an allegedly illegal neo-nazi organization) would be covered by a veil of legality. Under no circumstances can we imagine that the authorities could ever issue permission for such a rally. Namely, we believe that they are aware of the far-reaching adverse consequences of a possible legalization of wild nazi outbursts in the streets of Novi Sad, especially considering the fact that the organizers are infamous for being violence-prone, and that the person who has been announced as the main speaker has already served a prison term for this type of offence.
However, we cannot help posing a few principled questions regarding this matter:
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How is it possible that a responsible state should tolerate the activities of an organization whose program and practical activities openly jeopardize the constitutional and legal order of the Republic of Serbia?
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How is it possible that the leader of this neo-nazi group should be at large and that the threats that are being directed to various addresses by his followers are tolerated?
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Why do the national institutions (the Serbian Orthodox Church, the Serbian Academy of Science and Arts, etc.) choose to ignore the activities of the neo-nazi groups that call on patriotism in their endeavors to achieve ethnic purity and the healing of the Serb ethnos?
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How far will some advocates of legalism go in interpreting the idea of tolerance as a bases for equaling fascism and antifascism, and even repression against those who oppose the legalization of glorification of crime and relativization of the fundamental principles of democracy?
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How much and what kind of accountability for the burgeoning of neo-nazism in Serbia weighs upon all the political forces and cultural institutions of Serbia that have been systematically refusing to confront the past, relativizing the crimes committed in our name and even glorifying as national heroes proven criminals such as Slobodan Miloševic and Ratko Mladic?
Until such and similar questions have been answered, the ban of the neo-nazi rally will merely serve as a palliative means, unable to tackle the essence of the problem, let alone the possible legalization of the rally and its catastrophic consequences.
The Lawyers’ Committee for Human Rights – possible legalization of the rally and its catastrophic consequences.
In Belgrade, 16th September 2007
The Lawyers’ Committee fro Human Rights – Yucom
The Center for cultural Decontamination
The Belgrade Circle
The Youth Initiative
The Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia
The Women in Black Network in Serbia – Babusnica, Bor, Dimitrovgrad, Kikinda, Kragujevac, Kraljevo, Krusevac, Leskovac, Nis, Novi Becej, Novi Pazar, Novi Sad, Pancevo, Pirot, Priboj, Prijepolje, Sjenica, Tutin, Vlasotince, Vranje, Vrbas, Zajecar, Zrenjanin, Belgrade.
