At 12:30 in the morning on January 22, Violeta Djikanovic and Milos Urosevic, two Women in Black activists, were violently attacked by three skinheads in the passage between Sremska Street and Zeleni Venac in central Belgrade. They were returning from Dom Omladine (a youth cultural center), where they were awaiting the results of the parliamentary election with the electoral staff of the Liberal Democratic Party-Social Democratic Union coalition.
Miloš was heckled, “see that faggot. I know you. You are part of Women in Black. Because of you, I have a criminal record.”
Violeta reacted, turning to the heckler, “Are you saying something to me?” Upon hearing that, he turned towards the activists. He grabbed Miloš by the hair and dragged him to the ground. Violeta sprayed him in the eye. Then, another neo-Nazi grabbed her hand. She sprayed him in the eye as well. In that moment, he threw her and she flew towards the stairs. She fell down the stairs, bruising the right side of her face.
She was taken to the emergency room, where it was concluded that there was no serious damage besides contusions on her face. The police were called. They said that they would come the following day to take statements instead of appearing right away.
This situation only confirms the position of peace activists and defenders of human rights in Serbia. Our security is endangered by the state as well as by neo-Nazi and clero-fascist individuals and groups. The logical continuation of media campaigns and public demonization usually is physical attacks to which the authorities do not react. Serbia continues to be a place of unpunished violence, in which violence against those who think differently is excused.
We, Women in Black, consider this attack to be politically motivated. It is a continuation of the campaign of attacks against us since the beginning of our work in 1991. The methods change, depending on the political situation, but Women in Black, as well as related organizations, have always been the object of attacks because of their support for a different values system, primarily because of their persistent, public, and clear support for a break from the criminal past. We consider such attacks a continuation of low-intensity war - producing fear and intimidating those who are different. Attacks have not and will not deter us from our work. We will continue working for peace, justice and reconciliation through nonviolent means.
Belgrade, January 22, 2007
Women in Black
