During the peace action "Peace activism - activist cycling", a vigil was held on 8th July 2014, starting at 6:30 p.m. in the main square in Valjevo, entitled "We will never forget the Srebrenica genocide", in mourning and in silence, as part of the commemoration of the 19th anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide, when provocations in the form of booing began from the onset.
This in turn continued in a sequence of savage howling, cursing, spitting and hurling of the following insults:
- Sluts,
- You Shiptar women (a derogative term for ethnic Albanians)
- Turks, who are you hug whoring,
- Fuck you in the mouth,
- You need a good fuck,
- Want to suck my cock,
- Damn you! Wear mourning till you die,
- Be exterminated and barren,
- Freaks,
- Morons, look at you,
- You invented Srebrenica,
- The Netherlands said there was no genocide, you are making it up,
- Leave Serbia,
- Oh, Pazar! New Vukovar,
- Oh Sjenica! New Srebrenica.
Afterwards, the group of men, one of whom was wearing T-shirt with the lettering "Chetniks Valjevo" and with the image of the Hague indictee Ratko Mladic, grew in size and they eventually began throwing eggs at us. As the number of followers of that pro-fascist group was growing, the size of police forces securing the rally was also beefed up. At the same time, the atmosphere of hatred was seething, they were turning all the more brutal, until a genuine climate of lynch prevailed.
The epilogue was a brutal physical assault by a few of them against Women in Black activists and participants of the cycling memorial from Belgrade to Srebrenica. In the course of the assault, amid a lynch-like atmosphere and calls for annihilation, Stasa Zajovic, Ljiljana Radovanovic, Milos Urosevic and Dejan Gasic were hurt. They also attempted to take away our banners on that occasion.
The attack against Women in Black is based on gender, sexual, cultural, ideological and political grounds. At the same time, the assailants from pro-fascist groups are a logical outcome of several decades of indoctrination by nationalist ideology and practice. Having been defeated in all the wars they waged and banned from engaging in new ones, the current nationalist ideology is focused on the internal enemy, i.e. the citizens of their own country who hold different opinions.
The attack against the peace action activists in Valjevo is also a consequence of impunity and unsanctioned violence. The frequency of assaults aimed at human rights defenders, above all against those seeking accountability for war and war crimes, is indicative of bad conscience of the state and societal moral degradation.
Notably, during the attacks, Women in Black continued their vigil in silence and mourning, not responding to the insults, respecting the dignity of the victims of the Srebrenica genocide and of all other crimes that were committed in our name.
In spite of being confronted with enraged calls for lynch and the enormous amplitude of violence, Women in Black will continue their regular annual commemoration of the Srebrenica genocide though previously planned activities.
In Belgrade, 9th July 2014
